Delco man charged with absentee ballot fraud

Harry S. Maxwell Jr. allegedly used name of person who died in 2017.

Published Nov. 20, 2018, 7:06 p.m. ET

A 79-year-old Collingdale man allegedly submitted an absentee-ballot request using the name of a dead person, Delaware County District Attorney Katayoun M. Copeland said Tuesday.

Harry S. Maxwell Jr. surrendered to authorities on Monday and was charged with forgery, tampering with records, conspiracy, and violations of the election code — all first-degree misdemeanors.

The Delaware County Bureau of Elections alerted investigators to a suspect application for an absentee ballot it received in October. Detectives confirmed with the Bucks County Coroner's Office that the person listed on the application died in 2017. The person's listed address was Maxwell's home in Collingdale.

Copeland said Maxwell admitted that he was "guilty" and claimed he picked up "girls" in Port Richmond to get them to fraudulent sign absentee ballots.