Elections Commission report shows 10 criminal referrals for voter fraud in 2020

A report from the Wisconsin Elections Commission shows that municipal clerks have made 10 criminal referrals of voter fraud to local district attorneys related to incidents during the 2020 general election. 

The report also shows that 73 criminal referrals have been made to district attorneys related to incidents in the elections since then.

The vast majority of these referrals were made because someone voted more than once in the same election — most commonly by returning an absentee ballot and voting in person. A handful of other people voted in more than one municipality or even more than one state. 

A majority of the referrals came from Milwaukee County, but Brown County also had a large number of them, including 34 instances of a person including an improper residential address on their voter registration. 

Since 2020 Republicans in Wisconsin have been continuously spreading false allegations that the state’s elections system is rife with fraud, yet the report shows voter fraud is rare. 

The commission, which is required by state law to submit the report every year, voted 6-0 to send it to the Legislature with little discussion.