Prosecutors: Husband and wife admitted to voting in Rochester, and then driving to and voting in Burlington
RACINE COUNTY -- A husband and wife from Wind Lake are facing charges, accused of registering to vote in more than one place, and voting more than one time. They are each facing two counts of felony election fraud.
The accused are James Denig, 56, and Kay Denig, 60.
The investigation began in September of 2017, and the complaint indicates the voter fraud took place in the Village of Rochester and Town of Burlington on April 4, 2017.
Investigators took a look at poll book pages from Burlington and Rochester which contained the signatures of James and Kay Denig. Investigators also obtained voter registration forms for James and Kay Denig, completed in Burlington. It was determined they voted in Burlington and Rochester using two different addresses.
The complaint says James Denig in October 2017 told investigators he had sold his Rochester address at the end of September, and said he's owned the Burlington home for several years -- a family lake house. He admitted to voting twice -- first voting in Rochester and then driving to Burlington "to vote on the referendums." In Rochester, he said he voted the full ballot, and in Burlington he only voted for the referendums.
According to the complaint, Kay Denig told the same story -- and said she saw the "10 day residency requirement" on the registration form and "thought it meant she needed to own the house for 10 days prior to voting," which she had fulfilled.
The complaint notes that both James and Kay Denig "took responsibility for voting twice."
James Denig and Kay Denig each made their initial appearances in court on May 1. Preliminary hearings were set for May 17 and May 7, respectively. Signature bond was set at $1,000 each.