Woman Tried To Register Dead People, Fake People To Vote: Delco DA

DELAWARE COUNTY, PA — A Delaware County woman has been accused of fraudulently registering dead people to vote in Pennsylvania, including her own deceased father, authorities said Friday.

Jennifer Hill, 38, of Collingdale, is charged with four counts of felony forgery, seven counts of tampering with public records, and related crimes.

Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer said Hill, as an employee of voter registration organization New Pennsylvania Project, was tasked with helping Pennsylvanians register to vote.

She was issued a device through the group to help register voters, These devices were given access to an app used by the Pennsylvania Department of State to help with the registration processes.

From April to September, Hill registered 310 people to vote using the device, but only 181 were successfully registered. Stollsteimer said 129 were not successfully registered.

Authorities said she padded registration numbers for her employment by registering deceased or fake voters.

One was her father, and another was someone who died in her own house in 2011, Stollsteimer said. He said she was actually the person who reported the death in her home, reiterating she was fully aware of her registering deceased residents.

Hill is accused of using variations of deceased residents' names, and also was successful in registering a fictitious person, Stollsteimer said.

Investigators noticed variations of the same names coming through the Department of State's app, even attempting to register the person who died in her home several times with different addresses and email accounts.

After those irregularities were noticed, state officials contacted Delaware County authorities.

"She knowingly attempted to register dead people through the state system," he said. "She did register a fraudulent person."

Stollsteimer said that fake person did not vote in the 2024 election.

He said the fact she was able to register the fake person is indicative of a flaw in the state's system, where, by not including dates of birth or social security numbers, a registration can still be accepted.

"All that stuff needs to be addressed by the legislature," Stollsteimer said, referring to Act 77 and citing concerns raised in Bucks and Montgomery counties. He also said the Pennsylvania Department of State needs to look into these gaps in the system.

Stollsteimer said more work is being done on Hill's case and that some investigations are still open.

It's unclear how many of the 129 denied registrations were made up names, he said.

Hill was taken into custody Thursday and was remanded to the George W. Hill Correctional Facility after failing to post 10 percent of $50,000 bail, according to the DA's office and court records.

She is scheduled for a Jan. 3, 2025 preliminary hearing.