W. Va. Mail Carrier Sentenced To Probation In Absentee Ballot Case

ELKINS, W.Va. (AP) — A West Virginia postal carrier who pleaded guilty to altering mail-in requests for absentee voter ballots has been sentenced to five years' probation.

Thomas Cooper was sentenced Monday in federal court in Elkins.

He was charged in May 2020 after eight mail-in requests for absentee voter ballots had their party affiliations altered.

Cooper held a postal contract to pick up mail in towns in which the voters live.

He delivered the forms in April 2020 to the Pendleton County clerk.

An investigation found five ballot requests were changed from Democrat to Republican with a black ink pen.

(Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)