Couple's voting earns them a $500 fine

A flier opposing a mayor's re-election bore the husband's name.
AKRON (AP) -- A couple convicted of illegal voting may participate in future elections but must apologize, pay a $500 fine and re-register to vote, a judge said.
Charles and Jerolyn Worrell of Barberton, who registered to vote in nearby New Franklin so they could vote against its mayor last year, had no regard for the integrity of the voting system, Summit County Common Pleas Judge Jane Bond said Friday.
The judge fined the couple, ordered them to write a letter of apology to the Summit County Board of Elections and placed the couple on a year's probation. A six-month prison sentence was suspended.
The couple had been found guilty Wednesday following a two-day jury trial.
The Worrells opposed New Franklin Mayor Al Bollas, and a flier against his re-election listed Jerolyn Worrell, 44, as the distributor, the prosecutor's office said.
Election board complaint
After the election, which Bollas won, a complaint was filed at the board by someone who saw the Worrells vote and believed they did not live in New Franklin. The Worrells had maintained that they inadvertently voted in the wrong location and thought they lived in that community.
Investigators said they registered with the elections board using an address in which the house numbers were transposed; the new address was invalid but would have been in New Franklin.