MILWAUKEE — An election official for the City of Milwaukee has been charged for allegedly requesting fraudulent military absentee ballots.

Now-former deputy director of the Milwaukee Election Commission Kimberly Zapata was charged on three counts of election fraud and one count of felony misconduct in office after she allegedly sent the ballots to Republican State Rep. Janel Brandtjen’s home. Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson on Thursday said she was immediately fired for the incident.

“I will not accept, I will not tolerate, and I certainly will not defend any misrepresentation by a city official involved in elections. It does not matter that this might have been an effort to expose a vulnerability that state law created. It does not matter that this alleged crime did not take place at work,” Johnson said. “It does not matter that City of Milwaukee ballots were not part of this. Nor does it matter that there was no attempt to vote illegally or tamper with election results.”

Her initial court appearance is set for Nov. 28.

Brandtjen, who leads the Wisconsin State Assembly's elections committee, said last week, three military absentee ballots addressed to a person named “Holly” were sent to her home. She noted that none of these individuals have ever lived at her address.

“I believe someone was trying to point out how easy it is to get military ballots in Wisconsin,” she said in a statement. “Registration for military ballots is not required, so a fictitious name and birthdate is all that is required to obtain a military ballot online. Feeling shocked about this situation is an understatement because it demonstrates stolen valor from those who protect this nation.”

Brandtjen delivered the ballots to the Waukesha County Sheriff’s Office, who investigated the incident.

After Zapata was fired, Brandtjen shared the following statement:

“Unlike Mayor Johnson, I have actually been working on providing Wisconsinites a safe and secure election process. We have uncovered so many issues that demand attention. I have been attacked by the liberal media, democrats who benefit from the system, and republicans who don’t have the backbone to take on the issues, including Speaker Vos, who has referred to me as a conspiracy theorist. All of the while, we have uncovered massive amounts of election disparities and a statewide Election Commission that has undeniably broken the law on numerous occasions. It’s time we do the people’s business, and that includes the media and both parties taking part.”

Johnson said Zapata was forthcoming about her actions.

“[…] We have no indication of any other violations of trust. Even so, we are looking into the possibility of other misdeeds,” he said. “Let there be no doubt about this, election integrity is absolutely essential. Both our Election Commission Executive Director and I will make certain Milwaukee’s election administration is conducted with the very highest level of accuracy and honesty — without any hints of impropriety.”

The Milwaukee Common Council applauded Johnson's termination of the former deputy director of the Election Commission.

"The news that Ms. Zapata reportedly violated her oath and the public trust by fraudulently requesting military absentee ballots – and then sending those ballots to a state legislator – is shocking, sad and extremely disappointing. Although she apparently did this outside of work and on her own time, that fact does NOT matter. Her actions leave a stain on the Election Commission and city government that is hurtful and unwarranted, but nonetheless damaging," the Common Council said in a statement. "We are calling on the office of the Milwaukee County District Attorney to initiate an investigation into this matter, and we plan to bring the director of the Election Commission before one or more Council committees to answer questions about this matter. Despite the actions of this now former city official, we continue to have faith in our election workers, our system, and the overall integrity of our election operation in the City of Milwaukee."

The Republican Party of Wisconsin expressed concern regarding the incident.

"Election officials need to follow the law. However, the vulnerabilities that continue to be exposed in the MyVote system for requesting absentee ballots should be shocking to everyone," RPW communications director Chad Doran said in a statement. "We remain very concerned that these vulnerabilities exist and that the Elections Commission is not taking the proper steps to mitigate the risks of potential fraud those vulnerabilities in the system create."

Thursday evening, Wisconsin Elections Commission Administrator Meagan Wolfe made the following statement following the reports:

“I am stunned and deeply disappointed by reports that a City of Milwaukee election official has violated election law, and undermined the trust of the public, of members of our armed forces, and of her fellow election workers. The actions of this single individual were swiftly detected and will have no impact the November 8 election. We however recognize that the damage caused by this action is damage to public confidence. This violation of trust cuts to the heart of election integrity, something that the Wisconsin Elections Commission and local election officials hold in the most serious regard. While the actions of this individual set us all back in our efforts to show Wisconsinites that our elections are run with integrity, I have every confidence the upcoming election will be fair and accurate."

Brandtjen filed a lawsuit on Friday to temporarily block the counting of military ballots.

“Now that we know just how easy it is to illegally acquire military ballots, I’m asking the courts to confirm active military status until we can close these loopholes. We all want to protect our military members from having their valor stolen in such a despicable fashion,” Brandtjen said. “Of course we will make sure every legitimate military ballot is counted, and we will not let bad actors steal their votes."

The WEC noted that military ballots make up an average of .07% of total ballots requested. In the 2018 election, 2,700 military ballots were requested. As of Thursday, 2,747 military ballots have been requested for the upcoming election.