Colorado postal worker Vicki Stuart has pleaded guilty in a ballot theft scheme during the 2024 general election, through which she stole over a dozen ballots from Mesa County residents and fraudulently cast them.

Stuart’s plea agreement includes one count of identity theft and one of forgery. Her actions were part of a so-called test of Colorado’s mail ballot system vulnerabilities.

The scheme impacted at least sixteen victims across Mesa County: three of the stolen ballots passed signature verification processes and were counted in the election, according to court documents.

Stuart claimed she merely wanted to expose security flaws, but the case has raised serious questions about mail ballot protections in a state that relies heavily on the practice.

Sally Jane Maxedone, her alleged accomplice, has a plea status which remains unclear at this time. The pair might have continued undetected, but the Colorado ballot tracking system alerted several voters that their ballots were being processed despite never receiving them.

This breach follows another troubling incident earlier this year when Colorado Democratic Secretary of State Jena Griswold’s office inadvertently published voting system passwords online, exposing critical election infrastructure.

Stuart’s sentencing is scheduled for the end of June. The case underscores ongoing tensions between ballot access and election security measures that continue to divide policymakers across the country.