Former Milwaukee Election Official Pleads Not Guilty On Election Fraud Charges

The City of Milwaukee’s former number two election official, Kimberly Zapata, made her first court appearance after being charged in November with a felony for misconduct in office and three misdemeanor charges for illegally requesting three military absentee ballots.

On Friday, Zapata pled not guilty to the misdemeanors and will have a future preliminary hearing on the felony charge. She faces up to 3.5 years in prison. The former elections official is now represented by attorney Abigail Bongiorno of the conservative Thomas More Society.

Zapata is alleged to have used a state elections website to have ballots sent to the home of Janel Brandtjen (R-Menomonee Falls), the chair of the Wisconsin State Assembly‘s Elections Committee and an advocate of decertifying the 2020 election.

Zapata, 45, was given a $2,500 personal recognizance bond by Milwaukee County Court Commissioner Maria Dorsey, and will next appear in court on Dec. 9 at 1:30 p.m.

Milwaukee County Assistant District Attorney Matthew Westphal asked, as a condition of her bail, for Zapata to be prohibited from contacting Brandtjen or Milwaukee Election Commission Director Claire Woodall-Vogg and barred from administering an election. But Bongiorno said Woodall-Vogg is a friend and the two discuss things outside of work. Dorsey supported Westphal’s no-contact order and ruled Zapata may not contact either individual.

Bongiorno noted that Zapata is still a city employee.

Woodall-Vogg and Mayor Cavalier Johnson, in disclosing Zapata’s alleged actions on Nov. 3, said she was “terminated” and her access to city facilities and computer systems revoked. But Zapata, owing to earlier positions in her decade-long career with the city has civil service protections from a lower-level job. She is now formally on administrative leave from that lower position at an annual salary of $68,913. Zapata was promoted to deputy in July.

The former elections official was previously represented by attorney Michael Maistelman, who commonly represents Democratic officials on election-related claims. But she is now represented by the conservative Thomas More Society. Former state supreme court justice Michael Gableman joined the firm after Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) terminated his election review contract. The firm represented Brandtjen and others in attempting to have military ballots sequestered during the Nov. 8 election, but a Waukesha County judge denied the request on Nov. 7.

Harry Wait, a leader of the H.O.T. Government group that promotes claims of voter fraud in the 2020 election, participated in a rally in Zapata’s defense outside the Public Safety Building before the hearing. Wait faces felony charges for requesting absentee ballots for Vos and Racine Mayor Cory Mason earlier this year. Wait continues to fight his case.

A criminal complaint filed by Milwaukee County details Zapata’s alleged actions, and a possible motive.

In an interview with the DA’s office, Zapata is alleged to have committed the action from her southwest side home the morning of Oct. 25 to draw attention to the “actual true fraud” and move Brandtjen, who has empowered Gableman and pushed to decertify the 2020 election, away from “conspiracy theories.”

“Zapata stated that she felt overwhelmed due to the threats of violence the Election Commission was receiving, in addition to the constant daily harassment and accusations of lying and hiding things,” says the complaint. “She stated she wanted the truth to come out so that they could focus on the actual problems.” Zapata was on bereavement leave preceding her actions, but returned to work on Oct. 24.

Zapata, according to the complaint, used the public-facing My Vote WI to request the ballots. She created fictitious people that lived in South Milwaukee, Shorewood and Menomonee Falls and had all of the ballots sent to Brandtjen’s Menomonee Falls home. She did, however, use a privileged election worker system to access Brandtjen’s address, which would have been available in other public documents.

Military members do not need to register in advance or provide an ID in order to request an absentee ballot.

Brandtjen received the ballots on Oct. 28. The Waukesha County Sheriff’s Office announced it was investigating the matter on Oct. 31. Woodall-Vogg, according to the complaint, discussed the issue with Zapata, who denied any knowledge, that day. Zapata then approached Woodall-Vogg on Wednesday, Nov. 2 and volunteered she requested the ballots.

Johnson, in revealing the actions the week before the election, expressed dismay with Zapata’s action.

“It does not matter to me 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 any election results,” said Johnson on Nov. 3. “This has every appearance of being an egregious, blatant violation of trust.”

The rest of the case is scheduled to be heard by Judge Laura Crivello.

A copy of the complaint is available on Urban Milwaukee.