Complaint: Accused election official sought to expose fraud

By TODD RICHMOND
Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Prosecutors have charged a former top Milwaukee elections official with felony misconduct in office after she allegedly sent falsely obtained military absentee ballots to a Republican state lawmaker who has advanced election fraud conspiracy theories. Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm’s office also charged Kimberly Zapata with three misdemeanor counts of election fraud Friday. Her attorney had no comment. Zapata was the Milwaukee Elections Commission’s deputy director. According to a complaint, Zapata used the state’s voter database to obtain the ballots using fake names and send them to Rep. Janel Brandtjen, chair of the Assembly elections commitee. Zapata told investigators she wanted to expose real vulnerabilities in the state’s absentee system.