Court of Appeals upholds convictions of voting official who argued she was a private citizen whistleblower & Jury finds former Milwaukee election official guilty of election fraud 13MAI26 & 20MMAR24

 

YET another example of election fraud and illegal voting by the fascist maga cult and the corrupt gop/greed over people-republican party. Remember to vote, early if possible but at least on Tuesday, November 3rd, 2026 to show these people what democracy looks like and we will save our democratic Republic from these neo-nazi fascist authoritarian wannabe's. From Wisconsin Justice Initiative and Wisconsin Public Radio

Court of Appeals upholds convictions of voting official who argued she was a private citizen whistleblower By Alexandria Staubach 5/13/2026 The Wisconsin Court of Appeals yesterday affirmed the conviction of Kimberly Zapata, the former deputy director of the City of Milwaukee Election Commission, who unsuccessfully urged the court to overturn her convictions for voter fraud and public-office misconduct, arguing she was a whistleblower.   A unanimous jury convicted Zapata in March 2024. The charges included one count of felony misconduct in public office and three misdemeanor counts of making a false statement to obtain or vote an absentee ballot.   Milwaukee Circuit Court Judge Kori Ashley sentenced Zapata to nine months in jail, stayed in favor of 12 months of probation and 120 hours of community service.   The opinion, written by Judge Sara Geenen and joined by Chief Judge Joseph Donald and Presiding Judge Pedro Colón, outlines Zapata’s scheme.   Frustrated by the ease with which individuals could obtain absentee military ballots, Zapata requested three, one each for a fictitious Holly Jones, Holly Adams, and Holly Brandtjen.   She assigned each a random home address in Milwaukee, Shorewood, and Menomonee Falls. She picked municipalities where she thought the clerks would not notice fraud.   Then, using “WisVote”—a secure, employee-access, statewide voter registration database—Zapata retrieved the home address of “a state legislator because the legislator was the most vocal election fraud politician that she knew.” She had the absentee ballots mailed to the legislator.   Clerks in all three municipalities mailed absentee ballots to the legislator’s address.   Zapata presented a two-fold argument to the Court of Appeals. First, she contended that her conduct was not “for the purpose of obtaining” an absentee ballot because she intended that the absentee ballots be acquired by someone else.  Second, she argued there was insufficient evidence to convict her of misconduct in public office because she was acting as a concerned private citizen demonstrating a loophole. Regarding whether Zapata generated the false ballots “for the purpose of obtaining” absentee ballots, Zapata argued that “obtaining” an absentee ballot meant physical possession. But the court agreed with the state that “obtaining” included constructive possession. “(B)y requesting the ballots, Zapata set off a series of actions she knew the ballots would be subjected to," Geenen wrote.   While Zapata argued for a more rigid definition of “obtaining,” which is not defined by the statute, she “knew that by requesting the ballots, the ballots would be generated under the fake names that she provided” and “that the ballots, once generated per her request, would be sent to the address that she provided,” Geenen said.   “Zapata controlled both the names under which the ballots would be generated and the destination to which those ballots would be sent.”   Whether Zapata acted in her official capacity required “a material connection between the public official’s duties and powers and the forbidden act,” Geenen wrote.   The court found such a connection. Zapata used her work laptop to request the ballots, her employee credentials to access the WisVote administrative website, and her administrative knowledge to target specific municipalities for sending ballots. All weighed against Zapata’s argument that she acted as a private citizen.   “In our view, the State established a material connection between Zapata’s election fraud and the powers and duties inherent to her public office,” wrote Geenen.   The court’s decision comes several weeks after another individual, Harry Wait, was convicted of fraud and identify theft after requesting ballots on behalf of Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and Racine Mayor Cory Mason in the same election cycle. Wait also purportedly sought to illuminate vulnerabilities in the voting system.  Jury finds former Milwaukee election official guilty of election fraud A Milwaukee County jury found a former election official guilty of election fraud involving absentee ballots Wednesday afternoon.  Kimberly Zapata, the former deputy director of the Milwaukee Election Commission, was also found guilty of misconduct in public office, a felony, after she admitted to using fake names to request military absentee ballots on her work laptop in 2022. Zapata then sent those ballots to the home of Republican state Rep. Janel Brandtjen, who was promoting false theories about election fraud. Zapata, 47, has been on trial in Milwaukee County since Monday. After deliberating for around five hours following closing arguments Wednesday morning, Zapata appeared quiet in court while Milwaukee County judge Ashley Kori read the decision of the jury. During opening statements, prosecutors said Zapata committed fraud and violated the public’s trust. However, her defense attorney said she acted as a “whistleblower.”  As deputy director, Zapata was in charge of early voting, absentee voting and voter registration for the city of Milwaukee. She was fired by the city and charged with the crimes in November 2022.  Her sentencing will be held May 2. She faces up to three-and-a-half years in prison, a $10,000 fine for the felony charge and another six months in prison for each of the election fraud charges, which carry fines of up to $1,000.