The fake Barack H. Obama voter-registration incident here in Butler County will provide an opportunity for the courts to deliver a stern message about the seriousness of voter fraud.

Voting is a serious process that should not be undermined by obviously immature people who fail to recognize the implications surrounding the prank.

The prank registration apparently came from a former Slippery Rock University dormitory — Kraus Hall — that closed in the spring of 2008.

Butler County detective Scott Roskovski, who is investigating the bogus registration, was right in his assessment of the implications tied to the incident.

“This person could have voted as Barack Obama,” Roskovski said. “And he could have voted a second time as himself. And, who knows how many of these are out there?”

“This is interesting when you think of the possible implications,” Roskovski added. “The public needs to be aware that this can happen.”

That includes people beyond this county.

According to Roskovski, if the prankster is identified, he could face charges including perjury, wrongful voting, making a false affidavit and impersonating a voter — and possible imprisonment.

The criminal complaint would follow him for the rest of his life, and perhaps negatively impact any future career opportunities or advancements he might have.

Can a person who has demonstrated such irresponsibility and, in fact, criminal conduct be trusted by an employer?

Butler County election officials are confident that the scam would have been recognized and quickly halted if the fake Barack H. Obama had tried to vote under that name.

But the fact that “Barack H. Obama” existed on the voter registration rolls since 2008 — and turned up only because “Obama” almost made it into the county jury pool — raises questions about the security of the voter-registration process.

In Butler County, jurors are selected from the county voter rolls.

It’s not uncommon for election officials here and elsewhere to encounter write-in votes of famous — or, even perhaps, infamous — people by voters intending to be funny but who really just reveal their immaturity. For example, Mickey Mouse has been appearing on write-in ballots for decades.

Hopefully, county investigators will be able to close this case quickly, and the punishment meted out should be widely reported as a deterrent to future similar incidents.

Nobody should be laughing about this prank and, presumably, if he’s caught, the prank’s perpetrator won’t be either.