Complaint: Wisconsin Officials Sent Ballot To Ineligible Nursing Home Resident After She ‘Voted’ In Last Two Elections

An elderly nursing home resident in Wisconsin has allegedly been the victim of voter abuse according to a report from the Thomas More Society, a not-for-profit national public interest law firm. 

Sandra Klitzke, a resident of a Grand Chute, Wis., nursing home, reportedly received an absentee ballot for the upcoming April 5 election despite being legally unable to vote or register to vote since Feb. 21, 2020, in accordance with a ruling made by Outagamie County Circuit Court. Even more alarming, voter records mark Klitzke as having voted in both the Nov. 3, 2020 election and the April 6, 2021 election despite being legally ineligible to vote in either.

An official complaint from the Thomas More Society and Klitzke’s daughter and guardian, Lisa Goodwin, against the Wisconsin Elections Commission, the Grand Chute town clerk, and the Outagamie County Circuit Court clerk details the alleged violations and discusses the scope of voter abuse in the state.

 The complaint specifies that, in response to Goodwin’s petition for guardianship of her mother due to cognitive decline, “the Outagamie County Circuit Court restricted Sandra Klitzke’s right to vote” and that such rights “may not be exercised by any person.”

“I could not explain why the WisVote voting records would have indicated that my mother had voted,” Goodwin explained, clarifying that “Neither I nor any other member of my immediate family completed an absentee ballot for my mother.”

An article from the Thomas More Society specifically alleges that “Wisconsin Elections Commission Administrator Meagan Wolfe, Town Clerk of Grand Chute Angie Cain, and Outagamie County Circuit Court Clerk Barb Bocik” have violated “state law and the Outagamie County Circuit Court Order by allowing a ward under a ‘do not vote’ guardianship order to register and vote.” 

The complaint also charges that, according to data compiled from WisVote, the state of Wisconsin only lists 802 individuals as legally “incompetent” to vote, despite a review of county-by-county records finding that the number should be as high as 5,000.

Wisconsin Elections Commission Administrator Wolfe has previously faced calls to resign from state lawmakers following accusations that she ​​ committed “felonies by telling election clerks to mail absentee ballots to nursing homes instead of visiting them in person during the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Previous reporting revealed that in Wisconsin’s Racine County, a woman was recorded as having voted in the 2020 presidential election who had died before Election Day. The Wisconsin Elections Commission also violated state law when it instructed workers at residential care facilities to help residents vote, even if it meant marking their ballots for them.

Further reporting found that there were instances of election fraud at at least 90 different nursing homes across the state, but that District Attorney Patricia Hanson refused to prosecute those responsible for the election fraud. In at least one case, a resident at a residential care facility went with her family to her assigned polling place to cast a ballot but was told that she had already voted.

There are roughly 92,000 people in such facilities throughout Wisconsin, a sizable number given that Biden won the state by 20,682 votes.

Neither Wisconsin Elections Commission Administrator Meagan Wolfe, Town Clerk of Grand Chute Angie Cain, nor Outagamie County Circuit Court Clerk Barb Bocik responded to requests for comment.

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