ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. — Tens of thousands of fraudulent voter guides printed, assembled, and mailed out as part of an alleged scheme to deceive Republican Primary super voters in St. Johns County. Those are just a few of the new details Action News Jax has learned about the fake voter guide case as part of a newly released criminal affidavit.
Ahead of the 2024 Primary Election, Action News Jax told you when St. Johns County GOP Chair Denver Cook raised the alarm about these fake voter guides that began appearing in voters’ mailboxes.
The fake guides made false claims about the candidates endorsed by the local party.
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“It changed how the turnouts were, and I believe in who won and who lost in our community,” said Cook.
Two years later, the announcement of five indictments has Cook feeling vindicated, but also disturbed given the scope of the alleged fraud and who was allegedly involved.
“This was not a campaign misunderstanding. This was a mass-scale deception involving tens of thousands of dollars, tens of thousands of fraudulent mailers,” said Cook. “I mean it was a deliberate attempt to overwrite the official democratic votes of our local executive committee membership and of the voters.”
A new criminal affidavit details how campaign consultants and three St. Johns County elected officials allegedly conspired to deceive Republican voters in the election.
According to the affidavit, Briana Jordan, who owned two consulting firms representing several local candidates in St. Johns County, organized a “secret envelope stuffing” operation at this St. Augustine home in August of 2024.
In the days prior, Jordan allegedly made purchases at several printing companies and made three large purchases from the postal service totaling nearly $25,000.
According to the affidavit, three elected officials directly participated in the envelope stuffing operations, preparing between 10,000 and 30,000 fake voter guides to be mailed out.
Those officials include St. Augustine Beach City Commissioner Dylan Rumrell (Seat 2) and St. Johns County Commissioners Christian Whitehurst (R-District 1) and Sarah Arnold (R-District 2).
The document even suggests Whitehurst had his own mother help and Arnold’s children may have also assisted.
“These are elected officials who weaponized our official party logo and name to manipulate our super voters on the even of early voting,” said Cook. “No one’s brand or organization should be allowed to be stolen and especially not when we’re talking about having elected officials doing it to remain in power.”
The five individuals named in the affidavit are all facing misdemeanor charges for unauthorized voter guides and criminal conspiracy.
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Jordan also faces one felony count of tampering with physical evidence after she allegedly burned the remaining fake voter guides in the backyard of the campaign headquarters.
Cook is calling for the three elected officials to resign immediately, and if they refuse, he’s calling on the Governor to suspend or remove them from office.
“There is strong evidence that these people engaged in this behavior,” said Cook. ”Do we have to wait until they’re put in prison or found guilty for the Governor to act? I would hope that we don’t have to wait.”
The Governor’s Office did not respond to our question about whether his office was considering suspending or removing the three elected officials.
Aside from possible suspension or removal from office, criminal defense attorney Chris Carson explained penalties for the crimes the three elected officials are accused of aren’t very stiff.
At most, they could potentially face a year and a half behind bars and fines of up to $3,000.
And even still, Carson argues it’s unlikely they would receive the max penalties.
“These are likely people who, you know, probably have been successful on some level in their lives. They probably are financially more comfortable than a lot of folks who end up in the criminal justice system, and oftentimes they are going to be represented by good and diligent attorneys who are gonna do good work,” said Carson.
Cook believes given the possibility the fake voter guides could have literally changed the outcome of local races in the 2024 Primary, penalties should be much stronger.
“You do a violation on a mailer or a voter guide and you spend $300,000 on it to win an election, who cares about the $2,500 fine? It’s not even equal to tax,” said Cook.
Cook said he and St. Johns County State Representative Kim Kendall are already discussing a legislative push next year to put more teeth in elections laws to discourage anything like this from ever happening again.
“We need to secure our elections, not just so we know what votes are counted and that they were accurate votes, but that the voters can actually trust the system,” said Cook.
The three elected officials charged in this case are due in court for the first time on August 3rd.
The law firm representing all three issued a statement telling us their clients, “Look forward to the conclusion of this matter and will have no further comments at this time”.
The St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office released the following statement on social media:
“The St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office is aware of the charges filed against five individuals involved in the 2024 case of fraudulent voter guides mailed to St. Johns County residents.
“Sheriff Rob Hardwick is an elected official and was a candidate during the 2024 primary election; therefore, the agency recused itself when this fraud was brought to our attention due to a conflict of interest. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement assumed the investigation in partnership with the Office of the State Attorney, Eighth Judicial Circuit.
“We believe all claims of election-related fraud or misconduct must be investigated thoroughly to sustain public trust.
“Out of respect for the judicial process, SJSO will not comment on charges or individuals involved until the case has been resolved.”
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