Kimberly Zapata, the former Milwaukee elections official who committed election fraud in the 2022 elections by falsely filing for three military absentee ballots found out her fate this week.
Zapata had been facing up to five years in prison, instead was sentenced to one year of probation, a $3,000 fine and 120 hours of community service.
[Judge] Ashley rejected the defense argument that Zapata was acting as a whistleblower, saying Zapata had options to make her point other than to commit crimes.
"I think you had legitimate means to go about solving an issue that you identified, and I think you took a shortcut," Ashley said.
Still, the judge said she did not think Zapata acted with "nefarious intent."
The sentence Ashley handed down included 120 hours of community service as a condition of probation.
Zapata would have to serve nine months in the Milwaukee County Community Reintegration Center, formerly known as the House of Correction, if she violates the terms of probation.
The judge got it wrong and was too lenient on Zapata. Zapata's intent is not pertinent to the case. What matters is that Zapata had sworn to protect the integrity of the election and took willful action that undermined that oath. Zapata should have seen some jail time for justice to have been served.
The big takeaway though is that despite the judicial system failing in this case, the election system worked as it was supposed to despite The Big Lie repeated by Trump and the MAGA GOP.
