There is no evidence of widespread voter fraud in this or any other Wisconsin election. Wisconsin has many systems in place to deter and detect illegal voting, but there will always be small amounts of voter fraud in any election. The Wisconsin Elections Commission is dedicated to working with local election officials and law enforcement to identify and prosecute election crimes.
After every election, local election officials and the WEC conduct audits designed to identify possible cases of voter fraud, which are referred to district attorneys for further investigation and possible prosecution. Suspected cases are reported to the public through our annual Report of Suspected Election Fraud, Irregularities or Violations pursuant to Wis. Stat. § 7.15(1)(g) to the Wisconsin Legislature. Past reports are available here.
Historically, the most common form of voter fraud is voting by residents who are serving a felony sentence and have lost their right to vote. The WEC works closely with the Wisconsin Department of Corrections and regularly receives lists of people who have been convicted of felonies, who are then removed from the eligible voter list in real time throughout the election cycle. WEC also provides lists of ineligible persons to municipal clerks so they can be screened if they attempt to register on Election Day. If an ineligible felon somehow manages to register to vote, that is caught during the felon audit after the election and referred for prosecution.
Wisconsin’s statewide voter database is designed to identify any possible instance of double voting, and a small number of criminal referrals have been made and cases have been prosecuted over the years. Starting with the 2018 General Election, Wisconsin participates in cross-state audits searching for possible cases of voting by individuals in multiple states.
Anyone with information about possible fraud in an election is encouraged to file a report with local law enforcement or to file a sworn complaint with the Wisconsin Elections Commission. State law prohibits the WEC from starting its own investigations without a sworn complaint. For more information about how to file a complaint, please visit our complaint page.