BETHLEHEM MAN SENTENCED AFTER CASTING BALLOTS IN PENNSYLVANIA AND FLORIDA DURING 2020 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

PHILADELPHIA — A Bethlehem man has been sentenced to three years of probation after a federal jury convicted him of casting ballots in Pennsylvania and Florida during the 2020 presidential election.

Matthew Laiss, 32, of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, was sentenced on July 15, 2026, by United States District Judge Joseph F. Leeson Jr. in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

The sentence includes three years of probation, with the first six months to be served under home confinement. Laiss was also ordered to pay a $6,000 fine and a mandatory $200 special assessment.

United States Attorney David Metcalf announced the sentence more than four months after Laiss was convicted at trial of one count of voting more than once in a federal election and one count of voter fraud.

Laiss was indicted on the two federal charges in September 2025. The case proceeded to trial, where he was found guilty on both counts in March 2026.

According to court filings and evidence proven at trial, Laiss resided in Ottsville, Pennsylvania, from at least October 2012 until approximately August 2020. Ottsville is located in Bucks County, where he was lawfully registered to vote.

In August 2020, Laiss moved his primary residence from Ottsville to Frostproof, Florida. During the same month, he obtained a Florida driver’s license and registered to vote in Florida.

His parents continued living at his former address in Pennsylvania.

In October 2020, the Bucks County Board of Elections mailed a ballot for the November general election to Laiss’s former Ottsville address. The evidence established that Laiss completed and returned the Pennsylvania mail-in ballot on or about October 31, casting votes for president and vice president.

Three days later, on November 3, Laiss went to a polling location in or near Frostproof and voted in Florida’s general election. His Florida ballot also included votes for president and vice president.

The case did not concern an unsuccessful attempt to obtain a second ballot or an administrative registration error discovered before voting occurred. Evidence presented at trial established that Laiss completed and returned the Pennsylvania ballot before personally voting in Florida during the same federal election.

A person may relocate from one state to another and lawfully register at a new residence. The criminal conduct established in this case involved using registrations connected to two states to cast two ballots in the same federal election.

The prosecution did not depend on which presidential candidates received the votes. Federal election law prohibits an individual from voting more than once in an election involving candidates for federal office, regardless of the candidates selected or whether the additional ballot affected the final result.

Laiss’s conviction followed a trial, meaning the election offenses are no longer unresolved allegations. The government was required to present its evidence in court, and the jury returned guilty verdicts on both charges.

Judge Leeson imposed a noncustodial sentence placing Laiss under federal supervision for three years. Home confinement during the first six months restricts him to his residence except for activities authorized under the conditions established by the court and supervising authorities.

The $6,000 fine is a financial penalty imposed as part of the sentence. The additional $200 special assessment is a separate mandatory payment connected to the two federal convictions, bringing the monetary penalties announced by the U.S. Attorney’s Office to $6,200.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation with assistance from the Pennsylvania Department of State.

Assistant United States Attorney Mark Dubnoff prosecuted the case on behalf of the federal government.

Matthew Laiss was convicted at trial of voting more than once in a federal election and voter fraud after evidence proved that he returned a Pennsylvania mail-in ballot and then voted at a Florida polling location during the 2020 presidential election. He will serve three years of probation, including six months of home confinement, and pay the court-ordered fine and special assessment.

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