Wisconsin election fraud, man charged after admitting ballot request

UNION GROVE, Wis. - The Wisconsin Department of Justice on Thursday, Sept. 1 announced that 68-year-old Harry Wait of Union Grove has been charged with election fraud.

Wait admits he requested ballots for others without their permission because he was trying to prove voter fraud. Now, charged with fraud himself, he said he will plead not guilty.

"We are looking forward to having our day in court," he said.

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The ballots Wait showed FOX6 News in August could now be his ticket to jail. State prosecutors charged him with two misdemeanor counts of election fraud and two felony counts of identity theft.

"Any efforts to attack our election system are a threat to the integrity of our election process and our democracy," said Attorney General Josh Kaul. "That’s something we take very seriously at the Wisconsin Department of Justice."

Absentee ballots fraudulently obtained by Harry Wait

In July, Wait admits he went onto the state's "My Vote" website and ordered ballots for others – certifying that he was those people.

"Anybody can go on the internet from anywhere in the world and order somebody’s ballot. So, there is no pin, there is no protocols for safety and security. If a bank did that, they’d be out of business in no time," said Wait.

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Wait asked for, but did not receive a ballot for Assembly Speaker Robin Vos. Racine's clerk did send Wait a ballot for Mayor Cory Mason.

Wait said he returned all the bogusly requested ballots to either the voters themselves or the Racine County Sheriff's Office.

"We’re bringing forth all this to the people’s attention, so it will get changed," he said.

My Vote Wisconsin website

The Wisconsin Elections Commission said the My Vote website is secure. In an emergency meeting right after Wait's revelation, Wisconsin Elections Administrator Meagan Wolfe said:

"Just like a nefarious individual could misuse the personal information or identity of someone to commit something like a financial fraud, someone can also unlawfully use an individual’s personal information to commit election fraud."

"Ensuring that there are consequences, in the event that people do break the laws, that is a critical deterrent that helps keep our system safe," said Kaul.

Harry Wait

"I’d do the same thing again. It’s necessary to save our republic. We’re hanging on a thread," Wait told FOX6 when asked if he regrets what he did.

Wait is due in court Thursday, Sept. 8. If convicted of the four charges, he could be locked up for 13 years.

The Wisconsin Elections Commission's most recent fraud report cites 83 suspected cases from 2020 until June 2022. Some cases included people voting twice in the same election or not having the proper address on their voter registration.

Racine County Courthouse

State law requires the commission to produce a yearly report of suspected election fraud. The 2022 report, sent in July, lists cases – some of which date back to 2020.

1. Voter impersonation (deceased elector with participation)
2. Voting twice in same election (in-person in different municipalities)
3. Voting twice in same election (both absentee by mail)
4. Voting twice in same election (in-person and in-person absentee)
5. Voting twice in same election (in-person and absentee by mail)
6. Voter impersonation (participation in different municipalities with different signatures)
7. Voting twice in same election (in-person and absentee by mail)
8. Voting twice in same election (in-person and absentee by mail)
9. Voting twice in same election (in-person and absentee by mail)
10. Voting twice in same election (in-person and absentee by mail)
11. Voting twice in same election (two different states)
12. Improper residential address on voter registration (12 instances)
13. Improper residential address on voter registration (3 instances)
14. Improper residential address on voter registration (21 instances)
15. Improper residential address on voter registration (13 instances)
16. Improper residential address on voter registration (one individual)
17. Voting twice in same election (two different states)
18. Improper residential address on voter registration (one individual)
19. Felon registration
20. Voting twice in same election (in-person in different municipalities)
21. Voting twice in same election (in-person and absentee by mail)
22. Voting twice in same election (in-person and absentee by mail) (16 instances)
23. Improper residential address on voter registration (one individual)

There were not enough cases to tilt the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.