California Woman Faces Felony Charges For Registering Her Dog To Vote & Casting Mail-In Ballots

Taking the thought that your dogs are family to a whole new level.

Pet owners often love their furry friends like they are tiny little humans. I know that I have conversations with my pets as if they were people, and one of my very best friends and her husband create narratives about their dogs and what careers they would hold if they were actual people. Let’s face it, creating little narratives about your pets like this adds some spice to life, and it’s straight up fun.

However, some people take it a little too far and honestly believe their pets are humans, or were humans in a previous life. Then you have individuals who take it entirely too far and do wild things, such as registering their dogs to vote.

A California woman has been making headlines as she faces felony charges for registering her dog to vote and casting votes under her dog’s pseudo identity in two elections.

Laura Lee Yourex, 62, of Costa Mesa, California, was charged with five felonies, including one felony count of perjury, one felony count of procuring or offering a false or forged document to be filed, two felony counts of casting a ballot when not entitled to vote, and one felony count of registering a non-existent person to vote according to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.

Yourex submitted mail-in ballots in her dog’s name, Maya Jean Yourex, during the 2021 gubernatorial recall election and the 2022 primary. According to USA Today, the District Attorney’s office stated that her dog’s vote was counted in 2021 for the California gubernatorial recall election, but when she cast a vote in the 2022 primary election, the vote was rejected.

The dog’s vote was counted in 2021 because the state election did not require proof of residence or identification to register to vote or cast a ballot. However, in 2022, her vote was rejected because evidence of residence and registration is required for first-time voters to participate in a federal election. This is why Maya’s vote was challenged and ultimately rejected.

The DA also shared that the Orange County Registrar of Voters contacted them on October 28, 2024, when Yourex “self-reported” that she cast mail-in ballots she received addressed to her dogs. She allegedly confessed to casting votes in both the 2021 and 2022 elections.

The DA’s office also stated that they have “sufficient evidence” to charge Yourex. Yourex posted an image on social media of her dog with an “I voted” sticker, with the ballot being shown in the image.

In 2024, she posted a second image of the dog’s name tag with a ballot and a caption that read “Maya is still getting her ballot.” At the time of this second image, the dog had passed away, but the image implies she was still planning on voting with her dog’s name, given that she was mailed a ballot.

If Laura Lee Yourex is convicted on all felony counts, she faces up to six years in state prison.

This case proves that President Donald Trump was onto something when he made the statement that “mail-in ballots are corrupt.” There is also another valuable lesson from Yourex’s crimes: if you know you’re doing something illegal, don’t post it on social media.

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