A man who served as a head election judge in a Minnesota township has been charged with two felony counts for allegedly letting 11 people vote even though they weren’t registered.

Officials began investigating after Hubbard County Auditor Kay Rave could not find any completed voter registration forms among the ballots and other materials returned by Timothy Michael Scouton, 64, of Nevis, who had been head election judge in the Badoura Township precinct, according to a criminal complaint filed Friday.

Another election judge told an investigator from the county sheriff’s office that Scouton directed them not to use the registration forms, the complaint said, while another said Scouton told them that new voters needed only to sign the back of a book.

The complaint said the investigator then met with Scouton at the sheriff’s office. He was advised of his rights but declined to make a statement, and was then put under arrest, the complaint said. The complaint did not give a potential motive.

Scouton made his initial court appearance Friday and was released pending his next hearing Jan. 6. He did not immediately return a call seeking comment Saturday, and his attorney declined to comment on the case.

The office of Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon called the allegations “extremely serious” and said they must be thoroughly investigated.

“Election judges take an oath to administer elections in accordance with the law, a deliberate failure to do so is unlawful and a betrayal of the public trust,” the office said in a statement.

The charges carry maximum penalties of five years in prison and/or a $10,000 fine.

Badoura Township is just east of Park Rapids in north-central Minnesota.

— Associated Press

Bicyclist injured in collision with car

A St. Paul man suffered life-threatening injuries when he rode his bicycle through a stop sign and struck a passenger vehicle in South St. Paul on Friday, authorities said.

The crash occurred shortly after 2 p.m. Friday, South St. Paul police said on Facebook.

A 61-year-old Bloomington man was driving south on 15th Avenue North when his car was struck broadside by the bicyclist, which was going eastbound on Wentworth Avenue, police said.

The 58-year-old cyclist was taken to an area hospital. The exact nature of his injuries was not known Sunday.

The incident is also being investigated by the Minnesota State Patrol.

— Kristi Miller

Pedestrian, 19, killed in nighttime collision

A vehicle struck and killed a 19-year-old pedestrian in Hibbing on Thursday night.

Dennis Kage Anderson, of Biscay, Minn., died after he was struck by a Ford Edge driven by 43-year-old Russel David Jones, of Chisholm, just after 10 p.m. the Minnesota State Patrol said.

Jones was driving north on U.S. 169 when he struck Anderson at the intersection of East 25th Street. Anderson was walking east at the time, the State Patrol said.

The incident remains under investigation by the State Patrol.

— Forum News Service