Milwaukee election official Kimberly Zapata fired over ballot fraud allegations

The deputy director of the Milwaukee Election Commission was fired Thursday for allegedly fraudulently requesting absentee military ballots and sending them to the home of a state representative. 

Former deputy director Kimberly Zapata, who had worked with the commission for seven years, was “forthcoming about her actions,” according to Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson.

“This has every appearance of being an egregious and blatant violation of trust,” Johnson said at a press conference, according to Fox 6. “I was stunned, absolutely stunned, to hear the very serious allegations against her.”

The mayor added that there was “no attempt to vote illegally or tamper with election results.” 

Wisconsin state law exempts military voters from registering or having to show identification to get a ballot. Zapata is accused of using a public voting website to request fake ballots for fake voters and then sending them to state Rep. Janel Brandtjen (R).

Brandtjen has held several hearings related to voter fraud as the chairwoman of the Wisconsin Assembly’s elections committee. She has pushed for decertifying former President Donald Trump’s 2020 presidential election loss in the state.

“Unlike Mayor Johnson, I have actually been working on providing Wisconsinites a safe and secure election process,” Brandtjen wrote in a statement. “We have uncovered so many issues that demand attention.”

Brandtjen added that she has “uncovered massive amounts of election disparities and a statewide Election Commission that has undeniably broken the law on numerous occasions.”

The Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office told Fox 6 that it is reviewing the election fraud allegations against Zapata and expects charges to be filed “in the coming days.”