Deal Reached For Woman Who Registered Dog To Vote


Jane Balogh is registered to vote. And so was her dog, Duncan M. MacDonald.

Balogh, a Washington state resident, registered Duncan, an Australian shepherd-terrier, to vote by putting his name on a phone bill. This was used as identification to register him as a voter. Balogh did this because she wanted to prove how easy it is for non-citizens to register to vote.

She even submitted absentee ballots in numerous elections that she marked “void” and put paw prints on the line for the voter’s signature.

Balogh was to face up to 90 days in jail for registering Duncan as a voter. But a deal has been reached for her to avoid criminal conviction for making a false statement to a public servant. She is required to fulfill 10 hours of community service, pay $250 in court costs, and avoid violating the law for the next year. The misdemeanor charge will be dismissed after one year if she follows these conditions.

Source: MSNBC

Photo: Seattle Times

10 Responses to “Deal Reached For Woman Who Registered Dog To Vote”

  1. Lynn says:

    What a woman! I admire her.

    She shouldn’t be fined at all since she actually did everyone a great service by bringing to their attention that there is a serious loophole in the voter registration process.

    If anyone should be fined at all, it should be those who signed off on the voting registration processes and procedures that are currently being used. And they should send Mrs. Balogh a letter of sincere thanks for making the problem known.

    Sometimes I think our court system doesn’t get the big picture.

    Too, sometimes I think that dogs would be capable of making better choices on the ballot than a lot of humans do.

  2. Beth says:

    Very well put, Lynn!

    I agree with all that you wrote!!

    My guess is that it is easier to “punish” the everyday person than a real hardened hard core criminal. That fact is proven every day. Just think……her crime isn’t even bad enough for her to write a book & make a movie.

  3. Gary says:

    Another example of lopsided stupidity. What about the ones that vote without being a citizen? or, the ones that go from booth to booth with a handful of bogus id’s to name just a couple among many. And, the dog is more credible to vote than the knuckleheads called humans that vote without a clue as to what someone stands for.

  4. NH says:

    I take my dog to the polls with me all the time. He doesn’t do the voting though.

    I think this is a funny story. This woman rocks!

  5. Diane says:

    The dog probably would vote more intelligently than most of the people I know. He’s probably smarter than most of the people who get elected, come to think of it. Hey, at least we know he’d never vote for Mitt Romney.

  6. Donna says:

    Fine this woman for what ? Her ‘crime” is NOTHING compared to the fact that the president of the U.S allows the border to be open ! Think a voting dog is a problem ? How about the failure of the president to uphold his oath of office to PROTECT the U.S. from invasion.To me that is a …………..CRIME ! Any one agree ?

  7. Sharon says:

    Considering whose in the White House today we would be better off if people had stayed home and dogs had voted!

  8. Cathy says:

    Maybe if dogs were allowed to vote, Bush wouldn’t have got elected! LOL

  9. Lynne says:


    The impact of a few illegal voters is nothing compared to the fraud inherent in electronic voting. See www.bradblog.com. I always use an absentee ballot. At least there is a paper trail.

  10. Cheryl Wrona says:

    I want to know how it can be voter fraud when the dog didn’t vote? And, how many people saw the “void” and “paw print” before someone thought it peculiar. This is a really sad story about how easy it is to register to vote. The voting system should be fined.

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