Debunking Wisconsin voting myths: Here are five common misconceptions about voter fraud

Although voter fraud is rare in Wisconsin, misconceptions about the state's electoral process are widespread — everything from allegations of dead people "voting" to noncitizens casting ballots.

Among nearly 3.7 million registered voters in Wisconsin, election officials reported just under three dozen cases of suspected voter fraud, including 44 instances, between the 2022 partisan primary and general elections and the 2023 spring primary election.

More recently, the Wisconsin Elections Commission found 13 cases, with 30 instances, of suspected fraud between July 1, 2023 and Sept. 12, 2024, according to an October report .

Still, the Republican National Committee sent a letter to the WEC in September alleging ballots were sent to more than 1,000 ineligible voters in Wisconsin, according to Democracy Docket . The WEC refuted the Committee's claims.

We examined five common claims about voter fraud in Wisconsin. Here's what we found, plus what you can do if you suspect voter fraud at your polling place:

Myth: Widespread nursing home voter fraud skewed Wisconsin election outcomes

Nursing home voter fraud in Wisconsin was scrutinized in 2020 among Republicans, who claimed that voter fraud among older adults living in nursing homes skewed the outcome of the previous presidential election, despite an independent audit and report from a conservative group showing President Joe Biden winning over former President Donald Trump.

According to Wisconsin law, people living in nursing homes or assisted living facilities can request a special voting deputy to visit their facility and assist residents with voting via absentee ballot. You can find more information about the process here .

In 2020, election officials temporarily changed the absentee procedures. Instead of sending special voting deputies to facilities in-person, the commission said it was safer to send absentee ballots via mail to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. Racine County Sheriff Christopher Schmaling said those changes resulted in voter fraud, and called for charges against state election officials. The Racine County district attorney declined to pursue charges.

Myth: Double voting is widespread across Wisconsin elections

In late September, 2,000 voters were accidentally sent duplicate ballots out of Madison, though a city spokesperson told the Associated Press multiple safeguards were in place to ensure that only one ballot would be counted.

Riley Vetterkind, WEC public information officer, told the Journal Sentinel that systems exist statewide to prevent instances of double voting, including required proof of residency when someone registers to vote.

"This system of registration prevents voters from attempting to vote in multiple places within the state," Vetterkind said, adding that absentee ballot requests are also noted in poll books to prevent voters from also voting in-person.

There have been six cases, totaling 18 suspected instances of double voting, reported to the WEC in its latest suspected fraud report .

Municipal clerks reported 23 cases, totaling 30 instances, of individuals voting twice across the elections included in the WEC's September 2023 report .

Myth: Felon voter fraud is common in Wisconsin elections

Though people voting with a felony record historically has been the most common type of voter fraud in Wisconsin, municipal clerks only reported three cases, totaling eight suspected instances, in the WEC's most recent suspected election fraud report.

Municipal clerks also reported two instances of this type of suspected fraud to the WEC between June 2022 and June 2023.

A recent WEC voter felon audit , published on Sept. 7, 2023, indicated that officials referred 27 cases of felons voting to district attorneys for the 2022 partisan primary, 2022 general election, 2023 spring election primary and 2023 spring election.

In May, a 66-year-old Columbus man was charged with election fraud in Fond du Lac County for voting with a felony conviction in the November 2022 general election.

Myth: Thousands of undocumented immigrants are voting in Wisconsin's elections

Posts on various social media platforms have claimed that thousands of undocumented immigrants are voting in this year's election, some of which specifically cite Wisconsin.

However, the WEC has only been made aware of four alleged cases of election fraud involving citizenship since 2015.

And a nationwide study of the 2016 election found that, across 12 states and 23.5 million votes, only 30 incidents of suspected noncitizen voting were referred for further investigation.

Only U.S. citizens who show valid proof of residency can vote in Wisconsin elections.

Myth: Deceased people 'vote' in Wisconsin elections

In the aftermath of his 2020 election loss, Trump made several claims that deceased people had "voted" in the election, with someone else casting a ballot on behalf of a deceased person.

While it's true absentee ballots are sometimes sent to the homes of deceased people, especially if they died after requesting the ballot, there are systems to prevent voter fraud in these situations, according to USA TODAY . Election officials nationwide have verification procedures for absentee ballots, namely ensuring the signature on the ballot matches the voter signature on file.

In Wisconsin, specifically, local clerks routinely deactivate the voter registration of deceased people using state Department of Health records, funeral home reports and obituaries, Vetterkind said. If a person is deceased according to state health records, no one can request an absentee ballot in their name, nor can they vote at the polls in their name.

Questions around dead people voting have also surfaced because Wisconsin's voter registration database will occasionally show a voter with the birth date of 1/1/1900 and a registration date of 1/1/1918. No, that's not because 124-year-olds are voting.

The discrepancy exists because, in 2006, Wisconsin transferred all its voter registration records into a statewide database, according to the WEC . However, some municipalities had not recorded voters' date of birth or registration date before this switch, so these default years were entered for those voters.

Myth: Citizens from other states vote in Wisconsin elections

To register to vote, residents must show proof they have lived at their Wisconsin current address for at least 28 days before the election, Vetterkind said. When registering, voters have to provide a photo ID that matches the name on their proof of residency document, and they have to provide a photo ID again when they go to vote.

This means residents of other states cannot vote in Wisconsin because they would have had to prove they have lived in the state for at least a month. College students form a slight exception here: both students who are from another state but attending school in Wisconsin and students from Wisconsin but currently studying in another state can vote in Wisconsin.

What to do if you suspect possible election fraud

If you have any information about possible election fraud, you can file a report with local law enforcement or file a sworn complaint with the Wisconsin Elections Commission. State law prohibits the WEC from starting an investigation without a sworn complaint.

You can find more information about filing a complaint here .

Cleo Krejci and Quinn Clark contributed to this report.