Marysville woman who forged referendum signatures sentenced

EVERETT — A Marysville woman will see the inside of a jail cell after a judge refused her request to do community service as punishment for forging hundreds of signatures on the 2012 gay marriage referendum.

“I can’t even begin to tell you how appalled I am by this crime,” Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Anita Farris said.

People have sacrificed their lives and freedom for the right to vote, the judge said.

“These rights are sacred,” Farris said.

That was just the beginning of the chastisement Julie Klein faced Tuesday as she was sentenced to six months in jail for faking signatures and lying that she had gathered them from people who wanted Referendum 74 on the ballot.

She also admitted to forging signatures for a second potential ballot measure, Initiative 1185, which required a two-thirds majority for any tax increases approved by both houses of the Legislature.

Klein, 54, was paid up to 75 cents for every signature she gathered.

She came to attention of law enforcement after state elections officials noticed something sketchy about signatures on her petitions. The handwriting seemed similar on many of the petitions for Referendum 74. The petitions were separated and of the 1,001 signatures she submitted, 834 did not match the handwriting on file of registered voters.

More faked signatures were found on petitions for Initiative 1185.

Klein’s petitions were not counted and ultimately didn’t affect the measures getting on the ballot. The Secretary of State’s Office turned the petitions over to the Washington State Patrol for a criminal investigation.

Farris was told Tuesday that Klein had lost her job in 2008 during the recession and was desperate to “put food on the table.” The defendant’s sister said Klein didn’t intend to harm anyone, but was struggling to get by.

Public defender Kelly Canary urged the judge to allow Klein to do community service instead of serving any jail time.

Canary said she had found only two similar cases of petition fraud. One person wasn’t sentenced to any time behind bars and the other was allowed to do community service.

“It is serious … but six months is not appropriate. This isn’t a violent crime,” Canary said.

The defense attorney was concerned that her client could lose her job. About six weeks ago, after she pleaded guilty, Klein found a job — a requirement to qualify for work release.

Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Dana Little opposed Klein being allowed to do community service in lieu of jail time or electronic home monitoring.

“Since this case shows us that the defendant is willing to forge hundreds of voters’ signatures for some cash it is conceivable that the documentation she would be entrusted in providing the court would be suspect as well,” Little wrote.

The deputy prosecutor also pointed out that the defendant has claimed that she forged the signatures to make money because she is too disabled to work.

“If she cannot work, then it’s difficult to understand how she will be able to comply with a community service sentence,” Little wrote.

The judge agreed to let Klein serve her time on work release, which will allow her to keep her job. When she’s not working, she’ll be locked up.

Farris wanted to know more about who hired Klein to gather signatures. She was told that Klein dealt with one man, but he was more of a middle man. She said she never met the people who put up the money for the signature-gathers.

“It’s a pretty hairy, nasty business,” Klein said. “They just look for warm bodies.”

The judge said she didn’t doubt that Klein had financial troubles but she wasn’t going to overlook the “lack of moral integrity” that went along with the crimes.

“Without signatures these issues don’t go on the ballot,” Farris said. “You can change history. Did you even believe in what these petitions stood for, or were you selling your soul for a couple of pennies?”

Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463; hefley@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @dianahefley.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

Kelli Littlejohn, who was 11 when her older sister Melissa Lee was murdered, speaks to a group of investigators and deputies to thank them for bringing closure to her family after over 30 years on Thursday, March 28, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘She can rest in peace’: Jury convicts Bothell man in 1993 killing

Even after police arrested Alan Dean in 2020, it was unclear if he would stand trial. He was convicted Thursday in the murder of Melissa Lee, 15.

Ariel Garcia, 4, was last seen Wednesday morning in an apartment in the 4800 block of Vesper Dr. (Photo provided by Everett Police)
Everett police searching for missing child, 4

Ariel Garcia was last seen Wednesday at an apartment in the 4800 block of Vesper Drive. The child was missing under “suspicious circumstances.”

The rezoned property, seen here from the Hillside Vista luxury development, is surrounded on two sides by modern neighborhoods Monday, March 25, 2024, in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Despite petition, Lake Stevens OKs rezone for new 96-home development

The change faced resistance from some residents, who worried about the effects of more density in the neighborhood.

Rep. Suzan DelBene, left, introduces Xichitl Torres Small, center, Undersecretary for Rural Development with the U.S. Department of Agriculture during a talk at Thomas Family Farms on Monday, April 3, 2023, in Snohomish, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Under new federal program, Washingtonians can file taxes for free

At a press conference Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene called the Direct File program safe, easy and secure.

Former Snohomish County sheriff’s deputy Jeremie Zeller appears in court for sentencing on multiple counts of misdemeanor theft Wednesday, March 27, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Ex-sheriff’s deputy sentenced to 1 week of jail time for hardware theft

Jeremie Zeller, 47, stole merchandise from Home Depot in south Everett, where he worked overtime as a security guard.

Everett
11 months later, Lake Stevens man charged in fatal Casino Road shooting

Malik Fulson is accused of shooting Joseph Haderlie to death in the parking lot at the Crystal Springs Apartments last April.

T.J. Peters testifies during the murder trial of Alan Dean at the Snohomish County Courthouse on Tuesday, March 26, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Bothell cold case trial now in jury’s hands

In court this week, the ex-boyfriend of Melissa Lee denied any role in her death. The defendant, Alan Dean, didn’t testify.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.