Mail carrier caught changing absentee ballot requests from Democrat to Republican in West Virginia

Carrier claims it was all just a joke

A mail carrier in West Virginia admitted that he tried to change the party registrations for Democrats who'd requested absentee ballots ahead of the state's primary this month, according to court records.

The carrier, Thomas Cooper, 47, has pleaded guilty to one count of "injury to the mail" and another count of attempting to defraud West Virginians of a fair election.

BuzzFeed News reported that the mail carrier used a black pen to switch voters' ballot request forms by changing their selection from Democrat to Republican. Three of the requests hadn't had their parties switched, but had been tampered with nonetheless.

The Clerk of Pendleton County, upon receiving the request, personally knew a few of the individuals who'd had their parties switched, and knew they weren't Republicans. She called the people whose requests she suspected had been changed and learned that they'd filled their requests out with a blue pen; Mr Cooper made his changes with black ink.

In late April, investigators met with Mr Cooper and questioned him about the changes. Mr Cooper admitted he tried to change the ballot requests.

"[I did it] as a joke. I don't even know them," Mr Cooper said, according to the complaint.

When he was asked if he was the one who tampered with the other requests, he said "I'm not saying no" and that if it was proven those requests were picked up on his route he "would take the blame."

The coronavirus pandemic occurring during the 2020 US election year has made mail-in and absentee voting a much more prominent issue. President Donald Trump has railed against mail in voting for numerous reasons that rotate in prominence seemingly at random.

Mr Trump has claimed that mail-in voting will allow for increased voter fraud, that it would boost Democratic party votes, that foreign governments would flood the country with fake ballots, and that people would steal ballots out of mailboxes.

Mr Trump has not been able to offer evidence that any of his concerns warrant serious enough concern to forego mail-in voting in an effort to minimise coronavirus risk. Even in Mr Cooper's case, he only managed to change five requests before getting caught.

Mr Cooper's attorney, Scott Curnutte, spoke with BuzzFeed News and characterised his client's actions as a "silly lark." He said Mr Cooper was sorry for what he did.

"He is deeply sorry for the implications for our democratic process," the attorney said. "It should be remembered, however, that the mail he altered were requests for ballots, not the ballots themselves."

Mr Cooper faces up to eight years in prison. The prosecutors in the case have agreed as part of a plea deal to reduce Mr Cooper's sentence.