Ohio Republicans charged with distributing phony sample ballots in election fraud case

According to a report from a local ABC affiliate, two people have been charged resulting from an investigation into election fraud in Mario, Ohio.

Authorities were looking into whether the Marion County Republican Party was illegally distributing campaign handouts that were designed to mislead people to think they were sample ballots. Now, WSYX ABC 6 reporter Ben Garbarek has revealed that Republican candidate for Marion City Auditor, Robert Landon, and Marion County GOP official, John Matthews, have been charged for distributing phony sample ballots.

According to Ohio law, political parties or candidates are banned from handing out sample ballots. The fraudulent materials handed out by Landon and Matthews were printed on white paper, while the law requires sample ballots to be on colored paper to distinguish them from real ones.

Watch ABC 6's report on the story below:

Featured image via screen grab/ABC 6