Who says politicians get special treatment? Former state Rep. Gabrielle LeDoux, a Republican from Anchorage, was scheduled to stand trial next week for election misconduct during the 2018 primary and general elections. But after years of delays, her attorneys have talked the court into delaying her trial until after Jan. 1.
The trial was to begin Nov. 27, and there were about a week and a half set aside for it. Now, all of the hearings have been vacated by the judge. The next date in court is Jan. 8. That’s when the new trial date will be set.
LeDoux is accused of committing voter misconduct and unlawful interference in elections in a case that goes back to at least 2018. Other charges relating to fraud in the 2014 election had been dismissed by the judge.
LeDoux, an Anchorage Republican who represented the JBER-Muldoon district, faces charges relating to her 2018 House race. Also charged are Lisa Vaught Simpson, LeDoux’s now-former chief of staff in the Legislature, and Simpson’s adult son Caden Vaught.
LeDoux’s legal troubles began with an investigation started in 2018 after the Division of Elections identified irregularities in some of the absentee ballot applications and absentee ballots returned for the primary election. The three are accused of getting people who didn’t live in the district to vote in the district.
LeDoux may have also falsified ballots by voting for people who were no longer in the district. In one instance, 17 ballots were cast from one household.
LeDoux and the others are accused of “knowingly solicited or encouraged, directly or indirectly, a registered voter who is no longer qualified to vote.” The allegations are class C felonies, which carry up to five years in prison.
But while the court hearing was set for next week, It appears a new witness has been found for the now-75-year-old defendant.
