A Wisconsin appeals court has upheld the conviction of former Milwaukee Election Commission Deputy Director Kimberly D. Zapata for sending fake absentee ballots to a state legislator in 2022. The court affirmed her guilt on three counts of election fraud and one count of misconduct in public office. Zapata was sentenced to fines and probation.
The Wisconsin Court of Appeals District I ruled Tuesday that Zapata was correctly convicted by a jury. She had used her work laptop on Oct. 25, 2022, to request military absentee ballots in the names of three fake individuals and directed them to a legislator's address. Zapata later told police she acted to show how easy it was to commit fraud with the system.
