ASHTABULA, Ohio — A former Ashtabula city councilman who was facing several charges pleaded guilty Thursday to one count of attempted election falsification. He will have all his other charges dismissed by the state and won’t be spending any time behind bars.
Ward 3 Councilman Reginald M. Holman was originally charged with two felony counts of election falsification and one felony count of false voter registration, according to the Ashtabula County Prosecutor’s Office. In exchange for Holman’s guilty plea on a misdemeanor count of attempted election falsification, the other pending charges will be dismissed.
An Eastern County Court judge sentenced Holman to 90 days in jail but suspended the time. He was also ordered to pay $150 and court costs, authorities said. Holman was placed on one year of probation.
Holman has resigned his position on city council and was removed from the voter rolls by the Ashtabula County Board of Elections.
“Mr. Holman’s guilty plea to an elections falsification charge and sentence represents a fair resolution of this case,” said Nicholas A. Iarocci, Ashtabula County prosecuting attorney. “The Ashtabula County Board of Elections and law enforcement take very seriously crimes of elections and voter fraud, and my office will not hesitate to criminally charge and prosecute offenders of Ohio’s voter laws.”
