Former Milwaukee elections official found guilty after obtaining fake military ballots

A former Milwaukee Election Commission official has been found guilty of obtaining fake absentee ballots for military members in the 2022 election and sending them to a GOP state legislator.

The ex official, Milwaukee Election Commission Deputy Director Kimberly Zapata, was found guilty Wednesday by a jury on a felony count of misconduct in public office and three misdemeanor counts of making a false statement to obtain an absentee ballot, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.

Zapata faces up to five years in prison at her sentencing hearing on May 2, according to the Associated Press.

The former elections official was fired in November 2022 after she had three fake absentee military ballots sent to Republican state Rep. Janel Brandtjen, who turned the ballots in to the Waukesha County sheriff.

At the time, Brandtjen said that she "believe[s] someone was trying to point out how easy it is to get military ballots in Wisconsin. Registration for military ballots is not required, so a fictitious name and birthdate is all that is required to obtain a military ballot online. Feeling shocked about this situation is an understatement because it demonstrates stolen valor from those who protect this nation.

"I think it's sad that people feel they have to break the law to get the attention of the legislature," she added. "This is now the second time citizens have tried to point out loopholes in our elections."

In July 2022, Harry Wait of Racine County requested and received absentee ballots in the names of local officials and legislators, saying it was in an effort to expose the possibility for fraud.

He has been charged with two felony counts of identity theft and two misdemeanor counts of election fraud, which could get him up to 13 years in prison if convicted.

In a police interview played for the jury, Zapata said that she created three fake identities for the absentee military ballots so that no one would be harmed. She added that she had the ballots sent to Brandtjen because she knew the state legislator wouldn't cast them due to her concerns about election fraud.

"She is the most vocal election fraud politician that I know of, and I thought that maybe this would make her stop and think and redirect her focus away from these outrageous conspiracy theories to something that's actually real," Zapata said.

She also said that she originally had a "glimmer of hope" that one of the three clerks the absentee ballot requests were sent to would figure out the issue and not send them, but all three ballots were sent to Brandtjen.