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James Schrott (April 2024)

OCONOMOWOC, Wis. – 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 initial court appearance next month.

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The Wisconsin Elections Commission reported the potential fraud to the Waukesha County District Attorney’s office in August 2023, according to a criminal complaint. Schrott’s voting rights had been barred because of a previous felony conviction.

Prosecutors said a review of voter registration applications found Schrott signed and certified he was a qualified voter on Nov. 8, 2022. A review of Oconomowoc The poll list also showed 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 trouble cashing a check at his bank and needed some form of identification, and the bank said a voter registration form with a current address would be accepted.

Schrott said she went to the polling station but “didn’t remember much about voting,” according to court records. He also said he had never voted before and just wanted to get an ID so he could cash the check. He also claimed he didn’t know he couldn’t vote as a convicted felon — and didn’t know if he was a convicted felon at the time.

Court records show Schrott was sentenced in February 2022 on two separate charges Waukesha County drug cases. He said he thought he could vote because he hadn’t started his sentence, but detectives noted that his sentence had, in fact, started, and he didn’t attend his initial meeting with the Wisconsin Department of Corrections.