The Deputy Director of the Milwaukee Election Comisssion, Kimberly Zapata, could face criminal charges for fraudulently requesting absentee ballots for members of the military and then sending them to a Republican lawmaker to show how easy it is to commit voter fraud.
The Milwaukee Mayor, Cavalier Johnson, fired Deputy Director Zapata upon hearing she requested these absentee ballots despite knowing her actions may have been to prove the possibility of voter fraud.
In a statement released the Mayor said, “this has every appearance of being an egregious and blatant violation of trust. Election integrity is absolutely integral. It’s absolutely essential.”
Prosecutors in Milwaukee are even considering filing charges against Zapata for malfeasance in office and illegally requesting a ballot, a felony and misdemeanor respectively. In a statement from the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s office, they “expect charges to be filed in the coming days.”
Mayor Johnson understood that Zapata’s actions may have been to show possible election fraud vulnerability and went on to say, “It does not matter to me that the alleged crime did not take place at work,” he said. “It does not matter to me that the city of Milwaukee ballots were not a part of this, nor does it matter that there was no attempt to vote illegally or tamper with any election results.”
Under Wisconsin state law, those in the military are not required to provide photo ID for voting and do not even need to register to vote. A spokesman for Zapata said, “It’s my belief that she was pointing out that you can go onto the public system, make up a person and request a ballot.”
According to Meagon Wolfe, The Wisconsin Elections Commission Administrator, no other ballots have been affected by Zapata’s actions, in an attempt to ensure confidence in the election system.
“This violation of trust cuts to the heart of election integrity, something that the Wisconsin Elections Commission and local election officials hold in the most serious regard,” Wolfe said. “While the actions of this individual set us all back in our efforts to show Wisconsinites that our elections are run with integrity, I have every confidence the upcoming election will be fair and accurate. While this case understandably will receive a lot of attention, the fact remains that election fraud is extremely rare, and when it does occur, it is quickly discovered, and there are consequences.”