Nearly 30 referred for voter fraud in presidential election
Wisconsin’s municipal clerks have referred nearly 30 people to prosecutors for voting illegally in the presidential election out of 3.3 million votes cast, according to data from the state Elections Commission, undermining former President Donald Trump’s claims that rampant voter fraud cost him the state.
The commission released a report Monday that found clerks referred 11 people to prosecutors for violations during the November election. Ten referrals were for voting twice, either by voting in different municipalities or by voting both in-person and by absentee ballot. One person in Columbia County was referred to prosecutors for voting as a felon.
The Associated Press obtained documents from the commission last week that found 16 people in La Crosse County were referred to prosecutors for registering to vote using a UPS store as their address for the November election.
The last report, issued following the spring 2019 election when turnout was 1.2 million, found 15 cases of suspected fraud.
Trump has repeatedly claimed that fraud related to absentee voting cost him the election. Republicans in multiple states have introduced legislation to make voting more difficult.
Republican lawmakers in Wisconsin have introduced more than a dozen bills that would change the state’s election laws, including measures that would prohibit clerks from filling in missing information on absentee ballot envelopes and limiting the use of absentee ballot drop boxes. Democratic Gov. Tony Evers has signaled he will veto any of those bills if they reach his desk.
The Elections Commission also released a separate report Monday tallying the number of prosecutorial referrals for people who voted illegally because they’re felons who remain under state supervision. The report looked at every statewide election in 2020 as well as a special election to replace outgoing U.S. Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner. The commission tallied 10 referrals, including four during the spring primary in February 2020 and six during the spring election in April 2020.
Initial findings from a commission audit of the presidential election identified 147 voters who may have been felons, but the Department of Corrections is still reviewing the findings and nothing has been confirmed. Commission spokesperson Reid Magney said he expects the review will cut the number of actual felons who voted “way down.”
The commission identified 111 people as potentially voting as felons in the 2016 presidential election. Of those, 79 were referred to prosecutors and 12 have been convicted so far.
A little more than 3 million people in Wisconsin voted in that election, according to the commission.
Photos: Wisconsinites vote in spring primary despite COVID-19 danger
Election Day with COVID-19
Town of Dunn resident Robert Wilson reviews his selections on his ballot while voting at the town’s highway garage Tuesday. Voters and poll workers were encouraged to wear masks and take other precautions after efforts to delay the vote amid the COVID-19 pandemic failed.
Election Day with COVID-19
Sisters Kelly and Teal Rowe work behind a plexiglass barrier while waiting to verify voters in Wisconsin’s spring election in the town of Dunn Tuesday.
Election Day with COVID-19
Election workers in the town of Dunn, Wis. tally absentee ballots in the town’s highway garage facility Tuesday, April 7, 2020. JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL
Election Day with COVID-19
Election workers outside the Madison Municipal Building wear protective medical equipment while assisting voters with curbside voting during the state’s spring election Tuesday.
Election Day with COVID-19
Election workers and voters outside the Madison Municipal Building keep a distance from each other Tuesday.
Election Day with COVID-19
A sign along East Washington Avenue in Madison encourages motorists to vote in the state’s spring election Tuesday.
Election Day with COVID-19
An opponent of a Wisconsin Supreme Court decision to proceed with the state’s spring election amid coronavirus concerns makes her feelings known to passing motorists on Tuesday in Madison.
Election Day with COVID-19
An opponent of a Wisconsin Supreme Court decision to proceed with the state’s spring election amid coronavirus concerns displays a sign in her car in Madison, Wis. Tuesday, April 7, 2020. JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL
Election Day with COVID-19
Judy Karofsky, mother of Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate Jill Karofsky, checks her phone during a walk with her dog, Bacon, along Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in Madison, Wis. Tuesday, April 7, 2020. JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL
Election Day with COVID-19
Paula Mohan hands out a ballot while behind plexiglass, to a voter at the Wil-Mar Neighborhood Center Tuesday April 7, 2020 in Madison, Wisconsin. STEVE APPS, STATE JOURNAL
Election Day with COVID-19
Benjamin Olneck-Brown, left, and Laura Muller organizing absentee ballots at the Wil-Mar Neighborhood Center Tuesday April 7, 2020 in Madison, Wisconsin. STEVE APPS, STATE JOURNAL
Election Day with COVID-19
Shanon Hankin, cleans a voting booth after it was used for voting Tuesday at the Wil-Mar Neighborhood Center in Madison.
Election Day with COVID-19
Anita Krasno checks in a voter while behind plexiglass at the Wil-Mar Neighborhood Center Tuesday April 7, 2020 in Madison, Wisconsin. STEVE APPS, STATE JOURNAL
Election Day with COVID-19
Michelle Martin, left, and Anita Krasno, middle, check in a voter behind a plexiglass barrier at the Will-Mar Neighborhood Center on Tuesday. Madison erected the barriers for poll workers at all 66 of the city’s polling locations.
Election Day with COVID-19
Benjamin Olneck-Brown, left, and Laura Muller organizing absentee ballots at the Wil-Mar Neighborhood Center Tuesday April 7, 2020 in Madison, Wisconsin. STEVE APPS, STATE JOURNAL
Election 2020 Wisconsin
People line up to vote at Riverside High School during the primary in Milwaukee on Tuesday, April 7, 2020. Voters lined up to cast ballots across Wisconsin on Tuesday, ignoring a stay-at-home order in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic to participate in the state’s presidential primary election. (Mike De Sisti/Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel via AP)
Virus Outbreak Wisconsin Election
Voters masked against coronavirus line up at Riverside High School for Wisconsin’s primary election Tuesday April 7, 2020, in Milwaukee. The new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms for most people, but for some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness or death. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
Virus Outbreak Wisconsin Election
A worker hands out disinfectant wipes and pens as voters line up outside Riverside High School for Wisconsin’s primary election Tuesday April 7, 2020, in Milwaukee. The new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms for most people, but for some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness or death. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
Virus Outbreak Wisconsin Election
Voters masked against coronavirus line up at Riverside High School for Wisconsin’s primary election Tuesday April 7, 2020, in Milwaukee. The new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms for most people, but for some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness or death. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
Virus Outbreak Wisconsin Election
Voters masked against coronavirus line up at Riverside High School for Wisconsin’s primary election Tuesday April 7, 2020, in Milwaukee. The new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms for most people, but for some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness or death. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
APTOPIX Election 2020 Wisconsin
Bridget McDonald, right, receives a ballot from poll worker Patty Piek-Groth on Tuesday, April 7, 2020, at the Janesville Mall in Janesville, Wis. Hundreds of voters in Wisconsin are waiting in line to cast ballots at polling places for the state’s presidential primary election, ignoring a stay-at-home order over the coronavirus threat. (Angela Major/The Janesville Gazette via AP)
Wisconsin Election 2020
In this photo provided by Robin Vos, the Republican speaker of the Wisconsin Assembly, Vos is shown wearing a mask, gloves and a protective gown while working at the polls in Burlington, Wis., on Tuesday, April 7, 2020. Vos sued Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, who tried to stop the election due to fears of coronavirus, but the Wisconsin Supreme Court said Evers didn’t have the authority to stop the election. Vos said the election could be run safely despite public health warnings about the risk of spreading the virus. (Photo courtesy of Robin Vos via AP)
APTOPIX Election 2020 Wisconsin
Robert Forrestal, left, wears a full face chemical shield to protect against the spread of coronavirus, as he votes Tuesday, April 7, 2020, at the Janesville Mall in Janesville, Wis. Hundreds of voters in Wisconsin are waiting in line to cast ballots at polling places for the state’s presidential primary election, ignoring a stay-at-home order over the coronavirus threat. (Angela Major/The Janesville Gazette via AP)
Virus Outbreak Wisconsin Election
Voters masked against coronavirus line up at Riverside High School for Wisconsin’s primary election Tuesday April 7, 2020, in Milwaukee. The new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms for most people, but for some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness or death. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
Masked poll worker
Scott Hanna staffs a curbside voting location outside Madison’s East High School Tuesday wearing a mask and face shield to protect himself and voters from COVID-19.
Election 2020 Wisconsin
Poll worker Patty Piek-Groth, left, helps fellow poll worker Jerry Moore, center, put on a mask to prevent the spread of coronavirus, as the polls open for the presidential primary election at the Janesville Mall in Janesville, Wis., on Tuesday, April 7, 2020. Hundreds of voters in Wisconsin are waiting in line to cast ballots at polling places for the state’s presidential primary election, ignoring a stay-at-home order over the coronavirus threat. (Angela Major/The Janesville Gazette via AP)
Middleton votes
About 30 people, many of them wearing masks, were in line when the polls opened in Middleton at Kromrey Middle School. However, after the initial rush, the waits were few as more than 8,000 people had voted absentee prior to Tuesday
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