Ex-Md. Candidate Pleads Guilty In Voting Case

TOWSON, Md. (AP) — A former Maryland congressional candidate was fined $5,000 and ordered to perform 500 hours of community service after she admitted to illegally voting in two states during the same general election, a state prosecutor announced Friday.

Wendy Rosen, 58, pleaded guilty in Baltimore County Circuit Court to voting illegally in Maryland in the 2006 and 2010 general elections, State Prosecutor Emmet C. Davitt said.

Rosen continued to vote in Maryland despite switching her primary residence to a home in Florida in 2004.

She was sentenced to concurrent, one-year suspended sentences, five years of probation, a $5,000 fine and 500 hours of community service. Rosen had faced up to five years in jail, said Davitt, who added that his office will "continue to aggressively investigate and prosecute those who threaten the integrity of our elections by voting unlawfully."

Prosecutors said Rosen switched her primary residence back to Maryland in 2011 before filing to run for Congress in the 1st District. Rosen dropped out of the race in September after Florida officials announced the state's attorney's office was investigating voting irregularities. The Maryland Democratic Party demanded she step aside once they were alerted and verified the accusations.

Republican Congressman Andy Harris went on to win the election in the district that includes all of Maryland's Eastern Shore and parts of Carroll, Baltimore, Harford and Cecil counties.

A lawyer for Rosen didn't immediately return a call by The Associated Press seeking comment on Friday.

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