Whitefish man arraigned on allegations of voter fraud

A Whitefish man accused of casting another person’s ballot in the 2020 election pleaded not guilty in federal court on Thursday.

A grand jury indicted Donald Samuel Hill, 52, on charges of false information in voting and fraudulent voting. Hill faces up to five years in prison, a $250,000 fine and a year of supervised release if convicted of the most serious crime.

Hill was released following his May 25 arraignment in U.S. District Court in Missoula.

Hill allegedly gave officials false information about his name, address and period of residence in a voting district to cast a ballot in the November 2020 election. According to court documents, he completed and signed the ballot of another voter and submitted it to the Flathead County Elections Office.

A grand jury found that Hill “knowingly and willfully defrauded the residents of Montana of a fair and impartially conducted election,” court documents said.

“Our voting laws are in place to protect the right of every citizen to cast their ballot and to have that ballot counted,” said U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich. “We are committed to enforcing those laws to ensure free and fair elections and will seek to hold accountable persons who attempt to violate them.”

The FBI investigated the case.