WI Man Charged With Voting Fraud After Attempt To Prove Vulnerability

WISCONSIN — A Wisconsin man who requested other people's ballots in an attempt to prove election vulnerabilities was charged with election fraud and unauthorized use of personal information on Thursday.

Harry Wait admitted that he requested two other people’s ballots to be mailed to his Union Grove home in July, according to the criminal complaint.

Racine County Sheriff Christopher Schmaling posted about Wait's "findings" on Facebook on July 26. Schmaling thanked Wait over the phone for sharing the information, and when Wait asked Schmaling if he was going to arrest him, Schmaling said "hell no," the sheriff's office said in another Facebook post on July 29.

“I am disheartened by the apparent vulnerabilities in My Vote Wisconsin that are ripe for fraud," said Schmaling on July 26. The Racine sheriff called for further investigation.

In the immediate aftermath, the Wisconsin Elections Commission said it was working to reassure voters after "isolated attempts by individuals to submit fraudulent absentee ballot requests to ‘demonstrate’ a perceived flaw in the MyVote website."

Officials sent postcards to voters who had absentee ballots requested to addresses other than what was on file ahead of the Aug. 9 primary (3,962 in total). The WEC also encouraged the public to check their voter registration.

WEC also vowed to identify suspicious activity and refer it to local clerks for action, which can include canceling suspicious requests. Clerks can also identify and act on suspicious requests on their own and are supposed to communicate with law enforcement when they do, the WEC said.

“The Wisconsin Department of Justice is committed to ensuring that the integrity of our elections is protected from alleged intentional violations of the law,” said Attorney General Kaul Thursday in a news release.

In a statement Thursday, the WEC declined to comment in depth about the charges, saying it will assist law enforcement as needed but that it has no further role in pursuing or denying prosecution.

"The WEC stands by the integrity of the MyVote application," the agency wrote. "All forms of voting in Wisconsin, including by-mail absentee, are secure and reliable."