MILWAUKEE — The attorney for a former Milwaukee election official accused of fraudulently ordering three military ballots under false names and sending them to a Republican lawmaker who espoused election conspiracy theories argued in opening statements Monday that she was a whistleblower and not a criminal.
Kimberly Zapata, the former deputy director of the Milwaukee Board of Elections, is on trial for misconduct in public office, a misdemeanor and three misdemeanor counts of making a false statement to obtain an absentee ballot. She faces up to five years in prison if convicted of all four charges.
In Milwaukee County Circuit Court, Zapata’s attorney Daniel Adams told the jury she committed no crime, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.
Adams called Zapata an apolitical “whistleblower” who wanted to point out a loophole in the election system that he described as “fair and secure.”
And, he said, she was “extremely stressed” by the conspiracy theories and threats against election officials.
But Assistant District Attorney Matthew Westphal countered that Zapata was charged with securing the election and that she had betrayed that trust.
Wisconsin’s election and voting laws have been in the spotlight since President Joe Biden’s 2020 victory, which came under attack by former President Donald Trump and his supporters who made baseless claims of widespread voter fraud. Milwaukee, home to the largest number of Democrats in Wisconsin, has been a target for complaints from Trump and his supporters.
The trial takes place two weeks before Wisconsin’s April 2 presidential primary. Wisconsin is once again one of the few battleground states that are crucial for both parties in November’s presidential election.
According to the indictment, a week before the November 2022 election, Zapata made up three names with fake Social Security numbers and requested military absentee ballots in those names through MyVote Wisconsin, the state’s voter database. Zapata told investigators she used her government access to MyVote Wisconsin voter registration to find Republican state Rep. Janel Brandtjen’s address and have ballots sent to her home in Menomonee Falls, the complaint said.
Brandtjen has spent the past two years advocating for not certifying Biden’s 2020 victory in Wisconsin and has embraced conspiracy theories that support her position.
The complaint said Zapata told investigators she mailed the ballots “to demonstrate how easy it is to commit fraud this way.” Zapata said she wanted Brandtjen to focus on real issues and not “outrageous conspiracy theories,” according to the complaint.
Brandtjen is facing her own legal problems and will not be called to testify. The Wisconsin Ethics Commission last month recommended charges against Brandtjen and a Trump fundraising committee in connection with alleged attempts to circumvent campaign finance laws during an effort to oust Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos.
Zapata was fired after her actions came to light. According to the Journal Sentinel, the defense is not expected to call her to testify.
