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Wearing his distinctive Stetson hat, Bruce Boyer proclaims himself to be a cowboy, a businessman, an eternal political candidate, and a dancer.
The Ventura County resident is also critical of the state election process.
At several meetings of the Ventura County Board of Supervisors last year, Mr. Boyer, 63, vented his frustrations about the ease of registering to vote and the apparent lack of oversight. At the June meeting, he asked whether it would be possible to register cartoon cats to vote.
“If that’s the case, then the whole system is a fraud,” he said during the meeting. “It’s very simple. Let’s look into it.”
Nearly six months later, Ventura County prosecutors allege that Boyer tried to register various fictitious felines to vote in the months leading up to the November election. are.
Officials said they began investigating four voter registration forms after the Ventura County Clerk and Registrar of Voters flagged them as suspicious. Officials have not said what caused the concern, but the application names the cats Cool T. Cat, Estrella D. Tigre, Fritz T. Cat and Sylvester T. Cat, according to court records. All were listed.
Boyer was vague in an interview about whether he registered the cat.
Boyer faces four felony counts of perjury related to voter registration forms. He has not yet entered a plea, according to court records.
Prosecutors said each fraudulent registration form included Mr. Boyer’s home address, was signed under penalty of perjury, and that the handwriting was similar to forms Mr. Boyer previously filled out while running for public office. They claim that it seems to match what was written.
Mr. Boyer, a Republican, had previously tried to run for sheriff, but was thwarted by his lack of law enforcement experience. He also made an unsuccessful bid for Ventura County Clerk and Recorder in 2022. He was one of the candidates vying for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives representing California’s 26th Congressional District. He lost in the March primary.
Two of the cat applications were “tainted with unknown substances and had a foul odor,” Dist said. Atty. Detective Gabby Rodriguez supported increasing Boyer’s bail in a written statement. He was ultimately released on his own recognizance, Boyer said.
In an interview with The Times on Thursday, Boyer said investigators brought completed forms to his home for questioning, but he did not mention the possibility that the forms had been contaminated with any substances. He said each document listed the political party as the “American Cat Party.”
Asked if he had filled out the cat’s voter registration form, Boyer said, “That’s plausible.”
“I mean they know my address,” he said. “But then again, it could have been someone else because I’ve made public comments and been very vocal about Felix the Cat.”
Boyer said he believes the accusations are politically motivated and brought by people who don’t appreciate him for questioning the status quo.
Voter fraud has been on Boyer’s mind for some time, especially since 2022, when her neighbor admitted to registering his cat to vote.
Boyer said he wondered if that was possible and tried it himself, using the name Felix T. Catt. He didn’t provide a social security number or driver’s license number (of course, Felix doesn’t have either). He said the Secretary of State followed up on the application because it was not signed.
“All I had to do to vote fraudulently was sign Felix the Cat and drop it in the mail. Then it would be registered with the county clerk’s office and Felix the Cat would be in the mail. You’re going to get a ballot,” he told the Ventura County Board of Supervisors in January. “I believe that if something has value, criminals will try to steal it.”
In most cases, California voters do not have to show identification before voting. However, according to the California Secretary of State, first-time voters who register by mail without providing a Social Security number, driver’s license, or state identification number will be “required to show identification” when going to the polls. “There may be cases where this is the case.” of the state.
Boyer said the most important questions about the cat voter registration form remain unanswered.
“They showed me their completed voter registration forms. Did they register as voters? If not, why not?” he said.
“There’s also a good case to be made that the only way to really expose it is probably to put rubber on the road, because you tell people you can register a cartoon cat, and you say this is cartoon cat voter registration. “Because it’s completely different than saying,” he said.
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