MADISON – Racine County Sheriff Christopher Schmaling, who has campaigned for former President Donald Trump and has spread baseless claims of widespread voter fraud, was notified of a successful plot to commit voter fraud by a group of conservative activists who believe Trump's 2020 election loss was illegitimate but the sheriff is blaming state election officials for the violations instead of pursuing charges against the offenders.

Members of a Racine County-based group that promotes false claims of voter fraud in the 2020 election committed election crimes by submitting false information to obtain absentee ballots — in some cases posing as prominent officials, including Assembly Speaker Robin Vos — to show violations of the law are possible.

Instead of promising to investigate the crimes, Schmaling publicized the plot on social media as being helpful in rooting out vulnerabilities in the state election system and blamed the Wisconsin Elections Commission, calling on commissioners to remove a way voters can easily request ballots online.

Harry Wait, the leader of the Racine-based government transparency group H.O.T. Government (Honest, Open and Transparent), told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel he requested Vos' and Racine Mayor Cory Mason's absentee ballot on Tuesday through the state Election Commission's myvote.com website.

"First I put in the name Robin Vos, clicked his address and hit absentee, then I selected a new address and successfully ordered it," said Wait,...

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