Election Fraud Cases
Kimberly Zapata, the former Milwaukee Election Commission Deputy Director, was charged by the state with one felony count of misconduct in public office and 3 misdemeanor counts of absentee ballot fraud after requesting military absentee ballots under false names and sending them to a Wisconsin state legislator's home during the 2022 election. Military voters do not have to show a voter ID and Zapata claimed she was a whistleblower trying to expose vulnerabilities in the election system. She used Wisconsin's online voter registration website to request the military absentee ballots and had them sent to the home of Rep. Janel Brandtien (R-Menomoneee Falls). Upon receiving the ballots, Brandtien contacted authorities and the media, and Zapata was fired from her position on the Milwaukee Election Commission. Zapata was found guilty by a jury of all charges and sentenced to 9 months’ imprisonment (which was stayed pending successful completion of 12 months of probation), ordered to complete 120 hours of community service, and ordered to pay $5,657 in fines, assessments, and court costs.
Source: herit.ag/465UAKx , herit.ag/3LpwMYF , herit.ag/3WBrXlv , herit.ag/3Lv6cx2
Robbyn Tafoya of Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, was charged by the state in Waukesha County with one misdemeanor count of absentee ballot election fraud for voting twice in the fall 2020 primary election. She requested, signed, and returned two absentee ballots in the summer of 2020. She pleaded no contest to the charge, was assessed fines and fees totaling $544, and was ordered to reimburse the state $1,635 for the cost of her attorney.
Source: herit.ag/4cL7Run , herit.ag/4f40aBd
Lisa Campion of Manitowoc County was charged by the state with illegal voting in the 2020 General Election in the Town of Two Rivers despite being ineligible since she was a convicted felon who was still on probation. Campion also voted in a different town from the one named in the registration address she provided. This was discovered during a vote felon audit by the Wisconsin Elections Commission. She pleaded no contest to one count of falsifying voter registration, a misdemeanor, and was ordered to pay $1,083 in fines, court costs, and surcharges.
Source: herit.ag/3YO5HCS , herit.ag/3IhscL7 , herit.ag/3YLLVIl
John Harter was charged by the state in Waukesha County with falsifying voter registration after falsely claiming his residential address on school board candidacy forms. Harter who was running for school board for the Hartland-Lakeside school district, falsely declared his residence at his father's house in Delafield despite living in the neighboring town of Brookfield, which is not in the school district. Harter pleaded guilty to 3 counts of falsifying voter registration and was sentenced to 30 days in jail (subject to work release during the day, referred to in Wisconsin as Huber release), fined $3,026, and assessed $400 in court costs.
Source: herit.ag/45SvqhF , herit.ag/3sZwT70
Michael Ray Overall was charged by the state in St. Croix County with illegal voting, election registration fraud, registering to vote in more than one place, and voting more than once, all felonies, after voting twice in the 2020 General Election. He voted once in person in Beloit, a town in Rock County, and again by absentee ballot in St. Croix County. He was found guilty by a jury of all the charges and ordered to pay a penalty of $4,711.90 plus post-judgment interest and engage in 80 hours of community service.
Source: https://herit.ag/3EYuqfY, https://herit.ag/3RIR6IF
Jeffrey Testroete was charged by the state in Fond du Lac County with one misdemeanor count of election fraud-falsifying voter registration after registering a UPS store as his residential address during the 2020 General Election. Testroete entered into a pretrial diversion program for three months and his charges will be dismissed if he successfully completes the program.
Source: https://herit.ag/3F2daq6, https://herit.ag/3ZUuKWR
Lawrence Klug, was charged with one felony count of providing false information to an election official for casting a vote while not residing in Fond du Lac County during the 2020 general election. He used the address of a UPS Store for his voter registration. He was convicted of one misdemeanor charge of falsifying voter registration and fined $500 in court costs.
Source: https://herit.ag/3SV6oIC
Carter was charged by the state in Fond du Lac County with one felony count of election fraud registration and one misdemeanor count of falsifying voter registration after registering a UPS store as his residential address during the 2020 General Election. Carter entered into a pretrial diversion program for two months and his charges will be dismissed if he successfully completes the program.
Source: https://herit.ag/3LMgFVA, https://herit.ag/3QkURmo
Donald Holz of Fond du Lac was charged with one felony count of illegal voting after he voted in the 2020 general election despite having a prior felony conviction, which prohibited him from participating in elections. He pleaded no contest to the charge and was sentenced to 10 days in jail, fined $500, and ordered to pay court costs.
Source: https://herit.ag/3c7CZu1
Jed Dietenberger was charged by the state with one felony count of illegal voting during a mayoral election and the 2020 presidential primary election. He was accused of registering and voting despite being a convicted felon, and therefore ineligible. Dietenberger pleaded no contest, and was adjudicated guilty, to the charge, and was ordered to pay $815 in fines and court costs.
Source: https://herit.ag/3rxM1Ve, https://herit.ag/3e4QprI
Christine Daikawa was charged with absentee ballot fraud (a misdemeanor) and attempting to impersonate an elector (a felony) after submitting her dead partner's ballot during the 2020 general election. Daikawa pleaded no contest, and was adjudicated guilty, to both charges and was sentenced to 30 days for the misdemeanor charge and 60 days for the felony which will be served consecutively and ordered to pay $961 in court costs.
Source: https://herit.ag/3RCOetk, https://herit.ag/3Cy05EF
Sam Wells was charged by the state with one felony count of election fraud registration after registering a P.O. Box in Fond du Lac County as his residential address, despite not living in that county during the 2020 General Election. He pleaded no contest to one misdemeanor count of falsifying voter registration after the district attorney reduced the charge. Wells was assessed fines and court costs of $831.
Source: https://herit.ag/3X3tq1y , https://herit.ag/3XcJqhC
Jamie Wells was charged by the state with one felony count of election fraud registration after registering a P.O. Box in Fond du Lac County as her residential address, despite not living in that county during the 2020 General Election. She pleaded no contest to one misdemeanor count of falsifying voter registration after the district attorney reduced the charge. Wells was assessed a fine of $300 plus court costs.
Source: https://herit.ag/3GPD5SH, https://herit.ag/3XnvcdN
Mary Gebert, clerk for the town of Bergen in Marathon County, Wisconsin, was charged with one felony count of misconduct in public office, one felony count of election official destroying poll list, and one misdemeanor count of resisting or obstructing an officer during the 2020 General Election. Following the election, poll workers were unable to find one of the voter numbers, which they needed to match for accuracy. Gebert signed a random person's name without their knowledge to allegedly resolve the discrepancy. However, the person had moved out of Bergen and had voted in his or her new jurisdiction. Gebert pleaded guilty to one felony count of election official destroying poll list in exchange for dismissal of the other charges and was sentenced to two years of probation, fined $1,000, assessed $788 in court costs, and ordered not to participate in the administration or polling of any election.
Source: https://herit.ag/3tcPPPX, https://herit.ag/46qeQFS
Chad Armstrong, a convicted felon on probation, voted in the 2018 election despite being ineligible. He was charged with felony election fraud but pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor. He was sentenced to five days in jail.
Source: bit.ly/37HfjaT
Peggy West, a former Milwaukee county supervisor, submitted false signatures on a petition to place her on the ballot for the spring 2018 election. According to the complaint filed against her, West forged the signatures of multiple residents within her district, and used a third party to collect other signatures despite the legal requirement that she collect them herself. She later falsely attested to have done so. West pleaded guilty to a charge of election fraud, and was sentenced to two years of probation and ordered to pay a $2,500 fine.
Source: https://herit.ag/3rCeZm8, https://herit.ag/3zLzik7
Troy Schiller pleaded guilty to voting twice in the 2016 primary election, once in his hometown of Dexter, and once in nearby Pittsville. He was sentenced to 30 days' incarceration and was fined $500.
Source: wrtnews.co/2lwgwZ4, bit.ly/2lweRmm, wrtnews.co/2m8EvQZ
Mark Fischer pleaded guilty to election fraud after voting in the 2016 presidential primary and general election despite being on probation for a felony drunken driving offense - his fifth or sixth offense of this nature. Circuit Judge Ramona Gonzalez sentenced Fisher to pay a $1,158 fine.
Source: https://herit.ag/3x6x0dt
Jessica Steinke, of Cleveland, pleaded no contest to charges that she voted in the 2016 election despite being a convicted felon and therefore ineligible. She had been convicted in 2014 of bail jumping. Steinke was sentenced to 80 hours of community service, 18 months of probation, and ordered to attend counseling.
Source: htrne.ws/2sAGTAF, bit.ly/2sAL8w3
The Wisconsin Elections Commission issued a report to the Wisconsin Legislature in March 2017, detailing over 60 instances of 17-year-olds illegally voting in the 2016 primary election. It is suspected that many wrongly believed they could cast ballots if they turned 18 ahead of the November general election.
Source: https://herit.ag/377vDRj, https://herit.ag/3BQhZQO, https://herit.ag/3f2SHoC
Robert Monroe, identified by prosecutors as the worst multiple-voter in state history, pleaded no contest to charges that he voted more than once in 2011 and 2012. Monroe's record was extensive: he voted twice in the April 2011 Wisconsin Supreme Court election, twice in the 2011 recall election of state Senator Alberta Darling, and five times in Gov. Scott Walker's recall election. He also cast an illegal ballot in the August 2012 primary and voted twice in the 2012 general election. On four of the counts, Monroe received a suspended three-year prison sentence, and will serve up to a year in jail. He also received five years' probation, and was ordered to complete 300 hours of community service and pay a $5,000 fine.
Source: bit.ly/2eGXURE
Nebi Ademi, 63, a native of Macedonia who resides in Chippewa Falls, successfully cast a ballot in the April 2016 primary election, despite his status as a non-citizen. Ademi filled out a same-day registration, leaving blank the question about his citizenship. District Attorney Steve Gibbs noted that poll workers "should have caught this" and recommended, based on his determination that Ademi had not deliberately broken the law, that the charges against him be changed from election fraud to disorderly conduct. Ademi pleaded no contest. He was ordered to pay $443 in court costs.
Source: bit.ly/2lwffRw, bit.ly/2lpUgSk
Andrew R. Knox voted in the 2010 election despite his status as a convicted felon. On March 11, 2015, Knox pleaded guilty to misdemeanor falsification of voter registry information. Knox had to pay fines amounting to $379, but received no jail time.
Source: bit.ly/2lpWNfd
Valerie Moran, of Merrimac, pleaded no contest to a charge of illegal voting in the 2014 general election. Moran, a convicted felon, voted despite still being on probation and therefore ineligible to cast a ballot. She was sentenced to 20 days' imprisonment.
Source: bit.ly/2uw5DdF, bit.ly/2uPMdjy
John S. Rohde was charged with falsifying statements on voter registration forms after voting twice in the November 2014 election. Rohde cast ballots in the towns of Beaver Dam and Calamus, using the address of a woman who had a no-contact order against him. Rohde was, in fact, living with his sister in the town of Horicon, and claimed that because he had recently moved, he had gone to the wrong polling place, and, after voting there, then had proceeded to the correct one, where he voted again. Rohde was convicted in Dodge County Circuit Court by Judge Brian Pfitzinger and was ordered to pay court costs and serve 40 hours of community service.
Source: bit.ly/2l9hc5z, bit.ly/2lGDAqb
Leonard K. Brown pleaded guilty in 2013 to five felony counts of illegally voting in West Milwaukee when he did not reside there. A jury then found him guilty in January of 2014 of deliberately voting twice in the 2012 presidential election. Brown voted in person on the day of the election and by absentee ballot in a different jurisdiction four days prior. Brown was sentenced to nine months in jail and a $1,750 DNA testing charge.
Source: bit.ly/2e8IKsr, bit.ly/2fjTzaI
Tate Hohnstein, of Grafton, pleaded guilty to charges of illegal voting. Hohnstein, a convicted felon, voted in Wisconsin's June special election and the November 2012 presidential elections. Hohnstein was sentenced to six days' imprisonment and was ordered to pay $1,173 in court assessments.
Source: bit.ly/2tvlN70, bit.ly/2tNLkec
Marcie Malszycki, a legislative aide, pleaded guilty to charges that she voted in the wrong district in the 2010 election. That year, Malszycki voted in Onalaska, a town she temporarily resided in while doing campaign work, rather than Madison. A similar charge that she voted in the wrong district in 2008 was dismissed as part of the plea agreement. Malszycki was placed in a first-offenders program.
Source: bit.ly/2sQpq9v
During the 2012 presidential election, Todd Murray stopped on his way home from work and voted at a polling place in New Berlin. He then proceeded to travel to his normal polling location in West Allis and cast a second ballot. In a show of the importance of the principle of "one person, one vote" Murray was sentenced to 90 days in jail (with work release privileges) and 18 months of probation.
Source: bit.ly/2fwIO69
Chad Gigowski pleaded guilty to double voting in the 2012 election. Gigowski used an old driver's license to vote in Greenfield on election day, before showing up later in Milwaukee with a Department of Workforce Development letter as proof of his Milwaukee residence. He was sentenced to six months in jail with work release privileges and 2.5 years of probation.
Source: bit.ly/2foVcQH
Caitlin B. Haycock pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor election fraud charge for signing both of her parents' names to a 2011 petition seeking a recall election for Governor Scott Walker. Compounding the issue, Haycock told the petition circulator, Jenny Wanasek, what she was doing. Wanasek deliberately (and literally) looked the other way so Haycock could commit the fraud. Wanasek later pleaded guilty to charges stemming from the incident. As for Haycock, she was sentenced to 40 hours of community service and was fined $500 as conditions of probation.
Source: bit.ly/2f1LsPz, bit.ly/2e8IKsr
Deborah A. Mehling was found guilty of a civil violation in a small claims court for signing a petition sheet as a circulator even though her daughter had collected one of the signatures. Mehling was fined $100.
Source: bit.ly/2f1LsPz, bit.ly/2e8IKsr
Brittany M. Rainey pleaded guilty to voting as a felon in the 2012 general election. She had been convicted on a charge of felony child neglect in 2010 but lied about her conviction in order to cast a vote. She was sentenced to 45 days in the Milwaukee County House of Correction.
Source: bit.ly/2f1LsPz, bit.ly/2e8IKsr
Karl Reinelt, of Pewaukee, pleaded no contest to charges of illegal voting. He had voted despite being ineligible due to a prior felony conviction. He was ordered to pay $795 in court assessments.
Source: bit.ly/2uPU40a, bit.ly/2uvHsw6
Andrew Sheperd pleaded guilty to lying to election officials about his past felony record so he could get hired as a special voter registration worker. He was sentenced to 30 days in the Wisconsin House of Correction.
Source: bit.ly/2e8IKsr, bit.ly/2f1LsPz
Brian A. Uecker, Fozia H. Nawaz, and Bill A. Di Giorgio, Jr., were all found to have voted in the wrong locations for the 2012 general election. Each was fined $100.
Source: bit.ly/2f1LsPz, bit.ly/2vdQa1H, bit.ly/2uazF9I (Cases 2013SC009082, 2013SC009084, 2013SC009083)
Jenny Wanasek was the petition circulator for the recall of Governor Scott Walker who deliberately looked away so that Caitlin B. Haycock could sign her parents' names on the petition. Wanasek pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge for failing to cross out the parents' names before turning in the petition. Wanasek was sentenced to 40 hours of community service and was fined $500 as conditions of probation.
Source: bit.ly/2f1LsPz, bit.ly/2e8IKsr
Richard Alverson pleaded guilty to voting as a felon in the 2012 presidential election. He was sentenced to 18 days in jail and fined $500.
Source: bit.ly/2t9TI3D, bit.ly/2sLaLcF
Mark S. Demet, of Racine, pleaded guilty to two counts of election fraud after admitting to forging at least seven names on petitions to recall State Senator Van Wanggaard in 2011 and 2012. Prosecutors dropped seven charges of identity fraud in exchange for the plea, and prosecutors in nearby Kenosha County agreed not to charge Demet for similar election offenses committed there. Demet claimed he was driven by extreme animus towards Republicans that led him to allow his emotions to "run wild" in the "toxic political environment in the state of Wisconsin." Demet was sentenced to pay $2,500 in fines.
Source: bit.ly/2q6EQlX, bit.ly/2qfiTjV, bit.ly/2oKcRXn
Charles Brandt, of West Allis, pleaded guilty to election fraud for voting multiple times in the April 5, 2012, Wisconsin election. He was ordered to pay a $1,000 fine.
Source: bit.ly/2tmolGd
Yadira Colon pleaded guilty to one felony count each of election fraud and falsification of nomination papers. Colon forged signatures on nomination papers for the 2008 election for Pedro Colon (no relation), then a member of the state assembly and now a circuit judge. Yadira Colon also illegally registered and voted in Milwaukee, despite actually living in the city of Oshkosh. Colon was sentenced 20 days' incarceration and given one year of probation.
Source: bit.ly/2oK2Sl0, bit.ly/2qflbQi, bit.ly/2oK5sre
Raphael Nunn of Milwaukee pleaded guilty to charges of illegal voting. He had voted despite the fact that he was ineligible due to a prior felony conviction. Nunn was given a 30-day suspended sentence, 18 months' probation, and was ordered to pay $518 in court assessments.
Source: bit.ly/2tv2f2J
Correy Grady of Milwaukee pleaded guilty to illegal voting in the November 2008 election, despite being ineligible due to his felony record. Grady was sentenced to one year's probation and ordered to pay $318 in court costs.
Source: bit.ly/2sRRrK0
Leon Pendleton, of Milwaukee, pleaded guilty to charges of fraudulent registration and illegal voting. Pendleton, a convicted felon, registered and voted despite the fact that he was ineligible. Pendleton was sentenced to 60 days' imprisonment, fined $300, and ordered to pay all court costs.
Source: bit.ly/2sLrX5S
Veronica Toney, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, pleaded guilty to a charge of illegal voting. Toney, a convicted felon, voted despite being ineligible. She was ordered to pay a $1,192 court assessment.
Source: bit.ly/2tNNTNi, bit.ly/2tWP0uz
Lavelle Morris pleaded guilty to a felony charge of Voting by a Disqualified Person. Morris, a felon, was previously convicted of Attempted First Degree Intentional Homicide and thus ineligible. He nevertheless voted in the 2008 election. Morris was sentenced to serve 90 days in prison.
Source: bit.ly/2ttqcaq, bit.ly/2rVaDpH
Irving Anders of Prairie Du Chien pleaded guilty to a charge of absentee ballot fraud. He was ordered to pay a court assessment of $883.
Source: bit.ly/2tmV0LR, bit.ly/2uPxeWM
Kevin Clancy and Maria Miles, both employees for ACORN, pleaded guilty to falsely procuring voter registration information after admitting that they submitted multiple voter registration forms for the same individuals. To meet quotas, Clancy admitted he and others also registered themselves multiple times. Clancy received a 10-month prison sentence, but will serve his time consecutively with another sentence he is already serving for an armed robbery.
Source: bit.ly/2fjCH1e
In 2010, L.B. Dean pleaded guilty to a felony charge of Voting by a Disqualified Person. Dean was a felon, having been previously convicted on charges related to the manufacture and distribution of cocaine. He was thus ineligible, but cast a ballot in the 2008 presidential election nonetheless. He was sentenced to serve 60 days in prison.
Source: bit.ly/2ttqcaq, bit.ly/2sAThAG
Terry Krall, of Eau Claire, pleaded no contest to a charge of illegal voting. Krall voted in the November 2008 election despite the fact that he was ineligible due to an existing felony record. He was sentenced to five days' imprisonment.
Source: bit.ly/2sLBuKg, bit.ly/2tS31Je
David Lewis and Ramon Martinez, who were still under supervision for prior felonies, pleaded guilty to one count of voting as a disqualified person for registering and then casting ballots in the 2008 election. Under Wisconsin law, those under felony supervision are ineligible to vote. Lewis was sentenced to 20 days' imprisonment and fined $250. Martinez was sentenced to 30 days' imprisonment and received a $750 fine.
Source: bit.ly/2fjAEdG, bit.ly/2f8KfUo
Glenn Schofield of Chippewa Falls pleaded guilty to a charge of illegal voting. Schofield voted in the November 2008 election despite the fact that he was ineligible due to an existing felony record. He received a six-month suspended prison sentence, 18 months' probation, and was ordered to pay a $1,230.25 court assessment.
Source: bit.ly/2tvhDMw, bit.ly/2tS31Je
While employed by the Community Voters Project, Frank Edmund Walton registered 70 voters for the 2008 election. Only 16 of those registrations contained accurate information, and at least one contained the information of a deceased voter. He was convicted of one count of falsely procuring voter registrations and sentenced to 52 days in jail and fined $500.
Source: bit.ly/2e8I728
The Wisconsin couple was convicted of voting twice, with each casting absentee ballots in elections in the town of Wyocena, where they owned a cabin, before later voting in the city of Blooming Grove. The victor in the Wyocena trustee's race--who also happened to be the Kwiatkowskis' preferred candidate--won by a two-vote margin, prompting the judge to declare that the couple's fraud swung the election. Mr. Kwiatkowski was fined $2,000 and his wife received a $1,500 fine.
Source: bit.ly/2fLkwVj
Kendall Craker of Milwaukee pleaded guilty to a charge of fraudulent registration. He had registered to vote and voted despite the fact that he was a convicted felon and therefore ineligible. As part of his plea agreement, an illegal voting charge was dropped. Craker was sentenced to 60 days' imprisonment and ordered to pay $113 in court costs.
Source: bit.ly/2sPXdzu, bit.ly/2sLznX2
Latoya Lewis of Milwaukee pleaded guilty to committing election fraud while working for the now-defunct liberal group, ACORN. Lewis admitted that, while trying to hit her registration quotas, she registered the same people multiple times. One such voter indicated he had never registered through Lewis. Lewis received a one-year sentence at the House of Correction, but the judge stayed the sentence. Instead, Lewis was ordered to serve a 90-day sentence, three years of probation, and was barred from working on future voter registration efforts.
Source: bit.ly/2ttqcaq, bit.ly/2sPXdzu
Endalyn Adams, a registration worker, was convicted of falsely procuring voter registration information. To meet her daily registration quota, she made up information on voter registration forms and submitted them. Adam Mucklin, a special registration deputy with the Community Voter Project, was convicted of attempting to register himself to vote even though he was a convicted felon and therefore ineligible. He was also convicted for attempting to lie to the Milwaukee Election Commission. Ms. Adams was sentenced to three years' probation and 75 hours of community service. Mucklin was sentenced to four months in the House of Correction on one count and given a stayed consecutive seven-month sentence and a year of probation on the other count.
Source: bit.ly/2fLjTvf
Stephen Wroblewski pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of Providing False Information to Obtain an Absentee Ballot. Wroblewski illegally procured a ballot in order to vote in the 2008 election in the name of his wife, a Democrat activist who had recently passed away. He was given a $500 fine.
Source: bit.ly/2ttqcaq, bit.ly/2tNN0Rv
Kimberly Prude, a campaign volunteer for the Kerry_Edwards campaign, was convicted of illegally casting an absentee ballot in the 2004 election. She was already a convicted felon for forgery charges in 2000. Her probation was revoked and she is now serving her sentence in prison.
Source: bit.ly/2tQMkfi
Michael Zore was convicted of voting twice in the November 2006 election. Zore voted in two Milwaukee-area towns, Wauwatosa and West Allis. Zore claimed his double voting was due to a memory lapse, but a judge sentenced him to serve a year in the Milwaukee County House of Correction.
Source: bit.ly/2sQdNiT
In Blue River, Wisconsin, Douglas Ferrel was found guilty of making false representations that he personally had obtained each of the signatures on a recall petition when he had not. He was found guilty and charged court assessments of $707.
Source: bit.ly/2f1NGhS, bit.ly/2elzXi9
