Milwaukee Election Official Fired For Falsely Ordering Military Ballots To Test Whether Fraud Is Possible, Mayor Says

Topline

Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson (D) said Thursday he fired a city election official accused of sending fraudulently obtained absentee military ballots to the home of a Republican lawmaker who embraced former President Donald Trump’s false claims of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election—a revelation that comes just ahead of Election Day in Wisconsin’s tightly contested midterm races.

Key Facts

Johnson said Milwaukee Election Commission Deputy Director Kimberly Zapata was fired for sending ballots to the home of state Rep. Janel Brandtjen (R), who serves as chairwoman of the legislature’s Assembly Committee on Campaigns and Elections and continues to claim Trump won Wisconsin in 2020.

Brandtjen said in a news release Monday she received three ballots at her home, all addressed to “Holly” and with different last names, even though no one by the names had lived at her address.

The lawmaker said she believed someone mailed the ballots “to point out loopholes in our elections,” and Johnson also suggested that Zapata allegedly sent the ballots to show that voter fraud is possible in Wisconsin.

The Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office is now investigating the case to consider possible criminal charges, and Johnson said the city is “looking into the possibility of other misdeeds,” though it has not uncovered other alleged violations so far.

Zapata, who has been on the election commission for seven years, could not be reached for comment.

Crucial Quote

“This has every appearance of being an egregious, blatant violation of trust,” Johnson said at a news conference.

Key Background

Wisconsin was one of five states Trump lost in 2020 after carrying them in 2016, which made it a prime target for his unfounded fraud claims. Zapata’s alleged actions appear similar to those of a Racine County man who was charged with multiple felonies in September for requesting absentee ballots using the names of two elected officials. The man, Henry Wait, admitted to Wisconsin Public Radio in July that he made the “criminal” request to expose problems with the state’s election system.

What To Watch For

Wisconsin’s Senate contest (between incumbent Ron Johnson (R) and Democratic challenger Mandela Barnes) and its gubernatorial election (between incumbent Tony Evers (D) and Republican challenger Tim Michels) are among the most highly anticipated midterm races in the country. Johnson holds a 3.2-percentage-point polling lead over Barnes, while Michels leads Evers by just 0.2 points, according to the latest RealClearPolitics polling average.

Further Reading

Milwaukee Milwaukee Election Commission official Kimberly Zapata fired after fraudulently requesting military ballots, mayor says (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

Wisconsin Conservative Group Finds ‘No Evidence Of Widespread Fraud’ In 2020 Election (Forbes)

Racine County man admits to fraudulent requests for absentee ballots in effort to criticize state voting system (Wisconsin Public Radio)