Three Florida Republicans were just charged with creating a fake voter guide to steal an election.
They did not hack the machines. They did not stuff the ballot box. They printed a fake Republican voter guide, made it look nearly identical to the real one, and mailed it to tens of thousands of voters before a 2024 primary.
It worked. An incumbent won by fewer than 1,000 votes. Now three elected officials in St. Johns County, Florida are facing criminal charges for it.
What They Did
St. Johns County Commissioners Christian Whitehurst and Sarah Arnold, along with former St. Augustine Beach Mayor Dylan Rumrell, are charged with two misdemeanor counts each: conspiracy and misrepresenting a fake voter guide as an official endorsement slate from the local Republican Party.
Here is what the scheme looked like on the ground.
In 2024, the St. Johns County Republican Executive Committee officially endorsed a slate of newcomer candidates who were running against sitting Republican incumbents Whitehurst, Roy Alaimo and Henry Dean. The newcomers were critical of the incumbents for allowing rapid and unchecked growth in the county. The party made its choice. It picked the challengers.
So the incumbents printed their own voter guide and told voters the party had chosen them instead.
How They Built the Fake
According to Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigators, the fake voter guides were assembled at a rented house in St. Augustine being used as a campaign headquarters by political consultant Brianna Jordan, who ran reelection campaigns for Whitehurst, Alaimo and former County Commissioner Dean.
Jordan faces an additional felony charge of tampering with evidence.
Investigators describe the scheme in the charging affidavit: Jordan created a voter guide that mimicked the official St. Johns County Republican Executive Committee guide. She used the same logo. She reversed the color scheme from white lettering on a red background to red lettering on a white background. She did not include any of the legally required disclosure language identifying who created or paid for it.
The mailers were then sent out from Orlando and Jacksonville in early August 2024, in what investigators say was a deliberate attempt to conceal their origins. Whitehurst’s mother and Arnold’s children were present during the assembly. Rumrell was there too.
Tens of thousands of fraudulent mailers. Tens of thousands of dollars spent. Assembled at a rented house by a campaign manager, two county commissioners, and a former mayor.
It May Have Swung an Election
The fraudulent guide was not the only irregularity in those races. Several candidates also filed to run but appeared to not campaign at all, a pattern consistent with “ghost candidates,” a tactic used in Florida to siphon votes from targeted opponents.
When the votes were counted, some of the legitimately endorsed challengers won. Ann Taylor and Clay Murphy prevailed in their races. But Ann-Marie Evans, who had received the real Republican endorsement, lost her race against Whitehurst by fewer than 1,000 votes.
Evans told a local news outlet she believes the fake voter guide cost her the election. Murphy, who won despite the scheme, said at the time he thought it was the end of his campaign.
A race decided by fewer than 1,000 votes. Tens of thousands of fake mailers sent to voters. One of the men who sent them is still sitting on the county commission.
What Republicans Are Saying
This is not a case where the party is circling the wagons. Some Republicans in St. Johns County are furious.
Denver Cook, chair of the St. Johns County Republican Party, called the fake guide “an affront to every volunteer who serves our party and every citizen who casts a ballot.” He described it as “a shocking, calculated criminal conspiracy designed to subvert the democratic process and hijack the official, trusted voice” of the local Republican Party.
Ann Taylor, one of the candidates who won her race despite the scheme, did not mince words about what she thinks should happen next. “The mere fact that the State of Florida has officially filed criminal conspiracy charges against Commissioners Christian Whitehurst, Sarah Arnold and Dylan Rumrell completely shatters the public trust required to govern,” she said. “If there is any truth to these allegations, for the integrity of St. Johns County, they need to step down immediately.”
Clay Murphy, another winning candidate, put it plainly: “Free and fair elections are at the heart of our constitutional Republic and a bedrock of democracy, and I oppose anything that can taint those.”
What Comes Next
Arnold, Rumrell and Whitehurst are scheduled to be arraigned on August 3. Their attorney says they look forward to the conclusion of the matter and will have no further comment. Jordan, who faces the additional felony charge of evidence tampering, did not respond to requests for comment.
All three elected officials remain in office.
The Bottom Line
Three sitting Republican officeholders in Florida have been charged with printing a fake voter guide, impersonating their own party, and mailing it to tens of thousands of voters before a primary election.
One of the races those mailers targeted was decided by fewer than 1,000 votes. The candidate who lost believes the fake guide is the reason she lost. The man who beat her is still a county commissioner. He is scheduled to be arraigned in August.
Republicans and Democrats agree on this one: what allegedly happened in St. Johns County was an attack on democracy. The people who did it are still holding the offices they may have stolen.
That should not be acceptable to anyone.
Nice report, thanks.