LEBANON, Ohio — A Lebanon man has been convicted of election falsification and forgery after he submitted a petition in support of replacing Ohio's redistricting process that included multiple forged signatures.
In a press release, Warren County Prosecutor David P. Fornshell said Advanced Micro Targeting employed 41-year-old Xezakia Rouse in 2023 and 2024 to circulate a petition in support of the issue, getting valid signatures from registered voters in Warren County. However, a review of 226 signatures submitted to the Warren County Board of Elections found "numerous signatures" were forged.
"Election integrity matters at every stage of the process, not just on Election Day," Fornshell said in the release. "As the former Chair of the Warren County Board of Elections, I take falsification of petition signatures very seriously because it is a direct attack on the democratic process and the public’s trust in it."
A Warren County jury convicted Rouse of 12 counts of election falsification and 12 counts of forgery.
