A judge released a Waukegan alderman pending trial after her arrest and felony charge for allegedly using her dead mother’s ballot to cast a vote in the General Primary Election in Lake County.
Sylvia Sims Bolton, 67, of Waukegan, was charged with one count of mutilation of election material, a Class 4 felony, and one count of disregarding election code, a Class A misdemeanor.
Bolton is an elected alderman of Waukegan’s 1st Ward.
She surrendered on Wednesday morning to the Lake County Jail and appeared in First Appearance Court on Wednesday morning.
Lake County Judge Randie Bruno released Bolton from custody on pre-trial conditions as the offenses are non-detainable under the Illinois SAFE-T Act.
Bolton, who is being represented by defense attorney Elliot Pinsel, was placed on Level 1 pre-trial services monitoring.
An investigation began into Bolton in March after the Lake County Clerk’s Office identified and flagged a vote-by-mail ballot that was associated with a deceased voter during its post-election review process.
A vote-by-mail ballot for Mary Sims was issued and mailed by the Lake County Clerk’s Office on February 5, the first day ballots could legally be mailed for the General Primary Election, according to election records.
The Lake County Clerk’s Office processed the cancellation of Mary Sim’s voter registration on February 12 after receiving notification of the voter’s death record from the Illinois Department of Public Health through the Illinois State Board of Elections voter registration system.
The Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office said a completed vote-by-mail ballot envelope was returned through the secure exterior drop box located outside the Lake County Clerk’s Office on February 26.
The vote-by-mail ballot for Mary Sims was flagged as voided and segregated from valid vote-by-mail ballots after being run through the intake process.
Election staff conducted their standard post-election review and verification process for challenged and voided ballot envelopes to ensure all valid ballots were properly processed and counted following the March 17 General Primary Election, prosecutors said.
All ballot envelopes are reviewed through automated systems designed to identify irregularities and flag ballots requiring additional review.
Ballots may be rejected or separated for further examination if they are determined to be overweight, underweight, submitted for a different election, unreadable due to barcode issues, previously rejected or associated with a cancelled voter registration record.
Election officials identified that the voter’s death record had been processed prior to the return of the ballot during their review on March 27, prosecutors said.
The matter was escalated internally and reported to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office for investigation after evaluating the returned envelope and confirming that the ballot had been submitted after the voter’s recorded date of death.
“The safeguards and verification procedures in place within our election system worked exactly as intended,” Lake County Clerk Anthony Vega said.
“Our staff followed established protocols, identified the irregularity, and immediately coordinated with law enforcement to ensure this matter is thoroughly investigated. Protecting the integrity of our elections remains our highest priority,” Vega said.
A detective from the sheriff’s office responded to the Lake County Clerk’s Office to review the ballot materials later that day.
Prosecutors said a sheriff’s detective confirmed that the returned vote-by-mail ballot envelope contained a marked ballot and detectives obtained statements from the clerk’s office staff and collected evidence as part of their investigation.
The investigation showed Bolton received a vote-by-mail ballot for her mother, Mary Sims, after she died, prosecutors said.
Bolton filled out the ballot and signed Sims’ name to the ballot, knowing it was not possible for her to vote in the election, prosecutors said.
Bolton then allegedly submitted the ballot to an official clerk’s office ballot drop box.
“Safeguarding the integrity of our elections is something the public rightfully expects from all of us in government. This case is an example of the strong collaboration between the Lake County Clerk’s Office, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, and the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office to thoroughly review allegations, follow the facts, and ensure our election laws are upheld fairly and impartially,” Lake County Sheriff John D. Idleburg said.
The investigation was reviewed by the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office, which filed charges on May 19.
Bolton is scheduled to appear in court again on July 2 for a status of preliminary hearing.
“I want to thank Clerk Vega for his work in maintaining election integrity and the Sheriff’s Office for conducting a thorough investigation that brought all the facts to our office. While Lake County’s internal protocols and automated systems are effective, any attempt at voter fraud undermines democracy and must be prosecuted,” Lake County State’s Attorney Rinehart said.
The investigation did not uncover any facts linking the allegations against Bolton to her city duties, the state’s attorney’s office said. She has not been charged with official misconduct.
County officials say they are unaware of any previous investigations related to individuals using the vote-by-mail system to vote on behalf of deceased people in Lake County.