Sheriff recommends 4 voter fraud cases for prosecution

LONGVIEW, Wash.  — The Cowlitz County Sheriff's office has referred four cases of suspected voter fraud in the 2016 general election to county prosecutors.

The Daily News reports that it's the first time voter fraud cases have been recommended for prosecution in Cowlitz County.

The prosecutor's office confirmed Friday that the sheriff's office referred the case but said no charging decisions have been made.

Case files obtained by the newspaper show that two people admitted voting for dead relatives. Two additional cases involve people suspected of casting ballots in multiple states.

The Washington Secretary of State's office brought the four cases to the attention of Cowlitz County elections officials.

The state's elections agency identified 72 cases of suspected voter fraud statewide using a sophisticated service that Washington helped pioneer in 2012 along with six other states.

Cowlitz elections supervisor Carolyn Fundingsland says voter fraud is extremely rare.