Elections Commission Refers Potential Cross-State Voting Cases to DAs
MADISON, WI – The Wisconsin Elections Commission has referred cases of suspected cross-state voting in November 2018 to district attorneys in 19 Wisconsin counties.
The 43 criminal referrals represent 0.002% of the 2,688,473 ballots cast in the November 2018 General Election in Wisconsin.
Wis. Stat. § 12.13(1)(e) prohibits anyone from intentionally voting “more than once in the same election.” A violation is Class I Felony. Wis. Stat. § 12.60(1)(a).
About the WEC Referrals
The referrals are based on a data set of possible cross-state matches discovered by the Electronic Registration Information Center (https://ericstates.org). Following staff analysis of the data, the bipartisan WEC voted 5-0 to make the referrals at its February 27 meeting. One member was absent.
The WEC analyzed the possible matches by comparing names, dates of birth and other information from voting records in Wisconsin and other states. The WEC approved the matching process at its public meeting in December 2019. The WEC met in closed session February 27 to review all the cases before voting to make the referrals.
The Voter Participation Reports are a new data set available to ERIC member states. The 2018 General Election is the first election for which this data was available. The Wisconsin Elections Commission also conducts annual post-election voter roll audits to detect voter fraud within the state. The results of these audits are required to be submitted to the legislature and the public. The 2018 report can be found here: https://elections.wi.gov/node/6455
NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.
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