A former candidate for Ventura County sheriff will stand trial for perjury after allegedly attempting to register four fictitious felines to vote.
Bruce Boyer is accused of submitting fraudulent voter registration applications to the elections office in the months leading up to the election on Nov. 5, 2024. Ventura County Superior Court Judge Derek Malan bound Boyer over for trial after hearing testimony at a July 8 preliminary hearing.
Boyer, 64 of Chatsworth, pleaded not guilty to four counts of felony perjury in January.
“There’s really not any plausible argument that anyone other than the defendant authored the voter registration forms,” Deputy District Attorney Anthony Wold said during the hearing.
Ann Michelle McKinley, legal compliance officer for the Ventura County Clerk-Recorder and Registrar of Voters, testified that she encountered the four voter registration applications last year. The names on the forms were Cool T. Cat, Estrea D. Tigre, Fritz T. Cat and Sylvester T. Cat.
The address listed on each was the same address Boyer listed on his candidacy forms with the county, she said.
In 2018, Boyer ran for sheriff but was blocked by county and state judges because he did not have the required law enforcement experience. He also ran for clerk-recorder in 2022 and the 26th Congressional District seat in 2024. Both campaigns were unsuccessful.
McKinley said she placed the applications in a sealed bag because they had a foul odor, but she did not know whether the substance had ever been tested.
District Attorney Investigator Gabby Rodriguez testified that she submitted the four forms to the California Department of Justice for handwriting analysis. After comparing the documents to known samples of Boyer’s handwriting, the state expert determined that based on the similarities, it was likely that Boyer wrote all four of the fraudulent applications.
Rodriguez said she also watched a recording of Boyer’s public comments at a January 2024 Ventura County Board of Supervisors meeting.
At the meeting, Boyer said he submitted a voter registration application for a cat named Felix T. Kat after his neighbor told him he registered a cat to vote two years earlier. Boyer said that although he did not provide identification or a Social Security number, the Secretary of State’s office responded with a request for a signature, indicating how easy it was to commit voter fraud.
Though Boyer’s defense attorney, Moriya Christie, did not present any evidence during the preliminary hearing, she argued that there is no proof it was her client who signed the voter registration forms. Even if Boyer did sign them, she said, adding the name of a cartoon cat to an application would not have influenced the outcome of the election.
Malan questioned whether individuals writing obviously false names, such as Bart Simpson is simply an unavoidable consequence of a public process.
“Who would ever be fooled by Cool T. Cat?” he said.
The prosecutor countered that an intent to deceive is not a requirement; all that matters is that Boyer knowingly submitted incorrect information under penalty of perjury.
The judge ultimately agreed, adding that a fictitious name is material and relevant on a voter registration application, especially when paired with an existing address. The handwriting similarities and the public comments were also compelling, he said.
Malan ordered Boyer to be held to answer, citing sufficient cause.
Boyer is scheduled to appear in court Aug. 4 for his arraignment on information.
Judge Kristi Peariso will determine at a future hearing whether Boyer will remain released on his own recognizance. Wold said he will request that Boyer be held on $50,000 bail after violating a no contact order by submitting public records requests with registrar of voters.
In an interview after the hearing, Boyer said his call for transparency while running for office garnered him political enemies and could be the reason behind his criminal charges.
“They didn’t want me running for county clerk of elections because I know what the fraud is,” he said. “The person who calls them out—who challenges them—gets hit with prosecution.”
Makena Huey is an investigative and watchdog reporter for the Ventura County Star. Reach her at makena.huey@vcstar.com. This story was made possible by a grant from the Ventura County Community Foundation’s Fund to Support Local Journalism.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Former Ventura County sheriff candidate to stand trial for perjury
Reporting by Makena Huey, Ventura County Star / Ventura County Star
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