Rensselaer County Republican Board of Elections Commissioner Jason Schofield was arrested by the FBI and arraigned before a federal judge Tuesday morning, charged with using voters' names and birth dates to fraudulently apply for absentee ballots for county elections, according to U.S. law enforcement authorities.

The indictment alleges that in 2021, Schofield, 42, of Troy, applied for absentee ballots in the names of people who had no interest in voting, did not request absentee ballots nor his assistance in voting or obtaining them, and/or did not know that Schofield was using their personal information, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

He is also accused of taking the absentee ballots and having voters he applied for sign them, even though they didn't vote.

Schofield was released pending a trial.

If convicted, he would face up to five years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000 and up to three years of post-supervised release.