A former Wisconsin election official was found guilty of voter fraud charges on Wednesday after she generated ballots for fictional members of the military during the 2022 election.
Former Milwaukee Election Commission Deputy Commissioner Kimberly Zapata was found guilty of felony misconduct in public office and three misdemeanor counts of making a false statement to obtain an absentee ballot. Zapata’s lawyers claimed that she was a whistleblower trying to expose loopholes in the Wisconsin election system while the jury determined that she had committed election fraud.
During the 2022 election cycle, Zapata used My Vote Wisconsin to obtain three absentee ballots using the names of fictional military members. The ballots were sent to the home of state Rep. Janel Brandtjen, a Republican who voiced questions about the integrity of the 2020 election. Military members do not need to show an ID to obtain an absentee ballot in Wisconsin.
Brandtjen reported the ballots addressed to fictitious military members, and shortly after, Zapata was fired and accused of voter fraud.
“We rely on our election workers to maintain the integrity of our election system,” Milwaukee County Assistant District Attorney Matthew Westphal said during the trial, according to WPR. “Ms. Zapata took a tiny hammer and started chiseling away at that foundation. Instead of helping secure the absentee ballot system, she introduced fraud into that system.”
Lawyer Daniel Adams, who defended Zapata, claimed she was trying to expose vulnerabilities in the election system.
“She was a whistleblower, she was showing the truth, with an action — an imperfect action, but a truthful action — what was going on,” he said. “There’s a huge flaw here, and if people don’t take it seriously, some nefarious person will do something bad with this flaw in the system.”
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Brandtjen said she was unaware of why the ballots were sent to her and had never spoken with Zapata.
“If Ms. Zapata had wished to raise concerns about the election process, she could have done so anonymously by contacting appropriate authorities rather than jeopardizing her job and reputation,” she said. “I cannot speak to Kim Zapata’s intent as I have never spoken with her.”
Zapata, who will be sentenced in May, could face more than four years in prison and over $10,000 in fines for all four counts.
Headed into 2024, election measures are expected to be scrutinized as President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump appear set for a rematch. The Wisconsin Supreme Court previously ruled that the widespread use of ballot drop boxes in the 2020 election violated state election law.