Man indicted for twice voting in Sanbornton and Mass. in the same elections

A man has been indicted for twice voting at the same election in Sanbornton and in Massachusetts.

Edward D. Amirault Sr., 79, with an address listed at 28 Bay Shore Drive, in Sanbornton,was indicted by the Belknap County grand jury last month.

The indictments alleged that Amirault submitted an absentee ballot application, and returned an absentee ballot for the 2018 general election and the September 2020 primary election to town election officials but also cast a ballot in each of those elections in Massachusetts.

No phone number could be found for Amirault, and there is nothing in court files to show that he is represented by an attorney.

Assistant Attorney General Myles B. Matteson, of the Election Division of the AG’s office, declined to say in which Massachusetts community Amirault had voted, or how authorities became aware of the alleged voting irregularity.

While not commenting on the Amirault case, Matteson said cases of this type come about either because of reports from individuals who suspect someone may have voted illegally, or because a person’s name was flagged by a computer program which combined the voter roles of individual states and sought to identify potential duplicate registrations.

The database, called the Interstate Voter Registration Crosscheck, was suspended in 2019 as a result of a court settlement in Kansas after questions were raised about its accuracy and also because sensitive, personal information about some voters was mistakenly released.

Amirault is charged with two counts of voting in more than one state. The charge is a felony potentially punishable by up to seven years in prison and a $5,000 fine. In addition, anyone found guilty on the charge can lose their right to vote in New Hampshire under the terms of the state Constitution.

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