Harry Wait found guilty of 3 counts in absentee ballot fraud case
Jury finds Harry Wait guilty in election fraud case
Harry Wait has been found guilty on three of the four counts in his Racine County election fraud case.
RACINE, Wis. - A Racine County man charged in an election fraud case has been found guilty on multiple counts.
Split verdict
What we know:
A jury found Harry Wait guilty of two misdemeanor counts of election fraud and one felony count of identity theft.
Wait was found guilty on three of the four counts filed against him. The misdemeanor counts involved absentee ballot requests connected to Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and Racine Mayor Cory Mason.
Jurors deliberated for more than three hours Tuesday evening, March 24, before reaching a verdict.
Split verdict in Harry Wait election fraud case
A jury found Harry Wait guilty of two counts of election fraud and one count of identity theft. He talks with FOX6's Jason Calvi moments later.
Accused of election fraud
What we know:
Wait took the stand earlier in the day. He testified that he acted to save the Republic.
Wait's testimony comes more than three-and-a-half years since he said he requested the absentee ballots for Speaker Robin Vos and Racine Mayor Cory Mason. Wait had written Vos, Mason, the district attorney and sheriff six hours after making the request.
Harry Wait
All these years later, Wait admits he went into the state's MyVote page and ordered ballots. The Racine clerk's office sent him a ballot for Mayor Cory Mason.
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The prosecution said Wait clearly broke the law, and certified he was who he actually was not.
Harry Wait
The defendant counters by pointing to Wait's purpose. They said his intention was good; he wanted to show vulnerabilities and gaps in the system.
Wait under cross-examination
What they're saying:
Here is a sample of Wait's testimony under cross-examination:
Wait: "I could order 1000 ballots, i could have ordered your ballot (pointing to the prosecutor) and shipped it to her."
Adrienne Blais, Wisconsin Assistant Attorney General: "And you didn't care that you were doing this as you checked a box that said, 'I am who I say I am, and these are true statements. You didn't care that was a lie?"
Wait: "I care for the truth, and MyVote is a scam. It is a fraudster's dream."
Harry Wait
Other testimony
Dig deeper:
The prosecution on Tuesday played video of Wait admitted to it in 2022.
The state's special agent who led this case also testified, along with a Wisconsin Elections Commission cybersecurity expert.
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Also entered into evidence on Tuesday, a Racine County deputy's body camera footage which shows Wait dropping off Mason's ballot.
Racine County trial begins for man accused of election fraud
Harry Wait went on trial in Racine County on Monday, accused of requesting absentee ballots in others’ names, as prosecutors argue he broke the law and the defense claims he exposed voting system flaws.
The Source: Information in this post was provided by Wisconsin Circuit Court Access as well as in-person reporting by FOX6 News.