Activist who pushed 2020 election fraud claims convicted of election fraud
A Wisconsin election denier who tried to “prove” fraud by impersonating two politicians was convicted of election fraud and identity theft—showing how “system testing” narratives can excuse the very conduct they claim to expose.
Mar 25, 2026
Sources
Summary
A Racine County jury convicted Harry Wait of two misdemeanor election-fraud counts and one felony identity-theft count after he requested absentee ballots for Robin Vos and Cory Mason without their consent. The coverage foregrounds Wait’s self-described “white hat” motive and allied praise, but gives less clarity on what actually “failed” in the system and what safeguards prevented harm. The story matters because treating illegal ballot requests as civic “tests” distorts what election security is and normalizes impersonation as political theater.
Reality Check
The core fact is straightforward: requesting someone else’s ballot without consent is not “testing,” it is election fraud and identity theft. If a person can submit an absentee-ballot request using another voter’s information, that is not proof an election was stolen; it is proof that impersonation attempts exist—and that the legal system treats them as crimes. Claims that the “system failed” also need specificity: whether ballots were actually issued, intercepted, returned, or rejected matters for evaluating real-world risk.
Detail
On Tuesday in Racine County, Wisconsin, jurors found Harry Wait guilty of two misdemeanor election-fraud charges and one felony identity-theft charge after a two-day trial.
The jury acquitted Wait of a second identity-theft count.
Prosecutors said Wait requested absentee ballots for Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and Democratic Racine Mayor Cory Mason without their consent.
Wait has led or promoted a group advancing false claims that Wisconsin elections are riddled with fraud and that Donald Trump won Wisconsin in 2020 (Trump lost the state by about 21,000 votes).
Wait said in 2022 he requested the ballots to demonstrate vulnerabilities in Wisconsin’s voter registration/absentee request process and said he expected legal consequences.
In 2022, U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson praised Wait as a “white hat hacker,” and after the verdict Wait told WTMJ he “would do it again,” claiming, “I tested the system and the system failed.”
Sentencing had not been scheduled as of March 25, 2026; Wait’s lawyer did not say whether he would appeal.
NBC reported Wait faces up to six years in prison on the felony conviction and up to a year in jail on each misdemeanor (some local reporting describes the maximum exposure differently depending on charge structure).
The article links Wait’s case to Kimberly Zapata, a former Milwaukee election official convicted in 2024 after obtaining three military absentee ballots in 2022 using fake names and Social Security numbers; she later received probation and a fine.