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James Schrott (April 2024)

OCONOMOWOC, Wisconsin. – An Oconomowoc man is accused of fraudulently voting in the November 2022 election.

Prosecutors charged James Schrott, 45, with one count of voter fraud on Tuesday, November 5. Court records show he is scheduled to make his first court appearance on the charge next month.

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The Wisconsin Elections Commission reported the possible fraud to the Waukesha County District Attorney’s Office in August 2023, according to a criminal complaint. Schrott’s voting rights had been banned due to a prior felony conviction.

Prosecutors said a review of voter registration applications found that Schrott signed and certified that he was a qualified voter on Nov. 8, 2022. A review of the Oconomowoc The voting list also displayed Schrott’s signature, which was “consistent with the signature on the voter registration application.”

The complaint states that detectives interviewed Schrott in July 2023 and he said he remembered voting in that election. He said he was having difficulty cashing a check at his bank and needed a form of identification, and the bank said they would accept a voter registration form with a current address.

Schrott said he went to the polling place but “didn’t remember much about voting,” according to court documents. He also said he had never voted before and just wanted to get identification so he could cash the check. He also claimed not to know that he could not vote as a convicted felon and did not know if he was a convicted felon at the time.

Court documents show Schrott was convicted in February 2022 for two different Waukesha County drug cases. He said he thought he could vote because he had not started his sentence, but detectives noted that his sentence had in fact started and he did not attend his initial meeting with the Wisconsin Department of Corrections.