Pennsylvania Republican slapped with felony charges for casting ballot for long-dead mother

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A Pennsylvania man is facing several felony counts after he allegedly registered two deceased relatives to vote in Delaware County, successfully casting one of the ballots by mail for his mother who died over a decade ago, to try and help reelect President Trump.  

Bruce Bartman, 70, of Marple, was charged with two counts of perjury for making false statements through the state’s online voter registration system to register two deceased relatives, both his mother and mother-in-law. He is also charged with making an unlawful vote for taking the next step to submit an absentee ballot for his deceased mother that was counted in the November 2020 election, Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer announced in a press conference Monday.

He registered both dead women as Republicans, and Bartman himself is a registered Republican.

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Bartman also admitted to the detectives who questioned him that he did this to "further the campaign of Donald Trump" and cast the ballot for his deceased mother for President Trump, Stollsteimer said. Prosecutors did not access the vote he made for the deceased individual -- he made that statement to detectives on his own and, therefore, the sanctity of the ballot box has not been invaded.

"The only reason I am bringing that fact out here is because of all of the controversy swirling around this election we need to be very clear. We are not prosecuting this case because of who he voted for," the district attorney said. "It matters not to us who he voted for -- whether he had written in Joe Biden, Donald Duck or Mickey Mouse, we would still be prosecuting this case because this is a violation of the integrity of the American electoral process."

"For all the conspiracy theorists out there, this case today does not represent widespread voter fraud," he added. "This case was evidence that one person committed voter fraud by casting an improper and illegal ballot in Delaware County."

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His mother, Elizabeth, has been dead for over 12 years, but Bartman still used her driver’s license to register and apply for an absentee ballot through the state’s "Sure" voter registration portal. In August, he also registered his deceased mother-in-law, Elizabeth Weihman, to vote in Nether Providence Township, Delaware County, using the last four digits of her social security number.

The system flagged the application as a possible deceased person and returned a letter back to him asking him to confirm the information was correct. Bartman added his signature and returned the letter, and the alleged voter fraud went undetected the second time, according to the district attorney's office.

Bartman later received the absentee ballot for his deceased mother, filled it out, and returned the ballot in Delaware County. It was received in Nether Providence’s 3rd Ward Precinct on Oct. 28. Bartman himself voted in the same precinct, so he "in effect, voted twice," Stollsteimer added. Prosecutors found no evidence that he cast a ballot for his deceased mother-in-law. 

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Bartman was arraigned Friday and released on $100,000 unsecured bail, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

His defense attorney, Samuel Stretton, told the newspaper that his client was cooperating with investigators, adding that "in his political frustration, he chose to do something stupid," and Bartman "is very sorry."