MILWAUKEE – Mayor Cavalier Johnson announcing Thursday that the deputy director of the Milwaukee Election Commission has been terminated after fraudulently requesting military absentee ballots and sending them to Republican State Rep. Janel Brandtjen.
Milwaukee Election Commission’s former deputy director Kimberly Zapata allegedly sent the ballots to Rep. Brandtjen to “inform her” of possible election fraud, according to the commission’s executive director Claire Woodall-Vogg.
The Waukesha County Sheriff’s Department says they’ve been investigating “someone who requested military absentee ballots and sent them to Rep. Brandtjen” since Monday.
“I will not accept, I will not tolerate, and I certainly will not defend any misrepresentation by a city official involved in elections,” Johnson says in a statement sent out Thursday. “It does not matter that this might have been an effort to expose a vulnerability that state law created. It does not matter that this alleged crime did not take place at work. 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.”
“Let there be no doubt about this, election integrity is absolutely essential,” Johnson continues. “Both our Election Commission Executive Director and I will make certain Milwaukee’s election administration is conducted with the very highest level of accuracy and honesty – without any hints of impropriety.”
In a statement released from her office Thursday afternoon, Brandtjen suggested Zapata’s actions shed light on problems that lawmakers need to address.
“We have uncovered so many issues that demand attention. I have been attacked by the liberal media, democrats who benefit from the system, and republicans who don’t have the backbone to take on the issues, including Speaker Vos, who has referred to me as a conspiracy theorist,” Brandtjen said.
The Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office says it plans on filing criminal charges against Zapata in the coming days.