GRAND RAPIDS — A rural Nashwauk woman was sentenced to three years of supervised probation Wednesday, Oct. 15, after pleading guilty to felony absentee voter fraud.
Two similar charges against Danielle Javorina, 51, were dismissed as part of the plea. Javorina’s last name was changed from Miller since she was first charged in October 2024.
Javorina attempted to vote for Donald Trump in the 2024 election on behalf of her deceased mother.
She was visibly emotional as she recounted the facts of the case during Wednesday’s hearing and said she filled out the ballot at her mother’s request.
“That was the last thing she said to me,” Javorina said.
Javorina initially pleaded not guilty to all three counts in May, before petitioning to enter a guilty plea in August. A judge rejected her plea later that month after Javorina failed to accurately state the factual basis.
Javorina entered a Norgaard guilty plea, meaning the defendant does not recall the circumstances of the offense but doesn’t claim innocence and understands there is a “substantial likelihood” that they will be found guilty.
The lack of memory does not change the terms and conditions of a sentence.
She told the court that she did not remember actually mailing in the ballots, as she had been drinking.
Her attorney Justin Braulick said this was an “isolated incident” and the court will not see Javorina again.
In addition to probation, Javorina is required to read Thank You for Voting: The Maddening, Enlightening, Inspiring Truth About Voting in America by Erin Geiger Smith and write a 10-page paper on “the importance of voting in a democracy and how election fraud can undermine the voting process.”
She must also pay an $885 fine, provide a DNA sample, undergo a psychological evaluation, and maintain a full-time job or schooling or do 20 hours of community service each week.
More on the case
Javorina was charged last year with two counts of intentionally making or signing a false certificate and one count of casting an illegal vote.
According to the criminal complaint, Javorina told an Itasca County sheriff’s lieutenant she filled out the absentee ballot of her mother, Rose Marie Javorina, and signed her mother’s name on the signature envelope. According to the Minnesota Vital Statistics Death Report of Itasca County, Rose Javorina died Aug. 31, 2024.
Javorina allegedly said her mother was “an avid Donald Trump supporter” and wanted to vote for him but died shortly before the absentee ballots were received. The criminal complaint stated Javorina admitted to filling out her mother’s ballot and signing her mother’s name on the envelope. Javorina also admitted to signing her mother’s signature as a witness on her own ballot.
The sheriff’s office was notified of possible voter fraud by the Itasca County auditor. The county office receives a list of dead individuals from the state, and those people are flagged in the voter registration system.
