You’re never too young to become a “Florida Woman.” An Escambia County teen found that out the hard way, after authorities allege she schemed to rig her high school homecoming election.
Emily Rose Garter was 17 when police say she conspired with her mother to falsify the meaningless election last October. In spite of this, the local D.A. has opted to charge her as an adult.
Garter is believed to have enlisted the help of her mother, Laura Rose Carrol, in the scheme. Carrol, then an assistant principal at a local elementary school, allegedly used her access to the Escambia County School District’s internal system to place fraudulent votes on Garter’s behalf. The Escambia County School District reported unauthorized access of hundreds of students’ accounts, according to WKMG.
As though the situation couldn’t get any more asinine, Garter reportedly told fellow high school students about using her mother’s school board access, or watching her use it, for years.
Garter and Carrol are currently out on bond, and their only achievement is a court date on May 14. They face multiple illegal access and fraud charges, and could each earn a maximum 16-year sentence.
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This article appears in Apr 28 – May 4, 2021.