California Woman Pays for Anti-Voter Fraud Billboards After Registering Dog to Vote

A California woman has been ordered to help fund billboards warning against voter fraud as a penalty for registering her dog to vote and submitting ballots in the animal's name. Laura Lee Yourex, of Costa Mesa, pleaded guilty on April 10 to one count of knowingly registering a nonexistent person to vote.

As part of her plea agreement, Yourex agreed to pay $1,500 toward four anti-voter fraud billboards that will feature a photograph of her dog, Maya Jean Yourex, wearing an "I voted" sticker. The billboards, which are intended as a public service announcement, carry the message: "Don’t be a dog. Voter Fraud is a Crime. If you can’t legally vote, don’t vote. The Orange County District Attorney’s Office will prosecute."

The billboards are slated to remain on display along the 55 and 22 freeways in Orange County until California's midterm election on November 3.

Prosecutors stated that Yourex registered Maya Jean Yourex to vote for both the 2021 gubernatorial recall election and the 2022 primary election. The ballot submitted in the dog's name for the 2021 recall election was counted, while the ballot from the 2022 primary was challenged and rejected. The case came to light after Yourex allegedly boasted about the scheme on social media, even posting a photograph of Maya with an "I voted" sticker and a mail-in ballot.

Prosecutors noted that Yourex continued to post about the dog's voting activity even after the animal had died, sharing a photograph of the dog's identification tag alongside a vote-by-mail ballot with the caption, "maya is still getting her ballot."

In a sworn statement as part of her plea agreement, Yourex acknowledged her actions, writing, "On or about 5/7/20, in Orange County, I did willfully and unlawfully cause an animal, to wit: a dog, to be registered as a voter, knowing that animal was not entitled to registration as a nonexistent person, and mailed and delivered that affidavit to a county elections official."

Although Yourex initially faced five felony charges, the case was dismissed after her guilty plea and agreement to fund the billboard campaign. The investigation began in October 2024 when the Orange County Registrar of Voters alerted the district attorney's office to the alleged voter fraud.