## Facts

- Davis Cole, also known as “Cozy Cole,” worked as a deputy voter registrar in Springfield, Illinois, authorized to register voters and assist qualified voters in obtaining absentee ballots.
- In March 1990, Cole ran in the Democratic primary for Democratic precinct committeeman against incumbent Edna Tyler and won, 100 votes to 75.
- The primary was conducted as a joint state and federal election; the ballot included federal offices (U.S. Senate and U.S. House), and the federal candidates on the Democratic ballot were unopposed.
- Eighty-eight votes in the precinct committeeman race were cast by absentee ballot.
- The government called 19 absentee voters who described a repeated pattern: Cole instructed them how to apply for absentee ballots and later returned after the ballots arrived.
- Multiple witnesses testified they signed only their names, while Cole, an associate, or an unknown person completed the rest of the ballot and marked votes by punching the ballot.
- Several witnesses testified they received beer or cigarettes from Cole or his associates, and one witness testified she received cigarettes and a dollar.
- A jury convicted Cole of (1) conspiracy to commit election fraud, 18 U.S.C. § 371, and (2) multiple voting, 42 U.S.C. § 1973i(e) (and related provisions cited in the case).
- At sentencing, the district court increased Cole’s offense level for leading/organizing criminal activity involving at least 15 persons, abusing a position of public trust, and obstructing justice by attempting to coerce witnesses; the resulting guideline range was 37 to 46 months.
- The district court imposed 46 months’ imprisonment on each count, to run concurrently, and Cole appealed his convictions and sentence.

## Issues

1. Whether the federal voting-rights statute applied to misconduct in a primary election that included federal offices on the ballot even though the federal candidates were unopposed.
2. Whether the trial evidence was sufficient to support Cole’s convictions for conspiracy to commit election fraud and multiple voting based on the absentee-ballot scheme.
3. Whether the district court committed reversible error in trial rulings concerning witness examination and related evidentiary matters.
4. Whether the district court clearly erred in applying guideline increases for organizer/leader role, abuse of public trust, and obstruction of justice, and in imposing a 46-month sentence.

## Decision

- The Seventh Circuit affirmed Cole’s convictions on the conspiracy count (18 U.S.C. § 371) and the multiple-voting count (42 U.S.C. § 1973i(e)).
- The court held that the election was “held in part” for selecting federal candidates; the lack of opposition in the federal races did not remove the election from the statute’s coverage.
- The court held that the testimony of numerous absentee voters describing Cole’s control over ballot completion and related inducements provided sufficient evidence for a rational jury to find guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
- The court rejected Cole’s challenges to the district court’s handling of witness questioning and related trial matters, concluding the rulings were within the court’s discretion given the defense theory.
- The court affirmed the sentence, concluding the district court’s factual findings supporting the guideline increases for leadership, public trust misuse, and obstruction were not clearly erroneous and supported a 46-month term at the top of the guideline range.

## Legal Principles

- Federal election-fraud and voting-rights provisions apply to an election “held in part” to select federal candidates, even when the federal contests on the ballot are uncontested.
- Sufficiency-of-the-evidence review asks whether, viewing the evidence and reasonable inferences in the government’s favor, any rational jury could find the elements proved beyond a reasonable doubt.
- A coordinated absentee-ballot operation in which a defendant or associates effectively complete and cast ballots for others can support convictions for multiple voting and for conspiracy to commit election fraud.
- A guideline increase for organizer/leader role may be applied when the defendant directed or organized a criminal activity involving a large number of participants, as found by the sentencing court.
- A guideline increase for abuse of public trust is supported when an official position that carries special responsibility for election integrity is used to facilitate or conceal wrongdoing.
- A guideline increase for obstruction of justice may apply when the defendant attempts to intimidate or coerce witnesses, and appellate review generally defers to the district court’s factual findings unless clearly erroneous.

## Conclusion

In United States v. Cole, the Seventh Circuit held that a joint state-federal primary election remained within federal voting-rights protections even though the federal races were unopposed, affirmed Cole’s convictions based on substantial testimony that he and others controlled absentee ballots and provided inducements to voters, and upheld a 46-month concurrent sentence after concluding the district court properly applied guideline increases for leadership, abuse of public trust as a deputy voter registrar, and obstruction through attempts to coerce witnesses.


United States v. Cole, 41 F.3d 303 (1994)