Sheriff investigating ‘voting irregularities’ in recall election

Could findings impact closely contested state Senate race?

The Racine County Sheriff’s Department is investigating citizen complaints of “voting irregularities” associated with the June 5 recall election in the county.

The sheriff’s office notified the media Thursday afternoon of the investigation, which was requested by District Attorney Richard Chiapete on Monday.

The information is significant because it comes at a crucial point in the District 21 state Senate recall, which currently hangs in the balance.

Democratic challenger John Lehman holds an 834-vote margin over incumbent Republican Van Wanggaard following Tuesday’s canvass of the election results. However, Wanggaard has until 5 p.m. Friday to request a recount of the ballots at his own expense.

It is possible the investigation could influence Wanggaard to seek the recount because it would, presumably, buy his campaign more time to learn about the possible impact of the alleged irregularities.

Wanggaard, who has been tight-lipped since the recall election but has not conceded, said in a statement released the day after the election that he was concerned about possible voter fraud.

“We know that there are … voting irregularities and that there were problems across the county in the unofficial tally of ballots,” Wanggaard said in the statement.

According to the statement issued by the sheriff’s department Thursday,  “The district attorney had been contacted by a citizen stating he had recovered suspicious voter registration documents from the dumpster at the Cesar Chavez Center located in the City of Racine.”

On Wednesday, Chiapete requested the sheriff also speak with people who allege voting irregularities occurred at the Dr. John Bryant Center in Racine.

The two polling places in question are among the City of Racine wards that voted strongly in favor of Lehman and helped him overcome a lead Wanggaard had built early in the returns largely on support from Western Racine County voters.

The 21st District, as currently configured, includes all of Racine County with the exception of the city and town of Burlington and the village and town of Waterford. Ironically, the district will be reconfigured to include a much stronger Republican base for future elections as a result of last year’s redistricting process.