Overview

• Laura Lee Yourex, 62, made her first court appearance in Westminster and did not enter a plea, with arraignment continued to Dec. 10 and release on her own recognizance.
• She faces five felony counts — perjury, procuring or offering a false or forged document, registering a non-existent person, and two counts of casting a ballot when not entitled to vote — with a potential six-year sentence.
• Officials say a ballot cast in her dog’s name was counted in the 2021 gubernatorial recall, while a 2022 primary ballot was rejected under federal first-time voter verification rules.
• The Orange County Registrar says Yourex self-reported in October 2024; prosecutors cite her social media posts showing the dog with an “I voted” sticker and a later photo noting the dog was still receiving a ballot after its death.
• A Board of Supervisors majority declined an emergency agenda item to order immediate voter roll checks, though proposals included cross-referencing pet license data as the registrar begins ballot-file processing this week.