Elmbrook Voter Rolls Under the Microscope
Common finds include non-residents and questionable use of indefinitely confined, including from the husband of a current board member. Eternal vigilance is indeed the price of liberty.
Unlawful behavior in Elmbrook involving elections is not unprecedented. Earlier this year it was reported that the Brookfield City Clerk successfully caught a Texas man attempting to apply for absentee ballots.
After the spring election, multiple independent parties have been reviewing and investigating the publicly available Elmbrook voter rolls related to the 4/2/24 election.
Information below was drawn from public records.
Voter Roll Findings
Primary Residences Not in Elmbrook
Examination of Elmbrook voter rolls found individuals whose primary residence appears to be out of Elmbrook, out of state and even out of the country. Many of these individuals appear to have established these residences for years outside of Elmbrook. (This excludes current students, military or those with secondary residences that may legally use absentee ballots.)
Indefinitely Confined
Another find in the voter rolls are individuals using an indefinitely confined status. This designation is meant for individuals who cannot physically get to the polls due to circumstances such as significant illness, disability or advanced age.
Once an individual is listed as indefinitely confined, absentee ballots are automatically mailed to the individual’s residence in perpetuity. Consequently, there is no ongoing ID requirement to verify the proper voter completed the ballot.
In the Elmbrook election review, some indefinitely confined voters are transparent about fishing, skydiving, attending sports games and traveling internationally.
Board Member Activity
Questionable use of indefinitely confined even includes the husband of current board member Mary Wacker. While public information shows he was listed as indefinitely confined for the spring 2024 election, he appears to have dressed up as Santa in December, may have attended his wife’s swearing into the board, and was seen out at a local restaurant this summer with Mary.
Other questionable board member activity includes Preetha Kurudiyara who is currently facing a felony charge. Preetha appears to have voted using her previous residence address, not the current one listed on the Elmbrook website and her court cases (effective 12/18/23). Her addresses are in different wards so this ballot change would have had different aldermanic races to vote on.
Ballots Returned on Election Day
Voter roll information also shows that there was a spike in indefinitely confined ballots returned on election day. This could suggest that some indefinitely confined ballots are being returned in person to City Hall. If so, that leads to questions of who is returning this ballot (if a person is truly indefinitely confined) or how someone who claims to be indefinitely confined would be able to physically return their ballot on election day (but not vote in person).
In an election where less than 150 votes separated the candidates, unlawful activity could be impactful.
In 2023, an even smaller margin determined the election of the Area III seat.
“Potential irregularities or illegalities” in 2023
Late Reporting
Community members monitoring the Area III seat election of Gregg Eberhardt versus Preetha Kurudiyara captured all units reporting around 8:50pm, showing a 53 vote difference (0.29%) putting Elmbrook alumni Gregg Eberhardt as the winner of the Area III seat.
Results were then revised later that evening, flipping the results to show a 47 vote (0.24%) difference with Preetha as the winner.
Manual Recount
Gregg filed for a recount on 4/12/23 citing “potential irregularities or illegalities in the conduct of the election may have taken place in regards to absentee ballots or legal citizens and district residents.” That manual recount took place 4/14/23 - 4/18/23, and the recount revised the difference to a 56 vote spread between the two candidates.
While the district publicized the cost of the recount, potentially to cast a negative light on the inquiry, voter roll findings seem to corroborate valid concerns. Notably, the recount process is not designed to catch this type of fraud, but ongoing scrutiny of voter rolls will help identify if this type of illegal activity is occurring in Elmbrook.
Looking Ahead to Future Elections
If you have concerns about voters that may be fraudulently voting (or attempting to) in Elmbrook, please contact the clerk here. One of Elmbrook’s positives is that they have an engaged and competent clerk, although assistance is always appreciated.
Eternal vigilance is indeed the price of liberty.