A California woman was charged with five felonies after allegedly registering her pet dog to cast votes. Laura Yourex, 62, who had her arraignment pushed back to December on Wednesday, is accused of registering her pet boxer, Maya Jean Yourex, to vote in two California elections. According to voting records, Maya’s vote in the 2021 gubernatorial election for California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s recall counted, while her vote for the 2022 primary election ballot was rejected. According to her attorney Jaime Coulter, Yourex had self-reported her actions to the Registrar of Voters back in October, and “has never hid from taking personal responsibility.” The Costa Mesa resident had intended to improve the voting system. “Laura Yourex sincerely regrets her unwise attempt to expose flaws in our state voting system, intending to improve it by demonstrating that even a dog can be registered to vote,” said Coulter in a press statement. No plea was entered and Yourex was released on her own recognizance. Maya has since passed away. The case drew scrutiny from local officials. “You don’t register on purpose your dog or your cat or your horse or anything else,” Orange County supervisor Katrina Foley told local outlets. “You don’t do that on purpose to mock the system.”
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