A former poll worker will serve two years of probation for stealing an encrypted USB drive from the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Office days before the March 2026 election.
As part of his sentence, Circuit Judge Bradley Harper also ordered John Dominick Panicci, 59, of Greenacres to complete 100 hours of community service and complete a 12-hour theft-abatement test as part of his sentence on a charge of unlawful use of computers or electronic devices.
Panicci, who pleaded guilty on Wednesday, Sept. 16, was originally charged with theft, but the county State Attorney's Office declined to pursue the charge.
According to Investigators, Panicci took the USB device during a training session at the elections office days before the March
election, when municipal contests across the county are decided.
Elections staff members discovered the device was missing after conducting an inventory at the end of the session. Surveillance-camera footage showed Panicci removing the USB drive from a nearby voter registration kiosk and pocket it, according to the arrest report.
Deputies searched Panicci's home the following day, found the USB and arrested him.
The theft came at a time when some have questioned whether the integrity of U.S. elections. Research has found voter fraud is exceptionally rare, and counties and cities across the nation have installed multiple levels of safeguards to keep it from happening.
Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Wendy Link previously said the USB was virtually unreadable without the right software and that it contained no real voter data; only fabricated names and addresses used to train poll workers.
Panicci had previously served as a poll worker in 2016, 2018 and 2024, Link said.
Valentina Palm covers immigration and breaking news for The Palm Beach Post. Email her at vpalm@pbpost.com and follow her on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, at @ValenPalmB. Support local journalism: Subscribe today
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Former county poll worker avoids prison in election equipment theft
