Politics

Election Commission Deputy Director Accused Of Election Fraud, Sending Ballots To State Rep’s Home

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Trevor Schakohl Legal Reporter
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The deputy director of the Milwaukee Election Commission was fired after allegedly sending fake ballots to a state representative, the city’s mayor announced Thursday.

Kimberly Zapata, the deputy director of the city’s election commission, allegedly directed the fictitious military ballots from a state election website to the state representative, and has been “forthcoming about her actions,” Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson tweeted. Republican State Rep. Janel Brandtjen found Oct. 28 that three military ballots had been sent to her residence, all featuring the first name “Holly” with different surnames.

Brandtjen surmised that the ballots likely did not reference real individuals, delivering them unopened to the Waukesha County Sheriff for investigation. (RELATED: Former Dem Rep Gets 30 Months In Prison Following Election Fraud)

“It does not matter that this alleged crime did not take place at work,” Johnson insisted, saying he learned of the matter Wednesday. “It does not matter that City of Milwaukee ballots were not part of this. Nor does it matter that there was no attempt to vote illegally or tamper with election results.”

The city is investigating the possibility of additional wrongdoing, despite no initial evidence to that effect, Johnson said.

“This has every appearance of being an egregious, blatant violation of trust, and this matter is now in the hands of law enforcement,” he announced.

The Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office is reviewing the election fraud allegations against Zapata.

Statewide midterm elections in Wisconsin could be decided by slim margins. Republican Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson led Democratic Mandela Barnes roughly 50% to 48% among registered voters in a Marquette Law School Poll survey released Wednesday. Democratic Gov. Tony Evers and Republican candidate Tim Michels both received about 48% support from likely voters.

The Milwaukee Election Commission did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

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