Prosecutors refile criminal charges vs. St. Johns County officials over alleged fake voter guide

Prosecutors have refiled criminal charges in a lower court against St. Johns County officials accused of creating and distributing fake voters guides.

The filing Nov. 2 against two St. Johns County commissioners, a former St. Augustine Beach mayor, and two others came in St. Johns County Court.

The charges followed an unsuccessful attempt in a circuit court, which a judge said was the wrong venue for the criminal conspiracy and unauthorized voter guide charges against Commissioners Sarah Arnold and Christian Whitehurst, former St. Augustine Beach Mayor Dylan Rumrell, political consultant Jamie Johnson and campaign manager Brianna Jordan.

Circuit Judge William E. Davis dismissed the case Oct. 2 because prosecutors brought the misdemeanor charges in circuit court instead of county court.

Tens of thousands of fraudulent voter guides were printed, assembled, and mailed out as part of an alleged scheme to deceive Republican Primary super voters in St. Johns County.

Ahead of the 2024 Primary Election, Action News Jax told you when St. Johns County GOP Chair Denver Cook raised the alarm about these fake voter guides that began appearing in voters’ mailboxes.

The fake guides made false claims about the candidates endorsed by the local party.

According to an earlier affidavit, Jordan, who owned two consulting firms representing several local candidates in St. Johns County, organized a “secret envelope stuffing” operation at a St. Augustine home in August 2024.

Jordan allegedly made purchases at several printing companies and made three large purchases from the postal service totaling nearly $25,000.

The affidavit said three elected officials directly participated in the envelope stuffing operations, preparing between 10,000 and 30,000 fake voter guides to be mailed out.

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