Wisconsin Legislative Committee Discusses Military Voting

Thursday, June 8th, 2023 -- 2:00 PM

(By Anya van Wagtendonk, Wisconsin Public Radio) A proposal that would require a military voter to provide identification when applying for an absentee ballot sparked debate about the security of electronic ballot return Tuesday at a legislative committee hearing.

According to Anya van Wagtendonk with Wisconsin Public Radio, members of a state Assembly panel took public testimony on Tuesday about a slate of bipartisan election-related bills, including the military voter bill which would require a military voter to provide their federal Department of Defense, or DOD, number when applying for an absentee ballot.

A municipal clerk would verify that number under the bill, which backers say would align a military voter's identification requirements with those of most other Wisconsin residents. A military voter would need to resubmit their DOD number every six years, or if their name or address has changed.

The bill was written in response to the case of Kimberly Zapata, the former deputy director of Milwaukee's election commission who fraudulently requested military absentee ballots last fall.

According to a criminal complaint against Zapata, she did so in order to demonstrate election fraud exists. She has since been charged with election fraud and felony misconduct in public office.

"This situation showed that the system to request military absentee ballots is quite frankly flawed, and this legislation seeks to solve that problem to ensure security and our election process," said Rep. Shae Sortwell, R-Two Rivers, a co-author of the bill.

The bill would also create a new process for returning ballots electronically. The bill's authors say this would expedite the return of ballots from overseas locations from which postal mail might be too slow, effectively disenfranchising military members.

But some secure election advocates said this could undermine both the security of individual votes and also open elections offices and other governmental bodies to malware and hacking.

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