Former sheriff’s candidate Bruce Boyer free without bail, judge says

Electoral spokesperson returns to court on January 17 to be arraigned

A judge allowed a Ventura County man to remain free Friday despite the prosecution’s request to set bail at $100,000 in connection with his alleged submission of false voter registration forms on behalf of four fictional cats.

Defendant Bruce Boyer is suspected of sending the registration requests to the Ventura County Election Office, according to a statement from an investigator with the Ventura County Prosecutor’s Office. He was charged with four counts of perjury last month for the alleged acts committed last fall.

Boyer, 63, lives in Chatsworth Lake Manor, a neighborhood east of Simi Valley.

Boyer previously made local news by attempting to run for Ventura County sheriff with no law enforcement experience, an effort denied by a state appeals court in 2019. Boyer running for clerk-recorder, the office that oversees Ventura County elections, in 2022. candidate in the March primary for the 26th Congressional District seat held by Julia Brownley but did not qualify for the general elections.

The names on the applications were Cool T. Cat, Estrea D. Tigre, Fritz T. Cat and Sylvester T. Cat, according to the investigator’s statement filed in Ventura County Superior Court. Investigator Gabby Rodriguez said the handwriting on the registration forms appeared to match Boyer’s on forms he filed to run for sheriff and clerk-recorder in Ventura County. Each form also listed her home address, she said.

Boyer declined to say Friday whether he had sent out those registration forms, but said he was looking to try to register a cat named Felix T. Kat in 2022 to draw attention to voter fraud issues. In comments to the Ventura County Board of Supervisors in January, he said he submitted an application with the cat’s name on the Secretary of State’s website after his neighbor told him he had registered his cat on the electoral lists.

Boyer said he submitted an application that included the cat’s name and the words American Feline Party along with his neighbor’s address. He said he declined the opportunity to provide identification and a social security number.

Boyer said the state agency responded to his neighbor’s address asking him to sign, which he said shows how easy it is to commit voter fraud.

Boyer said he did not sign the application and was never arrested or charged in connection with the earlier incident. He said the submission would not constitute perjury, primarily because there was no signature.

He has not yet entered a plea to the charges for the latest submissions. His arraignment is scheduled for January 17.

He said Friday’s hearing marked the third time he has been released on his own recognizance instead of being forced to post bail on perjury charges for the alleged acts in 2024. Superior Court Judge Ventura County District Attorney Kristi Peariso deemed him a low risk during the hearing in a Ventura courtroom after reviewing the results of an assessment provided to the court.

She said he failed to appear in court in 2017 and had a minimal criminal history showing his last offense was in 2015.

In her statement, prosecutor investigator Rodriguez said she was requesting a bail increase from $20,000 to $100,000, saying the lower amount was insufficient to secure Boyer’s appearance in court and protect the public . She said a county elections worker told her that two of the applications for the four cats were stained with an unknown substance and gave off a foul odor.

We don’t know what the smell was. DA spokesperson Joey Buttitta said Friday that had not yet been determined.

Boyer considers the $100,000 bail unreasonable for the charges.

“Reasonable bail is a right,” he said Friday.

Officials with the prosecutor’s office could not be reached Friday to explain why they continue to ask for a higher amount.

Kathleen Wilson covers justice, mental health and local government issues for the Ventura County Star. Contact her at [email protected] or 805-437-0271.