ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. – A St. Johns County commissioner is calling on her colleagues to resign immediately after the State Attorney’s Office charged five Republicans — including two sitting county commissioners — in a fake voter guide scheme tied to the 2024 election.
County Commission Vice Chair Ann Taylor issued a statement demanding the accused leave office.
“If there is any truth to these allegations, for the integrity of St. Johns County, they need to step down immediately so our residents can have a board they can trust,” Taylor said.
The five charged are: St. Johns County Commissioners Christian Whitehurst and Sarah Arnold, former St. Augustine Beach Mayor Dylan Rumrell, former campaign manager Brianna Jordan, and a fifth individual identified as Jamie Johnson. All five are accused of distributing a fake voter guide that falsely showed certain candidates were endorsed by the local Republican Party.
St. Johns County GOP Chair Denver Cook helped alert investigators to the scheme.
“Election integrity isn’t only about election fraud and voter ballots,” Cook said. “It’s all about the people and the way they act and trying to steal the voice of the people.”
Cook also released the following statement on behalf of the St. Johns County GOP.
The details outlined in the state’s sworn affidavit reveal a shocking, calculated criminal conspiracy designed to subvert the democratic process and hijack the official, trusted voice of the St. Johns County Republican Party. As the primary complainant in this investigation, the St. Johns County REC is vindicated by the formal charges of criminal conspiracy, unauthorized voter guides, and tampering with physical evidence. The evidence demonstrates that this was not a campaign misunderstanding. It was a mass-scale decep on involving tens of thousands of dollars, tens of thousands of fraudulent mailers, and a deliberate attempt to overwrite the official, democratic votes of our local REC membership.
The affidavit lays bare a coordinated effort to hide this illicit operation from the public by shipping mailers out of neighboring counties, intentionally withholding statutorily required disclosures, and ultimately burning evidence in a backyard grill when the local news exposed the fraud.
No one is above the law. The weaponization of our official party logo and name to manipulate ‘super voters’ on the eve of early voting is an affront to every volunteer who serves our party and every citizen who casts a ballot.
To be absolutely clear, the St. Johns County Republican Party has issued no endorsements for this current primary cycle. Our absolute focus right now is on ge ng the vote out for this primary, ensuring total transparency, and delivering a clean, fair ballot for the voters of St. Johns County. Because this matter is now a live criminal prosecu on, the St. Johns County GOP will let the State A orney’s evidence speak for itself in a court of law. We will con nue to fight to ensure the voices of our voters are never compromised by deceptive schemes.
St. Johns County GOP Chair Denver Cook
State lawmaker was a target of the scheme
State Rep. Kim Kendall, who represents St. Johns County and won her 2024 race, said her image was removed from the fake voter guide — making her one of its targets.
“To start hearing from people that they had received this fake voter guide was just a big gut punch that’s really hard to explain unless you’ve been in that situation,” Kendall said. “And then to start seeing people going to polls with fake voter guide in hand and try to explain them they had the wrong one.”
Accused respond through attorneys
Attorneys representing Whitehurst, Arnold and Rumrell released a joint statement following the charges.
“These allegations have lingered for nearly two years in the hands of various government agencies,” the statement read. “With formal charges now filed, County Commissioner Arnold, County Commissioner Whitehurst and St. Augustine Beach City Commissioner Rumrell look forward to the conclusion of this matter and will have no further comments at this time.”