A University of New Hampshire student has pleaded guilty to putting false information on a voter registration form. Spencer McKinnon, 21, was sentenced Feb. 28 based on the Class A misdemeanor charge of wrongful voting.
The New Hampshire Attorney General’s office says McKinnon has also agreed to cooperate in an investigation into alleged voter coercion.
The AG’s office says McKinnon cast an absentee ballot in Massachusetts in the 2016 election, but days later registered in Durham, New Hampshire, claiming he was not voting elsewhere.
A grand jury indicted McKinnon last year for allegedly voting in two states, but that charge was dismissed as part of the plea deal.
"As part of the plea agreement, Mr. McKinnon has agreed to cooperate in an investigation into allegations of voter coercion and intimidation,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew Broadhead, the prosecutor on the case.
Broadhead says those allegations surround a group allegedly intimidating voters in Durham, but could not name the organization, citing an ongoing investigation.
This is the first conviction in New Hampshire resulting from the Interstate Voter Crosscheck Program set up after the 2016 election.
McKinnon was sentenced in Strafford County Superior Court to six months, with all of it suspended for one year, based on certain conditions. He is ordered to serve 200 hours of community service and pay a $2,000 fine. He also loses the right to vote in New Hampshire.
