A woman who ran a write-in candidacy for County Supervisor has been arrested and charged with suspicion of election fraud.
According to a news release from the District Attorney’s Office, on Sept. 11 they arrested Michelle Marie Morrow, 55 of Grover Beach, on suspicion of “voter registration fraud; filing a false declaration of candidacy; fraudulent voting; and for perjury by declaration. These crimes were committed during the March 5, 2024 primary election cycle.”
Morrow has since posted bond and been released, She is slated to appear in court for arraignment on Oct. 10.
In a nutshell, she allegedly registered to vote in the wrong supervisorial district and then tried to run as a write-in candidate, and then voting in that district.
“It is alleged,” the news release said, “that Michelle M. Morrow committed the crime of Voter Registration Fraud when she registered to vote at an address where she did not reside.
“Additional offenses were committed on Feb. 16, 2024 when she submitted paperwork to run for the Dist. 3 seat on the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors, when in fact she lived in Dist. 4. She did so [allegedly] under penalty of perjury.”
Morrow sought to challenge appointed Supervisor Dawn Ortiz-Legg, who had been appointed by the Governor to the Dist. 3 seat, after former Supervisor Adam Hill, who was under a cloud of suspicion by the FBI regarding payoffs and influence peddling, committed suicide after winning the March 2020 Primary Election. Under State Law, Ortiz Legg had to run for the seat in 2022, which she won in a 3-way race, to finish out Hill’s unrealized term.
In 2024, she ran in the District’s normal rotation and was unopposed, that is until Morrow put papers in to run as a write-in candidate.
Morrow reportedly garnered over 860 votes and Ortiz-Legg easily won the full 4-year term.
Morrow also is charged with actually voting in the wrong district, too. “Finally,” the release said, “it is alleged that on March 5, 2024 she voted fraudulently when she voted in Dist. 3 while her actual residence remained in Dist. 4.”
She is charged with four felony counts of Election Code violations:
• One count of voter registration fraud (Elections Code Sec. 18100(a));
• One count of Filing False Nomination Or Declaration Papers (Section 18203);
• One count of Perjury by Declaration (Penal Code Sec. 118(a)); and,
• One count of Fraudulent Voting (Elections Code Sec. 18560(a)).
Potential sentences, if she is convicted, are varied and “may include probation, County Jail confinement, or confinement in the State Prison, according to the D.A.
The County Clerk was none too happy with the case.
County Clerk-Recorder, Elaina Cano, whose is also the County Registrar of Voters and oversees the Elections Office, said in a prepared statement, “There is nothing my office takes more seriously than upholding the law and conducting local elections that adhere to California Elections Code.
“The subject of election security has become a hot topic in recent months and years, both nationally and here at home. I appreciate the passion community members have for transparency in the elections process, and I also appreciate that, when warranted, local law enforcement gets involved.”
She claimed the County has a history of clean elections. “SLO County,” Cano said, “has a proven track record of safe, secure, and accurate elections. In any instance in which an individual or individuals attempt to corrupt the process, my office will work with law enforcement to thoroughly investigate and ensure that justice is served.
“Maintaining the integrity of our elections is our top priority, and we will continue to safeguard the voting process for all county residents, ensuring that every valid vote is counted and that any fraudulent activity is addressed swiftly and appropriately.”
The D.A.’s so-called Public Integrity Unit is prosecuting the case. But this may not be a slam-dunk as according to news reports, it’s a bit more complicated than that.
Last February, New Times reported that Morrow was first determined to be ineligible to run because she had not lived in Dist. 3 the required 30 days in order to run for office.
County Clerk-Recorder Cano reportedly said Morrow would become eligible to register on Feb. 15 and needed to submit her candidacy paperwork by Feb. 19, a deadline she met on Feb. 16 using an address in Grover Beach. The D.A. now alleges that she never lived there at all, so her registration, candidacy and actual voting were all violations.
The case sounds eerily similar to former San Luis Obispo Mayor and Councilman Allen Settle, who was accused of using a SLO address to a home he owned in the Laguna Lake Area as his official address for voting purposes, but actually lived in another home he owned in Arroyo Grande. Settle, who was also a Cal Poly professor, actually owned four homes when this all came to light in 2008.
Though such allegations had followed Settle for years, he was never charged with election fraud (see: www.newtimesslo.com/news/where-has-allen-settled-2950306).
