ISLAND PARK, Idaho (KIFI) — Local News 8 has learned that seven individuals were arrested in Fremont County on August 28 for felony charges of voter fraud and perjury related to the May 2023 election. The arrests were made following an investigation into voter irregularities in the Island Park area.
While seven people, or just under 2% of the 405 voters who cast a ballot in the Fremont County Precinct 1 election in May 2023, were arrested, they all have one outstanding factor in common: according to court documents, none of them actually live in Island Park.
The accused individuals are:
- Christi Spinner & David Spinner
- Marian McKenna & Rodney McKenna
- Chad Vanderbeek
- Marcye Gifford
- Winter Mickleberry.
According to arrest and property records, their primary addresses are in cities like Rigby, Ashton, Idaho Falls, and Herriman, Utah. Despite the subject matter, the arrests received little attention outside of Fremont County.
How the arrests fit together – The Island Park Auditorium District
Local News 8 began its investigation into the arrests on August 24, after receiving viewer emails about potential voter fraud. We reached out to the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office, the Fremont County Prosecutor’s Office, and the Fremont County Elections Office, and were told we would receive a call back. As of Sunday, September 7th, we are still waiting for a response.
We’ve also contacted the Idaho Attorney General’s Office and the Idaho Secretary of State’s office, who said they would look into the matter.
Court documents, including the criminal complaint and probable cause statement for each case, indicate the arrests are directly linked to a contentious local election: the proposed Island Park Auditorium District.
In 2023, members of the Island Park community petitioned the county to form the district and collected the necessary signatures to place the issue on the May ballot. The measure needed a simple majority to pass, but failed by just 9 votes: 198 to 207.
The proposed district, if passed, would have imposed up to a “five percent (5%) lodging tax on all qualifying nightly lodging facilities that rent rooms or facilities for 30 days or less.” In other words, Airbnbs, cabins, and short-term rentals in Voting Precinct 1 of Fremont County.
The money from the tax would have been used to build and fund a new multipurpose meeting spot for the town of Island Park, at a proposed cost of $3 million.
“The community needs a place that we can have meetings, that we can have our clubs and do fundraisers,” Island Park Auditorium District Committee Member Bruce Ard told reporters in 2023. “We have no place right now that it will is big enough.”
Once again, the measure only failed by a handful of votes. According to the criminal complaint from the Fremont County Prosecutor, each of the seven arrested individuals “did fraudulently vote in the May 26, 2023 AMB LEVY-AUD, while not being a resident of Island Park, and did cause such ballot to be added to those legally polled, with the intent to change the outcome of the election.”
In the Island Park case, some of the probable cause affidavits include a litany of excuses for voting in the election or registering to vote under a different address. For example, one property owner told deputies, “They claim their Utah home as their primary address because it makes it easier for taxes.”
While certain voting records are private, Local News 8 cannot confirm if those accused voted in favor of or opposed to the district; however, historically, property owners have interfered in or fraudulently voted in elections to avoid tax increases.
For example, in New Hampshire, Santa Cruz Mountains, California, South Lake Tahoe, California, and Alabama, officials have found second-home owners and dual residents who switched addresses, often when short-term-rental rules or new taxes were on the ballot.
Next Steps
In one probable cause affidavit, police noted one suspect as saying, “Well s—, sounds like we’re getting a community center,” suggesting they were aware of the potential for the vote to be overturned.
All seven individuals were arrested and charged separately. They have since been released on parole and are scheduled to appear in court on September 17.
Sources in Fremont County have suggested to Local News 8 that more people may be involved in the potential scheme. Local News 8 will continue to investigate this story.
All suspects are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
