Woman pleads guilty to vote fraud in St. Louis

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- A worker for a get-out-the-vote effort in St. Louis faces sentencing in June after pleading guilty Tuesday to a federal charge for submitting false voter registrations.

Deidra Humphrey, 44, of East St. Louis, Ill., worked last year as a voter registration recruiter for Missouri Progressive Vote Coalition (Missouri Pro-Vote) and for the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now.

U.S. Attorney Catherine Hanaway announced the plea in a news release, saying Humphrey submitted false and forged voter registration cards to Missouri Pro-Vote, which unknowingly submitted those cards to election boards in St. Louis city and St. Louis County.

Hanaway said Humphrey submitted the fraudulent cards to get money for work she didn't actually complete.

Missouri Pro-Vote Executive Director Joan Suarez said the organization fired Humphrey after learning of the allegations and worked closely with investigators.

"This agency has been so clean, and it's really painful when this kind of thing happens," Suarez said. "We've had an exemplary effort in terms of our voter registration efforts."

Humphrey worked as an organizer for Missouri Pro-Vote. Suarez didn't know how many false cards were submitted. Suarez said that while workers had goals for the number of voter registration cards turned in, they are paid by the hour, not by the number of cards submitted.

ACORN's Midwest director, Jeff Ordower, has said Humphrey worked for ACORN for 12 days in late June and early July, before leaving voluntarily to work for Missouri Pro-Vote. Ordower said ACORN, in its own investigation, determined that Humphrey violated the group's procedures. ACORN reported its findings to the St. Louis County Board of Elections in September.

A federal grand jury indicted Humphrey in January.

Humphrey does not have a listed phone number, and her attorney did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

She could face up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 at sentencing on June 11.