MELBOURNE, Fla. – A Brevard County mother accused of illegally voting on behalf of her son in the 2020 election will avoid jail time if she successfully completes a pre-trial intervention program, court records show.
Sheryle Jack, 56, was arrested in January after authorities said she illegally requested a vote by mail ballot on behalf of someone else and voted on behalf of another. Each count is a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison.
Recommended Videos
Under a pre-trial intervention contract Jack signed last month, prosecutors agreed to drop the criminal charges if Jack successfully abides by several court-ordered requirements such as performing 50 hours of community service, working at a lawful occupation and avoiding future arrest for 12 months.
[TRENDING: Polk County firefighter diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer denied benefits | WATCH: Trainer attacked by dolphin during show at Miami Seaquarium | Become a News 6 Insider (it’s free!)]
Jack’s attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Prior to her arrest in January, investigators said Jack admitted to requesting a mail-in ballot on behalf of her son and casting it without his knowledge.
“I would like to say I’m so sorry for mailing my son’s ballot and filling it out,” Jack reportedly wrote in an apology letter. “I believed that I was being helpful to him because he had not been able to make it home to fill out and mail his ballot because he was delayed in the UK.”
Jack’s son voted by absentee ballot in Washington state where he had recently registered to vote, investigators said.
Her son was also registered to vote in Florida, records show.
While it is legal for someone to be registered to vote in multiple states, it is a violation of Florida law to cast more than one ballot in an election.
Jack’s son has since canceled his Florida voter registration, investigators said. He is not accused of any crimes.
Jack told detectives she did not know her son was voting in another state when she allegedly posed as her son to request a vote-by-mail ballot from the Brevard County Supervisor of Elections via an online form.
Jack did not vote in the 2020 election herself, Florida voter records confirm. She told investigators she intentionally did not cast a ballot due to a discrepancy with her address on her Florida voter registration.
Jack told investigators she did not act out of malice and did not intend to steal her son’s vote, records show, saying she was confident she voted the way her son would have voted.
Court records do not indicate how Jack voted. Both she and her son were registered as Democrats in Florida at the time of the November 2020 election, records show.
“I realize it was wrong for me to have done this, and I sincerely regret this decision,” Jack reportedly wrote after a detective offered her the opportunity to draft an apology letter.
Jack’s son told investigators he did not ask his mother to vote for him and believes she did not do so with ill intent, court records indicate.
Two residents of The Villages accused of voting twice in the 2020 election recently entered into a similar pre-trial intervention program.
Two others from that Sumter County community are still awaiting trial on similar election law charges, records show. Both have pleaded not guilty.