Melinda Sue Baird pleads guilty for mailing her deceased mother's ballot

Melinda Sue Baird pleaded guilty in Maricopa County to presenting a false instrument for filing. The Arizona Attorney General disposition log says Baird signed and mailed her deceased mother's early ballot in the 2020 general election and received probation, 100 hours of community service, and a $1,000 fine plus surcharges. The Washington Post later reported that Baird said she filled out the ballot after her mother died and accepted responsibility for signing the wrong name. The case gave Arizona's election-integrity unit one individual deceased-voter ballot case, not evidence of a changed statewide result.