The wife of a Woodbury County Supervisor convicted of 52 counts of voter fraud will spend four months in federal prison, followed by four months of house arrest.
A federal judge sentenced Kim Phuong Taylor on Monday afternoon in Sioux City. The mother of six will also serve two years of supervised release, including the home incarceration.
Federal prosecutors had pushed for 18 to 24 months. Taylor faced five years in prison for each count. Her sentence will run concurrently.
In November, a jury found Taylor guilty of illegally filling out forms and ballots for other members of the Vietnamese community to help her husband, Jeremy, in elections for Congress and county supervisor in 2020.
Court documents identified him as an unindicted co-conspirator, but he wasn’t charged with a crime.
Jeremy Taylor recently announced he will not seek reelection to the Woodbury County Board of Supervisors. Other Republicans on the board had asked him to resign, but he refused. He also works as a reading teacher in the Sioux City Community School District and as a chaplain with the National Guard.
Kim Taylor’s attorney, F. Montgomery Brown, said he was pleased with the outcome. He had asked the judge for nine months of home confinement and 100 hours of community service.
“It could have been really bad,” Brown said. “But the judge saw that there were mitigating factors.”
Judge Leonard Strand said he considered Taylor's lack of criminal record, significant community support, and role as a caretaker for her family in formulating his decision.
Strand also stated that federal voter fraud is extremely rare and that he didn’t have previous cases to set the bar for sentencing guidelines. He also expressed concern that the public might think the case was politically motivated.
Taylor’s attorney, F. Montgomery Brown, said that doesn’t appear to be the case.
“I didn't see anything expressly in internal DOJ (Department of Justice) or FBI communications suggesting that,” Brown said. “I had some concerns about the arrest circumstances and some of the noise that came out in the local political arena.”
Brown claimed a full tactical team arrested Taylor in front of her children at her home in Sioux City. The prosecution said a previous attorney for Taylor did not cooperate with having her voluntarily turn herself in.
Taylor did not speak during her sentencing. Her son Ishmael took the stand and said his mother is important to the family, including his 78-year-old grandmother, who battled cancer and is now in remission. Prior to the court proceeding, Taylor was tearful as she hugged her children, who sat in the front row of the courtroom.
Brown said Taylor still maintains her innocence and told IPR her conviction was unfortunate due to a tragic background that included her father dying in a Vietnamese prison after being a soldier for the South Vietnamese.
“Her immigration story is quite the story," Brown said. “I can see why she is anti-communist and has conservative views, which are not necessarily my own. I wish the best for her. I don’t think she’s going to be in trouble again.”
Judge Strand did not impose a fine on Taylor as requested by the prosecution because she did not have the means to pay. However, she was ordered to cover $100 in costs for each count, for a total of $5,200.
Taylor has 14 days to appeal. She will move forward without her attorney. Brown told the judge Taylor needed to retain the services of a public defender.
She will remain free until she is ordered to report to federal prison. Her attorney requested she serve her time in Waseca, Minnesota.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office did not comment after the sentencing.
During Monday’s proceedings, Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Evans told Judge Strand that Taylor’s actions were egregious, and she stole votes without any remorse. He added the case fueled the uncertainty of election security. He dismissed potential public concerns raised by the judge by saying it doesn't matter if a defendant is "red or blue; or a Democrat or Republican."
