Nevada Republican Claimed Someone Voted for His Dead Wife—and He Just Got Charged for It

Allies of former President Donald Trump continue to dangerously (and falsely) insist that widespread voter fraud took place in the 2020 election, "stealing" a reelection victory from him.

They often point to misleading, outright false, or statistically insignificant data or anecdotal evidence to support their claims. That's what Nevada Republican Donald Kirk Hartle did in the weeks following the November 2020 election.

In a television appearance, Hartle claimed that someone voted using his wife's ballot, despite his wife sadly dying of cancer in 2017. The claim went on to be cited by pro-Trump media personality Matt Schlapp to promote lies that countless dead people voted in the 2020 election.

Hartle said at the time:

"That is pretty sickening to me, to be honest with you."

Nevada's Democratic Attorney General and Republican Secretary of State agreed, and they decided to look into it.

What they found was that the 55 year old Hartle allegedly forged his wife's signature and voted on her behalf. He's since been charged with two felony counts of fraud, with each charge carrying a prison sentence of up to four years.

Hartle's lawyer said he was "eager" to respond to the allegations, but it's unclear what his defense will be.

Meanwhile, social media users were already responding to the news.

People weren't surprised to learn that Hartle was reportedly behind it all.

Hartle is due in court next month.