Supervisor Shawn Rolland Charged With Misdemeanor Election Fraud

Milwaukee County Supervisor Shawn Rolland has been criminally charged for allegedly falsely certifying nomination signatures that he did not personally collect.

The charge, a misdemeanor, carries with it a maximum penalty of $1,000 and/or up to six months imprisonment.

Rolland came under investigation by the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office after it received a complaint in March that Rolland “inappropriately used an unsupervised drop box in front of his home during the nomination period for the April 2022 election,” according to a criminal complaint filed by Milwaukee County assistant district attorney Matthew Westphal Thursday.

It was during an investigation into Rolland for the dropbox issue that the DA’s office alleges it discovered Rolland had falsely certified he personally obtained nomination signatures when he, in fact, did not. Nomination signatures are necessary to be placed on a ballot and must be certified by a witness.

Rolland was up for re-election in the spring of 2022. Nomination papers for the election were due to the Milwaukee County Election Commission by Dec. 27, 2021. Candidates, or anyone they have circulating nomination papers for them, must sign the papers certifying who collected the signatures and that they witnessed each signature.

“In December of 2021, Rolland posted to his personal Facebook page a picture of a drop box to sign his nomination paperwork,” says criminal complaint. “The posting included a message that signature sheets were available. A review of the comments surrounding that posting show multiple people saying that they will sign the sheet and asking questions about signing. One individual, BC, posted that he signed the sheet that day.”

During interviews with the signatories of Rolland’s nomination papers, several told the DA’s office that Rolland had not personally collected their signature. “Instead, the investigation revealed that several witnesses circulated nomination papers on Rolland’s behalf and Rolland was not present for those signatures,” the criminal complaint states. “Yet, Rolland signed the Certification of Circulator on those forms, indicating that he personally circulated the paper and personally obtained each signature.”

Rolland, according to Westphal’s complaint, “stated that he was home the entire time the box was outside and was able to see everyone through his front window and spoke with them through his ring doorbell. He asserted that he witnessed everyone who signed.”

But Rolland did admit that there were a few signatories that did not sign in his presence.

“Rolland admitted that there was one house that he observed a woman sign and the woman then took the nomination paper into her house for her husband and daughter to sign. Both signed outside his presence. Rolland also admitted that the signor told him that she got her neighbors to sign the papers as well,” according to the complaint. “Rolland noted a second instance where he witnessed a man sign, who then took the form to his wife to sign outside Rolland’s presence.”

Rolland was first elected to the Milwaukee County Board in 2020. He served on the Wauwatosa School Board from 2016 to 2022. Supervisors are elected to a part-time role and serve a two-year term.

The issue was first submitted to the Wauwatosa Police Department. The District Attorney’s office reports receiving the complaint in March.

Update:

After this story was published, Rolland sent the following statement to Urban Milwaukee:

I have always told my kids that if they make a mistake, they should apologize, learn from it and don’t make the same mistake again. This is my opportunity to practice what I preach.

Today, as part of a negotiated disposition with the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office, I was charged with a misdemeanor offense relating to my gathering of signatures to be on the ballot for Milwaukee County Board Supervisor District 6 in the April 5, 2022, spring election.

To be clear and fully transparent, every signature that I collected was provided by someone who wanted me to appear on the ballot. I collected more signatures than needed to appear on the ballot for an unopposed county board race, even in a time when the COVID Omicron variant was making many people uneasy with public events. But in two instances, I did not witness all the signatures actually being signed, and I signed as a circulator. When I knocked on those doors, the person who answered opened the door took the sheet from me and told me they would obtain additional signatures from family members. When they gave the sheets back to me, I signed as the circulator. That was a mistake, and I intend to resolve this matter promptly so that I can get back to doing the work of the county.

I’m sincerely sorry for this mistake, and the distraction it will cause from the good work being done across Milwaukee County. The best apology anyone can make is to not make the same mistake again – with actions not words – and that’s what I will do moving forward.

The full criminal complaint is available on Urban Milwaukee.