Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

By Matt Sepic, Minnesota Public Radio News

A northern Minnesota election judge is facing felony charges for allegedly allowing 11 unregistered voters to cast ballots earlier this month.

Election judges check in voters and hand out ballots at polling places on Election Day. They also register voters who opt for same-day registration, which Minnesota law allows with proof of residency.

But prosecutors in Hubbard County say Timothy Michael Scouton — who was head judge at a precinct in rural Badoura Township — allowed 11 people to vote even though they had not registered.

Scouton, 64, allegedly told his fellow election judges not to use registration application forms, but rather to have voters sign the back of the registration book.

Scouton is free without bond ahead of his next court appearance in January.