Former Milwaukee election official convicted of absentee ballot fraud

Kimberly Zapata, left, the former deputy director of the Milwaukee Election Commission, appears in court with defense attorney Daniel Adams during her jury trial in Milwaukee on Monday. MADISON, Wis. — A jury convicted a former Milwaukee election official of absentee ballot fraud and misconduct in office Wednesday in an unusual case that pitted a self-proclaimed whistleblower against election conspiracy theorists.

Kimberly Zapata, 47, served as Milwaukee’s deputy elections director in 2022, when baseless claims about elections circulated among Republicans, including in the state legislature. Zapata has said the focus by some lawmakers in this critical swing state on meritless issues frustrated her and she wanted to alert them to what she viewed as a true vulnerability in Wisconsin’s voting system.

“I understand what I did was wrong, and I understand that I need consequences for it,” she said in that interview. “But at the same time, I did this for the greater good. I did this for the American voters to believe in the election system again.”Unlike most states, Wisconsin allows military members to cast absentee ballots without registering to vote or providing proof of residency.

Brandtjen in a written statement this week said she had never spoken to Zapata but believed she had identified a “critical flaw” in the state’s online system for requesting absentee ballots. She said she was concerned that lawmakers and the state elections commission had not done more to address the issue.Election officials have downplayed the incident, saying they would quickly discover any instances in which large numbers of fictitious ballots were created.

Zapata created the ballots under fake names four months after Wisconsin conservative activist Harry Wait made online requests to have, has said he was trying to expose what he considers flaws in how the state allows voters to apply for absentee ballots.

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