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Former poll worker gets 5 years for voter fraud

Melowese Richardson, the former Madisonville poll worker found guilty on four counts of voter fraud, was sentenced Wednesday in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court. 

Calling her "nothing more than a common criminal," Judge Robert Ruehlman gave Richardson five years in prison for voting twice for herself and three times for her sister who has been in a coma since 2003.

Ruehlman, at times emotional, referenced a road near his home named for a fallen military man who fought for our freedom and the right to vote.  He said Richardson's actions were like "kicking every soldier to the ground."  

Richardson has a record.

The judge said Richardson, in a separate case also heard by Ruehlman, threatened to kill a female witness if she testified against her brother. That intimidation conviction is compounded by additional DUI, assault and theft incidents.

Richardson, a poll worker of more than 30 years, blames the Hamilton County Board of Elections for her troubles. "The Board of Elections allowed two votes to come in and the BOE is at fault for giving me the absentee ballot." She also said there was no reason to vote multiple times to make sure President Obama would win. "It's clear Obama would win and there is no reason to vote more than once."

She was taken away in handcuffs. Richardson had been charged with eight counts of illegal voting, but four of those counts were dropped in May.

Ann Thompson has decades of journalism experience in the Greater Cincinnati market and brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to her reporting.