by Dick Hall-Sizemore

In one of the rare trials in Virginia for voter fraud, a Nelson County jury recently found a man not guilty.

As reported by Cardinal News, on Nov. 4, 2023, Richardson Carter Bell voted early for the General Assembly and local races.  On Nov. 7, Election Day, he went to his precinct and presented his ID to vote. When the system indicated that he had already voted, the election worker sent for the chief of elections. While waiting for the chief, Bell explained that he was only testing the security of the system. Apparently, officials were not amused and Bell was charged with trying to vote twice, a Class 6 felony, punishable by up to five years in prison.

When questioned by the State Police, Bell said, “I was messing to see if they were gonna let me vote again to see what kind of fraud was going on. But I went in and gave them my ID and then it showed up [that] I’d already voted. So I was doing a little detective work.” The Commonwealth’s attorney took the position that Bell was not authorized to test the system and compared his action to pulling the fire alarm to see if the sprinklers work.

Bell’s attorney argued that his client had no intention of voting a second time.  He also suggested that the registrar had a grievance against Bell. It seems that Bell has a rather colorful truck that he is in the habit of parking in front of the registrar’s office, as well as driving in the Christmas parade.

In addition to its unusual subject matter, the trial featured a surprise with the jury. After deliberating for an hour, the jury came back into court and the foreman announced the verdict of not guilty. During the customary polling of the jury by the judge, one juror announced that was not his verdict. So, the judge sent them back to deliberate some more. Ten minutes later, the jury came back with a unanimous verdict of not guilty.

In the end, Bell demonstrated the security of the election system. It probably was an expensive learning experience.