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A 52-year-old Pasco, Washington woman is facing multiple felony charges after authorities say she committed voter fraud during the 2024 general election. Esperanza Contreras, an apartment building manager, is accused of intercepting mail-in ballots meant for former tenants and submitting them without authorization.
Investigators allege that Contreras collected ballots addressed to individuals who no longer lived at the apartment complex she managed. Instead of returning the mail or notifying the intended recipients, she allegedly filled out the ballots herself, forged the voters’ signatures, and sent them to election officials.
The case surfaced through routine election integrity checks. According to local outlet KNDO, the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office began investigating in October 2025 after prosecutors flagged an irregular ballot that had been counted. The ballot belonged to a voter who had moved from Pasco to Hermiston, Oregon, and had legally registered to vote there, yet a Washington ballot was mailed to her former address and submitted without her knowledge.
That discovery led investigators to uncover three more suspicious ballots tied to the same apartment complex, all addressed to former tenants. Authorities determined that Contreras, as the building manager, had access to the incoming mail and allegedly collected the four ballots, completed them, and forged the signatures before mailing them to the Franklin County Auditor’s Office.
Of the four ballots, three were initially accepted during the verification process, while one was rejected due to a signature mismatch. Franklin County Auditor Matt Beaton said at least two ballots were ultimately counted, noting that the irregularities were caught through standard safeguards. Officials emphasized that no election result in the county was decided by such a narrow margin, meaning the fraudulent ballots did not change any outcomes.
Contreras was arrested on January 8 and booked into the Franklin County Jail. She initially faced 12 felony charges, including identity theft, forgery, and theft, which were later amended to four felony voter fraud counts. The sheriff’s office said the investigation remains open and urged anyone with information about additional ballots to come forward, stressing that election fraud undermines public trust and will be pursued aggressively.[/read]