Democrat Official caught voting twice in Missouri: Too many Votes raise question of fraud

A prosecutor who tried the only vote-fraud case in recent memory in Jackson County may himself have run afoul of vote-fraud laws, The Kansas City Star has found.

Phil A. LeVota

, an assistant county prosecutor and incoming chairman of the Jackson County Democratic Committee, voted in two elections this year in Independence after moving to Lee's Summit in August 2003, records show.

Intentionally voting where you don't live is a Class 1 election felony in Missouri, punishable by up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

“I never would even dream of doing that,” LeVota said. “Every time I ever voted, I voted from where I believed I was registered to vote and was able to vote.”

After moving to Lee's Summit, LeVota changed his voter registration to his mother's home in Independence on Dec. 1, records show. He voted in Independence on Feb. 3 in the presidential and city primary elections and on April 6, which featured Independence City Council and school board races, before changing his registration to his Lee's Summit address on June 8.

LeVota said he voted in every election and had no special interest in the two Independence elections.

When asked whether he may have committed vote fraud by returning to Independence to vote in the two elections, LeVota said there were “periods of time” since August 2003 that he did not live in Lee's Summit. LeVota said his mother owned a home in Independence near his old address and he stayed there “when I needed a place to stay.”

LeVota said he was reluctant to detail his living arrangements but acknowledged that he did not move in with his mother.

“There's a lot of different meanings to the word ‘live,' ” he said. “Did I move in, ‘Hi Mom, I'm paying rent, I'm going to live with you?' No.”

LeVota's residency became an issue after opponents to his candidacy on the county Democratic committee raised questions about it in an effort to disqualify him from the chairmanship. Missouri law requires a committee member to live and be registered to vote in his precinct at least a year before serving.

LeVota said he brought a copy of the deed to his new home dated August 2003 to prove he had lived in Lee's Summit long enough. Nevertheless, LeVota said, his political foes still are raising questions about his residency in an effort to prevent him from taking office.

Intentionally registering to vote at someone else's address also is a Class 1 election felony, said Terry Jarrett, general counsel for the secretary of state. State law sets no deadline for a voter who moves to update his registration, but it prohibits him from voting at his old polling place, Jarrett said.

Instead, a voter who moves may return to his old polling place on Election Day, tell election judges he has moved, then vote at a central election office or at the polling place by his new address, he said.

LeVota said he did not tell election judges in February or April that he had moved to Lee's Summit. LeVota said his new home was only a mile from his Independence address and he thought he was in the same precinct.

“Was I stupid not to change it? I guess I was,” LeVota said. “I didn't realize that I needed to change it. I didn't really think, not even being a prosecutor.”

Charlene Davis, Republican director of the county Election Board, pointed out that precinct boundaries do not cross city limits.

“Guess what? My back fence is the city limit of Lee's Summit,” Davis said. “Does that give me the right to vote for mayor of Lee's Summit, from the county?”

LeVota, 39, is the trial team leader in the community justice unit of Prosecutor Mike Sanders' office. LeVota has served on the county's homicide case review committee, on the death penalty review committee and in many other specialized positions.

He was among only 40 prosecutors nationwide to take part in a federal legal education project. He teaches other prosecutors about trial advocacy and cross-examination, among other topics.

In response to The Star's inquiries about LeVota, Sanders said his office would seek opinions from the Missouri attorney general and secretary of state “as to what the election codes may require in these circumstances.”

Sanders said he never had seen a similar election issue arise before, nor had several other prosecutors whom he called. Sanders said he was seeking the opinions “out of an overabundance of caution.”

“Frankly, the law is a little unclear on this,” Sanders said. “Once we get their opinions, we'll go accordingly. If it's any grade of offense whatsoever, we'll pick it out.”

Sanders said that if the case became a personnel issue, he could not talk about it. Hypothetically, Sanders said, if serious allegations arise against someone in his office, he would recuse himself.

“Voter fraud is when you say you live in Kansas and you don't live in Kansas,” LeVota said. “Or you register in Kansas and Missouri, something deceiving.”

“The guy that I personally prosecuted had been voting for five years twice on the same day,” LeVota said. “That guy knew he was doing wrong.”

Adell Hardiman, 51, a plumbing contractor, said he did not know he was doing wrong until he was arrested and put in handcuffs. After the 2000 presidential election, Hardiman was charged with four counts of felony vote fraud for voting in Kansas City and Jackson County in four elections.

“If it was wrong to vote twice, why didn't they tell me that?” said Hardiman, who owned homes in Kansas City and Blue Springs.

Hardiman said he registered to vote in Kansas City and Jackson County under the same name, age and Social Security number.

“They said I was trying to deceive, but I wasn't trying to hide anything,” Hardiman said. “It's not like I was using an alias.”

Hardiman said he had no political agenda and voted in both places only to protect his interests as a taxpayer and businessman.

Hardiman said he spent about 90 minutes in jail after sheriff's deputies tracked him down and handcuffed him at a plumbing job near 25th and Cherry streets.

He pleaded guilty to one felony count and was placed on probation. Hardiman said the case cost him “a tidy sum” of “less than $10,000” in legal fees. Hardiman was given a suspended sentence, which means that when his probation ends, he will have no criminal record.

Meanwhile, LeVota said questions about his residency and voting threatened his credibility on the job.

“My whole career is about being a prosecutor and being ethical and above board. I've never tried to defraud. I never knowingly did anything like that,” LeVota said.

“I said the same thing. It didn't do me any good, though,” Hardiman said. “They said, ‘It's against the law, sir, so it doesn't matter.' ”

“I'm just curious how they're going to handle this situation,” Hardiman said. “Does the sword have a double edge? Does justice cut both ways?”

Phil A. LeVota , an assistant county prosecutor and incoming chairman of the Jackson County Democratic Committee…
LeVota, 39, is the trial team leader in the community justice unit of Prosecutor Mike Sanders' office. LeVota has served on the county's homicide case review committee, on the death penalty review committee and in many other specialized positions.
In response to The Star's inquiries about LeVota, Sanders said his office would seek opinions from the Missouri attorney general and secretary of state “as to what the election codes may require in these circumstances.”
Sanders said he never had seen a similar election issue arise before, nor had several other prosecutors whom he called. Sanders said he was seeking the opinions “out of an overabundance of caution.”

“Frankly, the law is a little unclear on this,” Sanders said.

My twelve year old son has a firm grasp on this, you get to vote once! If these two Democrats can’t figure that out, they need to be removed from office and given free room and board at the Gray Bar Hotel.

LeVota said he never knowingly defrauded election officials or anyone else... “I never would .”.... “There's a lot of different meanings to the word ‘live,'...

Geez, these Democrats, especially the more educated ones, have a problem with the concept of "one person, one vote." This is but ONE instance of a COLLEGE-EDUCATED DEMOCRAT engaging in multiple voting. They never "knowingly" defraud others. I believe that; they are quite capable of doing it UNCONSCIOUSLY. Perhaps it is second nature to them. (sarcasm - NOT!)

They also have a problem with defining words. No doubt this results from being deeply steeped in propaganda and Orwellian double-think. But this is perfectly in keeping with their unswerving dedication to the practice of cradle-to-grave MISEDUCATION. Are they borderline SOCIOPATHS???

So, the word "live" has a lot of different meanings - ROTFLMAO - and Billy Jeff Clinton thought that the word "is" also had multiple meanings...

Days before Phil LeVota was to be named as Chairman of the Democratic Party, anonymous sources called the KC Star to report voting irregularities. The Star headline was “Democrat Official caught voting twice in Missouri: Too many Votes raise question of fraud.” This story was a misleading article attempting to smear Phil LeVota who is an outstanding member of this community and here is the rest of the story.

• FACT: LeVota’s voting activity raised no “question of fraud” with anyone but this brand new reporter encouraged by LeVota’s political foes.

• FACT: LeVota only voted one time in any one election. The headline misleads readers into thinking LeVota voted twice in the same election.

• FACT: The Missouri Secretary of State’s office reviewed the KC Star reporter’s “allegations” and concluded LeVota had done nothing wrong or illegal.

• FACT: The Jackson County Election Board did not find anything wrong with LeVota’s voting activity. The Election Board routinely forwards voter issues to the prosecutor and did not send this to the prosecutor. The Republican Director did not find any illegal activities with LeVota’s voting.

• FACT: After review by the Missouri Attorney General, LeVota was cleared of any wrong doing and found that none of his actions were of an illegal nature

• FACT: Some people have voted twice in the same election which is understandably illegal and is what LeVota himself prosecuted Hardiman for doing. It is ‘interesting’ for the reporter to quote a convicted felon to comment about the speculation that his prosecutor has done something wrong. It was downright unethical journalism to even compare the two situations. They are not similar at all.

• FACT: There is no fraud issue if you vote one time. The law allows anyone to register to vote from wherever they want. People with homes in different cities or states can pick one, but only one, place to register and to vote.

• FACT: US residents living abroad can vote absentee at a relative’s address EVEN THOUGH THEY DON’T LIVE THERE

• FACT: Homeless persons can list their address as the “12th Street Viaduct” and even though they don’t actually live there, they still get to vote on election day.

• FACT: College students can keep their voter registration at their parents’ home even though they no longer live there. Returning to vote at that address is perfectly legal.

• FACT: LeVota owned two homes and after immediately upon selling his Independence home, he actually followed the law to change his voter registration from the old address.

• FACT: On the change, LeVota’s registration address was not that of his home in Lee’s Summit but that of a relative’s address. LeVota won’t publicly comment on why that is. And frankly, it is no one’s business for why that is. Sources say that LeVota and his wife had gone through several unsuccessful in-vitro fertilizations to have a baby and it had taken a strain on their marriage and maybe they had separated. LeVota says he changed the registration address to where he would be living on election day. That’s exactly what the law states for a voter to do.

• FACT: LeVota seems to be being publicly embarrassed because he did exactly what he was supposed to and changed his registration on the date of his sale from the old address and, if separated from his wife, then changing it to where he was going to be living.

• FACT: Frankly, LeVota could have told the reporter about his private life, but in choosing to protect his family, the reporter speculated. It is commendable for LeVota to take the high road and disgusting for a naïve reporter to take the low ground for a political purpose.

Here’s what you did wrong, Phil. You actually thought reporters were honest and you tried to talk to them. (You were wrong). You actually thought that it was none of the KC Star’s business about what was going on in your private life. (You were right). LeVota is just a member of the Democratic Party that tries to help candidates and we wonder why good people don’t ever want to run for public office!

P.S.: January 2005: The members of the Jackson County Democratic Party unanimously elected Phil LeVota as their Chairman. People are saying LeVota has been the most effective Chair in many years.

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