Could election fraud really be that easy? A bizarre criminal case in California is reigniting conversation around voter integrity, as a man stands trial for allegedly attempting to register four cats as voters ahead of the 2024 election.
Bruce Boyer, a Chatsworth resident and former Ventura County sheriff candidate, pleaded not guilty to charges that he submitted fraudulent voter registration forms using the names Cool T. Cat, Estrea D. Tigre, Fritz T. Cat, and Sylvester T. Cat, according to KTLA. All four registrations allegedly listed the same address Boyer used in his official candidacy paperwork.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Boyer has also run for Congress and for the office of county clerk-recorder, and has been an outspoken critic of California’s election system. He has claimed the charges are politically motivated and suggested that someone else may have submitted the cat registrations in an effort to frame him.
“One could well conclude that maybe the only way to actually expose it is to put the rubber to the road,” Boyer said. “Because telling people you could register a cartoon cat is very different from saying holy s—, here’s a voter registration for a cartoon cat.”
The case has drawn attention not only for its unusual details but also because of Boyer’s vocal stance on alleged vulnerabilities in the voter registration system.