A United States Postal Service mail carrier in Colorado and one of her acquaintances have been accused of intercepting mail-in ballots in the lead-up to the 2024 election and then casting them fraudulently.

In late October, officials in Mesa County in Western Colorado began receiving complaints from some Grand Valley residents who claimed they never received their mail-in ballots, yet these same ballots had apparently already been submitted and then rejected because of a signature mismatch.

The 21st District Attorney’s Office formally opened an investigation into the complaints on October 21.

Investigators then discovered that ballots were missing from mailbox clusters but that there had been no sign of forced entry, suggesting an inside job. They also learned that several complainants lived within a half-mile of one another and that on October 12, Vicki Lyn Stuart, a 64-year-old mail carrier, had substituted for the regular carrier on a mail route in the area.

On October 24, Stuart allegedly told investigators that she had merely cross-referenced the names on the mail-in ballots with the names on the mailboxes. If they names did not match, she allegedly marked them "return to sender."

She estimated she marked about 20 ballots in that way and assured investigators that "there was no chance her DNA would be on the inside of any of the envelopes," an affidavit said. She denied any involvement in a voter fraud scheme.

The USPS later informed investigators that such cross-referencing goes against protocol and that mail carriers are required to deliver ballots regardless of name matches "as they may not know for certain if someone is living at a particular address or not," the affidavit said.

'I am proud our security measures are effective.'

It is unclear what led investigators to contact Sally Jane Maxedon, 59, about the incident, but they spoke with her on Election Day.

Initially, Maxedon allegedly admitted that she "falsely completed voting ballots which did not belong to her," the affidavit said. She then reportedly spun a wild tale involving a male Colorado Bureau of Investigation agent, a truck, and a mall parking lot. She even drew investigators a map.

Eventually though, Maxedon allegedly confessed that she and Stuart are friends and that they had recently concocted a scheme to "test" the signature verification of mail-in ballots. According to the affidavit, their goal was "to determine if the signature verification process would detect if the forged signatures were not those of the known voter signatures on file."

Maxedon allegedly claimed that Stuart began stealing the ballots and handing them over to her to be completed.

So far, officials have identified at least 16 victims but believe there could be 20 or more. Of the ballots the women allegedly submitted, at least nine were removed because of suspected fraud, while at least three were processed and counted.

"Once signatures are checked, the ballot is pulled independently from the envelope and it’s put into the (counting) process," Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold said at a press conference.

On the day after the election, both Maxedon and Stuart were arrested. They each face more than a dozen felony charges related to forgery, identity theft, and attempt to influence a public servant.

USPS later confirmed to Rocky Mountain PBS that Stuart is an employee and that she has since been placed on "emergency, non-duty status."

Whether the victims were ever able to cast a ballot in the election is unclear.

Mesa County clerk and recorder Bobbie Gross indicated that the unearthed alleged scheme proves that the system works.

"I am deeply grateful for the diligence and thorough efforts of the District Attorney’s Office in addressing this matter. I am proud our security measures are effective, and we will remain vigilant to safeguard the integrity of our elections," Gross said in a statement, according to Rocky Mountain PBS.

Oddly enough, the Colorado Sun used the incident of alleged voter fraud to slam those who dare to raise questions about election integrity, noting that Stuart is a registered Republican and that the allegedly fraudulent ballots represent only a tiny fraction of the vote totals in the county.

"Mesa County is a Republican-dominated part of the state" that has "been central to election conspiracies peddled by conservatives in recent years," the outlet wrote.

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