New Hampshire Man Arrested On Vote Fraud Charge

CONCORD, NH — A New Hampshire man was arrested on a voter fraud charge Thursday accused of casting two ballots in the November 2016 general election.

Vincent Marzello, 65, of West Lebanon was charged by the New Hampshire State Police with felony wrongful voting. The New Hampshire Attorney General's Office accused him of voting once in his own name and a second time under a phony registration.

Investigators began looking into allegations Marzello had voted twice in 2018 — under his own name and the name of "Helen Elisabeth Ashley," a registered Democrat.

"This office has been in communication with the city of Lebanon’s election officials regarding the allegations against Mr. Marzello," Kate Giaquinto, the director of communications for the attorney general's office, said. "This office also learned that the New Hampshire Democratic Party had appointed Helen Elisabeth Ashley as an Inspector of Election and by a letter, dated Aug. 27, 2020, suspended that appointment effective immediately."

Marzello, according to the city clerk's office in Lebanon, is registered as an undeclared voter although has previously been registered as a Republican. Officials were unable to provide his voter history to Patch at post time. Investigators with the attorney general's office met with employees at the city clerk's office in 2019 about the case.

The New Hampshire Democratic Party, through a spokesperson, said after it was made aware about of the pending investigation, "We suspended the individual's ballot inspector status."

In a suspension letter, Ray Buckley, the chairman of the party, said, "New Hampshire's Inspectors of Election are held to the highest standards, as they share responsibility for preserving the integrity of our elections. It has come to our attention that you may be involved in a pending investigation, and as such we are suspending your appointment effective immediately pending resolution of the investigation."

The spokesperson said "Ashley" signed up via a public online form to become a ballot inspector and it was the party's first known interaction with the voter.

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