Copyright Joliet, IL Patch
Grace Gato is accused of attempting to get a ballot for her dead mother; she claims she wanted to bury the ballot in her mother's grave. HUDSON, NH — A woman from Hudson has been charged with wrongful voting, according to the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office. Grace Gato, 44, of Hudson, a journalist, apiring filmmaker, and progressive Democrat activist, was charged earlier this month with a misdemeanor count of wrongful voting after an investigation into a claim she attempted to obtain a ballot for her dead mother in October 2024, after a town clerk employee contacted the Election Law Unit of the department of justice. The clerk also received an anonymous letter accusing Gato of potentially attempting to vote for her deceased mother. Gato, according to an email to Patch and an affidavit, was caregiver for her mother, Ruby Ponce, who died on Oct. 15, 2024. Eight days after her mother’s passing, Gato went to the town clerk’s office to obtain an absentee ballot for her mother on Oct. 21, 2024, an affidavit said. She submitted the ballot application and signed an attestation saying she was assisting her mother because she had a disability, the report said. A deputy clerk for the town received the application and claimed Gato said, “I’m dropping this off for my mother so she can vote.” The deputy clerk, however, refused to give Gato the ballot, stating the ballot would be mailed to her home. After she left, the deputy clerk handed the application to the town clerk who recognized the name since Ponce had passed away recently. She then put the application aside and called the Election Law Unit. Editor's note: This post was derived from information supplied by New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office and does not indicate a conviction. This link explains the process for requesting the removal of a name from New Hampshire Patch police reports. On the same day as the request, the town clerk also received a letter “raising a concern” Gato might attempt to get her mother an absentee ballot which is illegal under state law since her mother was dead. In the letter were two screenshots from social media posts reportedly made by Gato. The first one, the day before Ponce died, read, “My mom is a WWII baby who is going to miss WWIII. She made sure she voted absentee ballot while in hospice care. I just have to mail it. She said make sure that son of a bitch doesn’t win. #nhpolitics.” The hashtag “#NHPolitics” is used to circulate posts on X-Twitter to readers interested in politics in New Hampshire. Four days later, Gato also took to X and wrote, “My mother passed away last night,” with hashtags about death, dying, and the elderly, according to the affidavit. The state investigator reviewed the social media posts and confirmed Ponce had died and Gato was mentioning her death in posts on X and Medium, a report stated. On Nov. 12, 2024, the investigator called Gato to speak about the allegation. Gato confirmed her mother had completed the absentee ballot application prior to her death and requested she submit it, the report said. The investigator also accused her of admitting to requesting the ballot for her dead mother at the town clerk’s office. “Gato stated it was ‘one of the last things she wanted me to do,’ she was trying to honor her mother’s last wishes, and she was never going to commit voter fraud,” the investigator wrote. The investigator said Gato also filed for an absentee ballot for herself and voted, too, by absentee ballot. The affidavit said there was probable cause for two charges against Galo: One for wrongful voting; penalties for voter fraud and applying for an absentee ballot in a name other than her own. The attorney general’s office is pursuing one count. Earlier this month, Gato sent an email to dozens of media outlets, appearing to get ahead of the case, stating she was requested to turn herself in to Hudson police in a voter fraud case. In the email, Gato denied intending to commit voter fraud and stated she never forged her mother’s name, never received the absentee ballot, and never attempted to cast or return any ballot. She said her request was so she could bury her absentee ballot to honor her mother’s passion for civic engagement. Gato also claimed the town clerk had “a history of hostility and harassment” toward her and her family. “She once yelled at me in public (I did not yell back), and she twice sent lien warnings to my home over a $30 water bill,” she wrote. “Years earlier, she also demanded that my elderly, disabled mother show her passport before being allowed to vote. I believe this pattern of behavior demonstrates personal bias and a lack of judgment, which may have influenced this complaint.” Gato said the case seemed “targeted and cruel, especially given the timing,” as well as other court issues she is involved with including a custody dispute. A recent civil case against her ex-husband, Kyle Andrews Lino Gato, and Kempton Giggey Esq., was dismissed. Gato, in prior emails, claimed Giggey sent a subpoena to potential film financiers she was working with so she could produce a film about corruption in New Hampshire, costing her around $575,000 she needed to produce the documentary. Gato has also gotten into some tussles with writers at Granite Grok, the conservative website. State Rep. Ross Berry, R-Weare, the chairman of the House Election Law Committee, said Gato’s case shows there is proof of attempted voter fraud in the Granite State. “Democrats keep insisting voter fraud doesn’t happen in New Hampshire — and then it does,” he said. “Thankfully, our newly enacted law, SB 287, would have stopped this Democrat activist from committing voter fraud by requiring a simple ID check before an absentee ballot is issued. We passed it because common sense tells you verification matters, and today’s arrest proves why. I can only guess why the Democrats fought it.”
