Former Milwaukee election official found guilty in election fraud trial

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- A jury found former Milwaukee election official Kimberly Zapata guilty on all four counts Wednesday after a three-day trial involving election fraud.

She faced three misdemeanors for election fraud and a felony charge of misconduct in public office.

The 47-year-old woman admitted to illegally requesting absentee ballots for non-existent military voters back in October of 2022, when she served as deputy director of the Milwaukee Election Commission.

During closing arguments on Wednesday morning, the state told the jury not to focus on Zapata's intentions, arguing that breaking the law is still a crime. Prosecutor Matthew Westphal said Zapata was harming the system she was supposed to protect in 2022.

"What did she tell us? She told us that she fabricated three individuals for the purpose of having ballots issued, that she did this on her laptop, in a computer issued by the city, that she did this using the WisVote system to gain the address that she had the ballot sent to," Westphal told the jury.

Zapata's attorney, Daniel Adams, said she was serving as a whistleblower--highlighting loopholes in the Wisconsin electoral system.

"Kim Zapata's acts were driven by stress; they were not perfect in any way," he said. "What she did was act to illuminate a gap between the American ideal of a perfect democracy and the facts as they are, which is there is a gap, a flaw, in Wisconsin's electoral system. That's it."

On Monday, two clerks who processed Zapata's ballots testified on behalf of prosecutors; and on Tuesday, several Milwaukee public officials were drilled on how the absentee ballot process works and how to identify red flags.

The jury deliberated for most of the day Wednesday. About three hours into deliberation, the jury came back into the courtroom after asking to re-listen to an audio interview recording of Zapata's first interrogation by authorities that had been played as evidence on Tuesday.

In October of 2022, she fraudulently requested absentee ballots for three made-up military voters, according to the criminal complaint, issued in the names of Holly Brandtjen, Holly Jones, and Holly Adams.

Witnesses in court said Zapata used her city-issued laptop to fill out ballot applications using the MyVote website, the state's online system voters use to request absentee ballots.

Under current law, active military personnel do not have to show proof of a photo ID to request a ballot.

In a recorded interview played in court, Zapata claimed it was not done as a criminal act, instead it was meant to prove a point, wanting to highlight flaws within the system and redirect conspiracy theories reported and instead "focus on the actual problems."

Zapata pleaded not guilty in December.

She faces up to $13,000 in fines and up to five years in prison. Her sentencing date has been scheduled for early May.

Statement from Mayor Cavalier Johnson on the verdict in the Kimberly Zapata case: 

“I often speak about accountability for wrongdoing. Today, a jury convicted Kimberly Zapata for crimes associated with the procurement of false absentee ballots, and that jury brought accountability for a serious error.

At the time of Zapata’s removal from the Milwaukee’s Election Commission, I said it does not matter that this might have been an effort to expose a vulnerability that state law created. It does not matter that City of Milwaukee ballots were not part of this. Nor does it matter that there was no attempt to vote illegally or tamper with election results. Fundamentally, the actions were a violation of trust.

At a time when election officials are subjected to false accusations and harassment, it is essential they act with the highest integrity. That is a standard Milwaukee will maintain.”