Conservative activist who claimed 2020 election against Trump was rigged is convicted of election fraud

On Tuesday, a jury in Racine delivered a mixed verdict following the trial of the retired business consultant. According to online court records, seen by The Washington Post, Wait was convicted of one felony count of identity theft and two misdemeanor counts of election fraud. The jury acquitted him on a second charge of identity theft.

Wait, who serves as president emeritus of the group HOT Government, faces a maximum of seven years in prison, though legal observers suggest a sentence of that severity is unlikely.

The case dates back to 2022, when Wait used the state-run website to request mail-in ballots for Robin Vos, Republican speaker of the state assembly, and Cory Mason, Democratic mayor of Racine.

Wait requested that these ballots be sent directly to his home. Upon doing so, he publicly announced his actions, framing them as a necessary effort to highlight flaws that could be exploited by malicious actors.

"I’d do it again in a heartbeat, because to save the republic, soldiers have to draw blood and blood be drawn," Wait told The Washington Post in 2022.

The Wisconsin Department of Justice launched an investigation shortly after his public admission.

While one municipal clerk processed the request and sent a ballot, the other did not. Election officials have maintained that such instances are exceptionally rare and that tracking systems would have identified the fraud even without Wait’s disclosure.

The state tracks where ballots are sent and investigates when voters question whether someone tried to vote in their name, election officials said.

The conviction occurs amid heightened rhetoric regarding voting security ahead of the 2026 midterms. President Donald Trump has continued to assert that voter fraud is a widespread danger but election experts note that documented cases remain rare, often resulting in significant legal peril for those attempting to test the system.

Similar attempts to manipulate the electoral process have resulted in significant criminal penalties for other officials and activists. Former deputy elections director in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Kimberly Zapata, was convicted in 2024 of absentee-ballot fraud after creating false identities to request military ballots. She received one year of probation.

Tina Peters, former clerk of Mesa County, Colorado, is serving a nine-year sentence related to the breach of voting machine data.

Throughout his trial, Wait’s supporters remained vocal, often appearing in court or at rallies wearing "Free Harry" attire. Despite the legal outcome, Wait has consistently maintained that the legal risk was justified to bring attention to what he perceives as systemic weaknesses in Wisconsin’s election infrastructure.