Mayoral candidate in Louisiana involved in illegal voting, feds say

A failed candidate for mayor in a small Louisiana town faces federal charges for allegedly helping a noncitizen to register and vote in her 2024 election.

Bridget Johnson was indicted last week and her charges made public Monday when U.S. Attorney Todd Blanche publicized six arrests in three states related to voter fraud.

According to her indictment, Johnson was running for town mayor in Cotton Valley when completed an online voter registration form in July 2024 for Michael Wedderburn, a citizen of Jamaica who lived in Webster Parish at the time. Wedderburn falsely claimed he was a U.S. citizen and voted for Johnson in the mayor’s race, which she lost. 

Johnson, 53, received just 44% of the 326 votes cast in the town of less than 800 residents.

She and Wedderburn are each charged with fraudulent voter registration, and Wedderburn is accused of voting by an alien. 

Johnson declined to comment when reached by phone Monday evening.

Wedderburn, 52, did not respond to outreach through social media nor did his attorney immediately answer a request for comment.

The Louisiana Secretary of State’s office assisted the FBI in its investigation, according to a news release from the U.S. Department of Justice. 

“One illegal vote is one too many. An illegal vote erases the voice of a lawful voter,” Louisiana Secretary of State Nancy Landry said in a statement. “When we uncover potential illegal activity, we will investigate it, refer it to the appropriate authorities and pursue accountability.” 

Landry has readily complied with calls from the Trump administration to share access to state voter rolls for the purposes of sussing out election fraud, though neither state nor federal officials have ever validated the president’s oft-repeated claims of widespread election fraud.

The other charges Blanche announced Monday included three people who allegedly paid homeless people in Los Angeles to sign petitions using stolen identities of registered voters. The signatures were reportedly used to help place initiatives on statewide ballots.

In Kansas, a Peruvian national and permanent U.S. resident faces multiple charges for allegedly voting in a federal election despite not being an American citizen, according to the Justice Department.

This is a developing story.