(FiveNation.com)- An election official in Wisconsin was fired after she was suspected of forging absentee ballot requests to be forwarded to a state senator contesting the results. She is also likely to face criminal charges.
According to an MSNBC story, Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson abruptly fired Kimberly Zapata, the deputy director of the Milwaukee Election Commission, on Thursday.
The district attorney’s office stated that this was now a criminal case and charges were expected to be filed in the upcoming days, according to MSNBC correspondent Shaquille Brewster, who reported to anchor Chris Jansing.
According to Brewster, Zapata allegedly requested military absentee ballots via the state website on her own time and had them mailed to a Republican state legislator who has promoted unfounded allegations of fraud in the 2020 election. Zapata has claimed that her actions were an “attempt to expose the vulnerability in the state’s election law.” It is unknown what political party Zapata personally supports.
Brewster noted that as soon as her misdeeds were identified, Mayor Johnson fired Zapata and terminated her access to the office and state computer networks. He also underlined that the inquiry thus far did not affect absentee voting or any previous vote counts in Milwaukee.
Johnson described Zapata’s alleged behavior as having “every appearance of being an outrageous and flagrant violation of trust. Electoral integrity is essential in every way. It is necessary.”
The mayor claims he discovered on Wednesday that Zapata had three other ladies with the first name Holly’s military ballots “presumably solicited” and had them sent to Brandtjen’s residence. In Wisconsin, military voters are not required to register to vote before an election or to present a photo ID or other form of identification to vote by mail.
According to a statement from Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm, his office looks into the allegations against Zapata, and prosecutors “anticipate charges to be filed in the coming days.” The D.A.’s office says that charges were being contemplated for official misconduct, a felony, and improperly seeking a ballot, a misdemeanor.
