A jury has found a former Milwaukee election official accused of obtaining fake absentee ballots guilty of misconduct in office and fraud.

A jury has found a former Milwaukee election official accused of obtaining fake absentee ballots guilty of misconduct in office and fraud.

  • Ep1cFac3pa1m@lemmy.world
    62·
    8 months ago

    Ok, it is a bit disconcerting that she was so easily able to fraudulently obtain mail-in ballots. But fraudulent ballots =/= fraudulent votes. I assume there’s a method in place for verifying the authenticity of a mail-in ballot. I’m sure they check it against voter rolls. What was she trying to prove, that it’s too easy to get a mail-in ballot? Not exactly a voter fraud smoking gun 🤷‍♂️

    • frezik@midwest.social
      8·
      8 months ago

      Well, she was deputy director of the local election commission. Not surprising that she could get them. The fact that she was caught so easily, even when she’s at a relatively high level in the system, suggests the system does work.

      • Ep1cFac3pa1m@lemmy.world
        1·
        8 months ago

        The article was kind of vague, but I read it to mean she obtained the fraudulent ballots using methods available to the public, not in her official capacity.

    • IphtashuFitz@lemmy.worldEnglish
      7·
      8 months ago

      I have no idea how it’s done in WI, but here in MA:

      1. You register to vote, including providing your signature on a registration card.
      2. You request a mail-in ballot
      3. when you receive the ballot you fill it out
      4. You place the ballot in a blank envelope that came with the ballot.
      5. You place THAT envelope inside a second one that’s already addressed back to city hall, and includes your name/address on the outside (and I think a barcode). That envelope also has to be signed by you or the ballot won’t be accepted.

      My understanding is that when city hall receives it that it goes through the following process:

      1. They confirm you actually requested a mail-in ballot and that one was in fact mailed to you.
      2. The signature on the envelope is at least a rough match of the one in your voter registration.
      3. The voter rolls are checked to confirm they have not already received a ballot from you.
      4. The inner envelope is removed and confirmed to be sealed.
      5. The voter rolls are updated to indicate your vote has been received.
      6. The outer envelope is thrown away.
      7. The inner envelope, still sealed, is added to the pile of all other ballots that have been received.

      On Election Day those envelopes are opened and the ballots are counted.

      If at any point in the process a discrepancy occurs then a formal investigation is launched. This includes receiving more than one ballot from an individual, somebody showing up to vote in person after a mail-in ballot was received for them , etc.

      • Ep1cFac3pa1m@lemmy.world
        1·
        8 months ago

        The article said she sent the fraudulent ballots to her Republican representative, I’m guessing to say “look how easy it is to get fraudulent ballots” since her rep is a conspiracy theorist who thinks the election was stolen. I’m curious if there’s a mechanism in place to catch people obtaining fraudulent ballots who don’t literally send proof of their crime to an elected official.

        • Hikermick@lemmy.world
          2·
          8 months ago

          Hmm that’s a good point but the article doesn’t explicitly say. It does mention another person getting caught for the same thing. It does say she made up the names and social security numbers, I can’t imagine anyone could get away with that since the ballots would be verified when counted. Either way I love the fact these people prove themselves wrong and then go to jail for it

          Edit: you’re right WaPo reports the lawmaker turned her in

          • Ep1cFac3pa1m@lemmy.world
            1·
            8 months ago

            Either way I love the fact these people prove themselves wrong and then go to jail for it

            Definitely my favorite part of the story. I’m sure that once the ballots are cast there’s some sort of verification process, because why the hell wouldn’t there be…I guess I’m just confused as to why there’s no verification when the ballots are requested in the first place. It’s one thing to commit identity theft and use a real person’s name and SSN, but the fact that you can just make up a name and SSN and get a ballot sent you you baffles me.