Left: Michel Drouin pleads guilty in Superior Court in New Hampshire on April 24, 2023 (via WMUR/YouTube screengrab). Right: NH State Rep. Bill Boyd (R) (via New Hampshire House of Representatives).
An alleged joke has cost a man his right to vote.
Michael Drouin claims that the fake Craigslist ad he posted on the day of a special election in New Hampshire in April of 2021 was meant to be a gag — but authorities weren't laughing.
"Mr. Drouin created a Craigslist advertisement on the day of the Hillsborough District 12 special election that purported to have been written by state representative candidate William Boyd," the New Hampshire Attorney General's Office announced in a press release Tuesday. "The ad listed Mr. Boyd's cell phone number for the purpose of interfering with Mr. Boyd's efforts to communicate using his cell phone to coordinate election efforts on election day and resulted in Mr. Boyd shutting off his phone due to the incoming volume of communications."
The ad offered a free trailer and directed potential buyers to call Boyd's number.
Drouin, 30, was indicted in November on a felony count of interference with election communications. That charge carries a potential 3 1/2 to seven years in prison and a fine of up to $2,000.
On Monday, he pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor election law offense of False Documents, Names Endorsement. He received a 90-day suspended sentence "on the condition of his good behavior," the attorney general's office said. Drouin was also ordered to pay a $250 fine and complete 250 hours of community service.
Boyd, a Republican who represents Merrimack in the New Hampshire state legislature, spoke at Drouin's plea hearing.
"I had experienced distress with my phone going on and off," he said, according to ABC affiliate WMUR. Boyd reportedly turned off his phone after receiving dozens of calls and texts within 45 minutes.
Boyd appeared skeptical that Drouin had regrets for what he did.
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"I've not received a verbal apology at any point during this particular process — and I respect the process — from him that would indicate any level of remorse," the state lawmaker said at Tuesday's hearing, according to the WMUR report.
Drouin said he apologized to Boyd in a Facebook message, but his lawyers advised him not to contact Mr. Boyd after that, WMUR said.
"I want to make amends," Drouin said during the hearing. "I want to apologize."
Boyd won the election. He was facing Wendy Thomas, a Democrat, who he beat by around 10 percentage points, or some 400 votes.
Drouin reportedly told investigators that the fake ad "was a joke" and that he "meant no harm," the New York Times reported. He also denied that the joke had anything to do with the election and that it was just "bad timing" that it happened on the day of a special election.
Drouin was a registered Democrat when spoke to the police, the New York Times story said, but he apparently switched his party affiliation to Republican in February 2022.
"Mr. Drouin cannot vote in any local, state, or federal election in New Hampshire pursuant to Part I, Article 11 of the New Hampshire Constitution," Assistant Attorney General Matthew Conley told Law&Crime in an email. "This is an outcome that is mandated by the New Hampshire Constitution for anyone who has been convicted of a willful violation of any state or federal election laws."
Conley said that since 2016, the attorney general's office has processed 14 cases — including Drouin's — that have resulted in a person losing the right to vote.
"Most of those cases have been instances of individuals voting more than once in the same election," Conley said.
