Bradenton voter tried to get mail-in ballot for dead wife ‘to test the system,’ cops say

A 62-year-old Bradenton man who says he wanted to “test the system” has been arrested on a voter fraud charge after he tried to obtain a mail-in ballot for his late wife, according to the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office.

The election supervisor’s office contacted the sheriff’s office Sept. 17, after receiving a mail-ballot request in the name of a woman who has been dead for about two years.

Supervisor of Elections Mike Bennett said his staff reviews the voter rolls for each mail-in ballot request and it was discovered the woman was deceased. They then determined that Larry Wiggins forged his late wife’s name on the ballot request.

Wiggins told deputies that he was “testing the system to see if worked.”

Bennett said indeed it does.

“Our message is that the Manatee County Supervisor of Elections will prosecute any attempt at voter fraud. If you are caught, we are committed to prosecute,” Bennett said.

Bennett said such attempts are rare in Manatee County.

Bennett said it could not be determined who Wiggins was supporting in the Nov. 3 election because the ballots were never sent after realizing one of the requests was fraudulent..

According to the sheriff’s office, detectives were able to develop probable cause based on the evidence and Wiggins admitting to what he had done.

On Sept. 22, the case was sent to the state attorney’s office, which on Monday agreed to prosecute. Wiggins was arrested at his home without incident and booked into the Manatee County jail on Thursday.

This story was originally published October 2, 2020 at 9:55 AM with the headline "Bradenton voter tried to get mail-in ballot for dead wife ‘to test the system,’ cops say."