Embattled Rensselaer County elections commissioner resigns

TROY, N.Y. (NEWS10) — In a one-sentence Facebook post Wednesday night, the Rensselaer County Legislature said they accepted the immediate resignation of county Republican Board of Elections Commissioner Jason Schofield. The GOP elections leader was indicted in September for allegedly using the names and birthdates of voters to fraudulently apply for absentee ballots.

According to the indictment, in 2021, Schofield applied for absentee ballots in the names of people who had no interest in voting, did not request absentee ballots, and/or did not know that Schofield was using their personal information. In some cases, the indictment alleges Schofield took the absentee ballots issued to these voters, brought the ballots to the voters, and had them sign absentee ballot envelopes but not actually vote.

The DOJ said this allowed Schofield or another person to cast votes in these voters' names in Rensselaer County's primary and general elections held in 2021.

The Albany Times Union is reporting that Schofield will plead guilty to the federal charges in January. On each of the 12 counts in the indictment, Schofield could spend five years in prison, be fined $250,000, and be sentenced to three years probation if convicted.