NH activist says she was fulfilling dying mother’s wish in voter fraud case

A New Hampshire woman accused of wrongful voting says she only requested an absentee ballot in her late mother’s name to honor her dying wish. However, the ballot request still violates the law, state officials say.

Gracie Gato of Hudson faces a charge from the office of Attorney General John Formella for allegedly applying for a ballot in her dead mother’s name during the 2024 election. The attorney general’s office said she also voted in her own name, but did not allege she submitted a second ballot, the Maine Wire reports.

Even if a ballot was never mailed or filled out, using another person’s name to request one can still be considered a violation under state law, official say.

Gato, who has denied wrongdoing, said she viewed her actions as symbolic.

“I went to the Hudson Town Clerk’s office to retrieve her absentee ballot – not to fill it out, not to submit it, but to bury it with her,” she wrote in a post on her Substack page, Gracie Gato’s Speakeasy. “It was a symbolic act, not a political one. No ballot was signed. None was mailed. No fraudulent vote was ever cast.” 

Her mother viewed voting as a moral duty, and she wanted to fulfill her mother’s final wish, according to Gato. 

“My mother believed in civic duty until her final breath,” she wrote. “I believed that fulfilling her last wish was an act of love. Now I find myself defending that love in a courtroom. Grief is not voter fraud.” 

Gato views the criminal charge as harassment and plans to plead not guilty. 

Court documents she shared reveal she was released on personal recognizance bail and is due in court Nov. 13. 

According to her website, Gato is a filmmaker and journalist whose work has appeared in the Concord Monitor, Union Leader and Al Jazeera. She identifies as a Muslim and advocates for domestic violence survivors and children with autism. 

The case highlights the state’s continued effort to prevent voter fraud and maintain election integrity.