A 26-year-old Florida woman has been convicted in a petition fraud scheme that prosecutors say undermined the integrity of the state’s electoral process.
Maria Guadalupe Bautista was found guilty by a jury on 13 counts of Fraudulent Use of Personal Information after investigators uncovered that she falsified petition signatures using stolen voter information — including that of a sitting elected official.
Fraud uncovered in casino gaming petition
The case began in November 2021, when the Marion County Supervisor of Elections, Wesley Wilcox, alerted prosecutors to suspicious petition forms tied to a proposed Constitutional Amendment 21-16, which sought to expand casino gaming.
Election staff discovered petitions that didn’t match voter rolls and flagged forms bearing Bautista’s name as a paid circulator. Among them were signatures from deceased voters, raising further red flags.
Investigation and confession
State Attorney’s Office Investigator Jeff Pfannerstill and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) joined forces to investigate. FDLE Inspector Adam Graff later confronted Bautista at her Gainesville address…