Republican Voter Fraud and Robert D. Monroe

It seems odd when Republicans talk about the critical need for voter IDs as a tool to prevent what they say is rampant (but which in reality is nearly nonexistent) fraud at the polls. One very rare case of voting fraud is currently being prosecuted in Wisconsin. The alleged perpetrator is a Republican supporter of Governor Scott Walker.

Wisconsin man charged with 13 counts of voter fraud

Robert D. Monroe, 50, used addresses in Shorewood, Milwaukee and Indiana, according to the complaint, and cast some votes in the names of…

JSONLINE.COM|BY BRUCE VIELMETTI

Shorewood man charged with 13 counts of voter fraud

A Shorewood man has been charged with more than a dozen counts of illegal voting, accused of casting multiple ballots in four elections in 2011 and 2012, including five in the 2012 gubernatorial recall.

Robert D. Monroe, 50, used addresses in Shorewood, Milwaukee and Indiana, according to the complaint, and cast some votes in the names of his son and his girlfriend's son.

According to the complaint:

Monroe cast two ballots in the April 2011 Supreme Court election, two in the August 2011 Alberta Darling recall election, five in the Scott Walker-Tom Barrett recall, one illegal ballot in an August 2012 primary, and two ballots in the November 2012 presidential election.

In the presidential election, Monroe cast an in-person absentee ballot in Shorewood on Nov. 1 and drove a rental car to Lebanon, Ind., where he showed his Indiana driver's license to vote in person on election day, Nov. 6, the complaint charges. Monroe owns a house there, according to the complaint.

The 26-page criminal complaint was filed Friday in Milwaukee County Circuit Court and is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Bruce Landgraf, one of the prosecutors involved in the John Doe investigations of Gov. Scott Walker's staff when he was county executive and the now-halted probe into fundraising by Walker's gubernatorial campaign.

The complaint indicates the investigation started in Waukesha County as an inquiry into possible double voting by Monroe's son, who lives in Waukesha. But the son denied any knowledge of requesting an absentee ballot from his father's Shorewood address, and the investigation shifted back to Milwaukee County.

It then proceeded, in part, as it related to yet another John Doe investigation apparently unrelated to Walker, records of which were recently ordered unsealed, according to the complaint.

The complaint says investigators went as far as testing absentee ballot envelopes, supposedly sent by other people, to find only Monroe's DNA, and no DNA of the voters allegedly casting the votes.

It includes text messages between Monroe and his ex-wife, sons and brother, strongly urging them to vote. One text May 23, 2012, to a son reads, "You must go to city hall and register to vote. Every vote will be needed!... Please please please."

The complaint refers to Monroe as an executive within the health care industry who earned a master's degree in business administration at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 2013.

"He has expressed an interest in attending law school," the complaint reads.

Monroe faces various counts of election fraud, including registering in more than one place, providing false information to an election official, voting more than once and voting as a disqualified person, for a total 13 felony charges. Each charge carries a maximum penalty of up to 18 months in prison, two years of extended supervision and a $10,000 fine.

Monroe is not in custody, and his initial court appearance is scheduled for July 17.

Monroe is represented by Milwaukee attorneys Franklyn Gimbel and Steven McGaver. Gimbel declined to comment about the matter or his client Tuesday.

"We have some strategies we're not looking to disclose at this time," he said.

http://www.jsonline.com/news/crime/shorewood-man-charged-with-13-counts-of-voter-fraud-b99297733z1-264322221.html