Jury Finds Former Milwaukee Election Official Guilty of 2022 Voter Fraud

The defendant claimed she was trying to expose vulnerabilities in the state’s election system rather than commit a criminal offense.

Election ballots are shown as workers count mail-in and in-person absentee ballots at the Wisconsin Center in Milwaukee, Wis., on Nov. 8, 2022. Scott Olson/Getty Images

A former Milwaukee election official accused of obtaining fake absentee ballots has been found guilty of misconduct in office and fraud by a Milwaukee County Circuit Court jury.

According to prosecutors, Kimberly Zapata was deputy director at the Milwaukee Election Commission in October 2022. She allegedly obtained three military absentee ballots using fake names and Social Security numbers. Two weeks before the state’s gubernatorial and legislative elections, she sent the ballots to Republican state Rep. Janel Brandtjen.