A woman will pay for anti-voter fraud billboards after she was accused of registering her dog to vote, then casting ballots in her dog’s name, California prosecutors say.
Laura Lee Yourex, 64, of Costa Mesa, had her case dismissed Tuesday, Oct. 13, after pleading guilty in April to one misdemeanor count of knowingly registering a nonexistent person to vote, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office said in an Oct. 15 news release.
As part of her plea agreement, Yourex agreed to pay $1,500 for four billboards featuring a photo of her dog wearing an "I voted" sticker that she shared on social media, prosecutors said. The billboards will be placed along the 55 and 22 freeways in Orange County.
What prosecutors say happened
The Orange County Registrar of Voters Office contacted
prosecutors in October 2024 about a woman who self-reported that she registered her dog to vote and cast mail-in ballots addressed to her dog, Maya Jean Yourex, the district attorney’s office said.
The ballots cast under the dog’s name were for the 2021 gubernatorial recall election and 2022 primary election, prosecutors said.
Under California law, to vote in an election, a person must first register to vote by filling out and submitting an Affidavit of Registration, according to the district attorney's office. The affidavit, which includes the voter’s name, residence, mailing address, date of birth, political party preference, and a certification that the voter is a US citizen, must be signed under penalty of perjury.
While proof of residence or identification is not required to register to vote or cast a ballot in state elections, proof of residence and registration is required for first-time voters casting a ballot in a federal election, prosecutors said. As such, the 2021 recall election ballot cast in the dog’s name was counted, but the 2022 primary ballot was challenged and rejected.
Investigation leads to felony charges
The district attorney's investigation unit found sufficient evidence to file criminal charges against Yourex.
Prosecutors said the evidence included a January 2022 social media post from Yourex, in which she shared a photo of her dog Maya wearing an “I voted sticker” beside her ballot. In a separate October 2024 post, she included a photo of Maya’s dog tag alongside a ballot captioned, “Maya is still getting her ballot,” despite the dog having already died.
In September 2025, the district attorney’s office filed multiple felony charges against Yourex for registering her dog to vote and then casting a ballot in her dog’s name twice. Those charges included one felony count of perjury, one felony count of procuring or offering a false or forged document to be filed, two felony counts of casting a ballot when not entitled to vote, and one felony count of registering a non-existent person to vote.
In April, as part of a plea agreement, the district attorney’s office said it dropped four of the felony charges against Yourex and reduced one to a misdemeanor. Yourex pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor charge of knowingly registering a non-existent person to vote.
Included in her plea agreement was the condition that she pay for four brightly colored orange billboards that read: “Don’t be a dog. Voter Fraud is a Crime. If you can’t legally vote, don’t vote. The Orange County District Attorney’s Office will prosecute.”
In the bottom-right corner, the billboard features the photo Yourex posted on social media: Maya Jean posing with an "I voted" sticker alongside a ballot addressed to her.
The signs will remain posted through the Nov. 3 midterm election.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Woman registered dog to vote. Now, she’ll pay for anti-voter fraud ads
