Wisconsin Activist Convicted of Ballot Fraud, Identity Theft

A jury in Racine County, Wisconsin, convicted a 71-year-old local activist on Tuesday of two misdemeanor counts of election fraud and one felony count of identity theft after he requested absentee ballots in the names of two elected officials without their permission in 2022.

Harry Wait, a retired consultant and leader of the group H.O.T. Government, which focuses on election accountability, admitted during the trial that he used the state's MyVote website to order ballots for Republican State Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and Democratic Racine Mayor Cory Mason. Wait stated that his goal was to demonstrate potential weaknesses in Wisconsin's absentee voting process. He received the ballot addressed to Mason but not the one for Vos, and he later informed Racine County Sheriff Christopher Schmaling about his actions, publicizing them to draw attention to what he saw as systemic flaws.

The two-day trial, held at the William L. McReynolds Law Enforcement Center in Racine, drew dozens of supporters who filled the courtroom. Jurors acquitted Wait of a second identity theft charge. He now faces up to six years in prison for the felony and up to one year in jail for each misdemeanor,...