MAGA voter faces prison for voting twice as claim of Trump pardon immunity fails in court

A Lehigh Valley man who voted twice for President Donald Trump in the 2020 election is facing prison time. On Wednesday, Matthew Laiss, who lives in Bethlehem, was convicted of felony voter fraud charges by a federal jury.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, the 32-year-old Laiss moved from Ottsville, Bucks County, to Frostproof, Florida, around August 2020, where he registered to vote and cast a ballot on election day.

But Laiss also cast a mail-in ballot in Pennsylvania.

“Today’s conviction reinforces a simple principle: our elections must be fair, secure, and lawful, ” U.S. Attorney David Metcalf said in a statement. “Casting a ballot in more than one jurisdiction undermines public trust and dilutes the votes of others. Our office will continue to protect the integrity of federal elections and hold accountable those who violate the law.”

Last year, Laiss argued that he should receive immunity under a sweeping pardon issued by President Donald Trump last November granting immunity to Rudy Giuliani and others involved in his effort to overturn the 2020 election. Trump lost the election to former President Joe Biden, but still falsely claims he won.

The move was largely symbolic, however, as many of the 77 people named in the pardon, which did not include Laiss, were facing state charges and not federal ones.

Laiss’ lawyer, however, argued the pardon’s language was broad enough to apply to his client, since it read, in part, that it granted a “full, complete, and unconditional pardon to all United States citizens for conduct relating to … voting, activities, participation in or advocacy for or of any slate or proposed slate of Presidential electors, whether or not recognized by any State.”

Ultimately, District Court Judge Joseph Leeson Jr. ruled against that argument in January, noting Laiss never applied to the Office of the Pardon Attorney, nor received a certificate of pardon.

The case was investigated by the FBI and Pennsylvania Department of State.

The double voting was uncovered with the help of a multistate voter roll maintenance program called ERIC, which was the target of conservative attacks in the years after the 2020 election.

Numerous conservative-run states left ERIC between the 2020 and 2024 election, including Florida, where Laiss was double-registered.

Pennsylvania remains an ERIC member state, though state Sen. Cris Dush (R-Jefferson), who rejected the results of the 2020 election, introduced legislation to withdraw in 2023. The bill made it through two Republican-controlled Senate committees, even receiving some Democrat votes, but was never taken up before the full chamber.

Pennsylvania Capital-Star is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Pennsylvania Capital-Star maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Tim Lambert for questions: [email protected].