Activist who pushed 2020 election fraud claims convicted of election fraud
NBC News • • nation
Key Points:
- Harry Wait, a Wisconsin man, was convicted by a Racine County jury of two misdemeanor election fraud charges and one felony identity theft charge for requesting ballots of Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and Democratic Mayor Cory Mason without their consent.
- Wait leads a group promoting false claims of widespread election fraud in Wisconsin and that Donald Trump won the 2020 election, despite Trump losing the state by about 21,000 votes.
- Wait admitted in 2022 to requesting the ballots to demonstrate vulnerabilities in the state's voter registration system and expressed no regret after his conviction, stating he would "do it again."
- He faces up to six years in prison for the felony and up to one year for each misdemeanor, with sentencing yet to be scheduled; his attorney has not commented on a potential appeal.
- This conviction follows a similar 2024 case where a former Milwaukee election official was found guilty of misconduct for obtaining absentee ballots fraudulently, also claiming to expose election system flaws.
