Fond du Lac County man charged with election fraud

FOND DU LAC COUNTY, Wis. (WBAY) - A Fond du Lac County man has been charged with felony Election Fraud.

Anthony J. Van Egtern, 40, of Malone is accused of illegally voting in the Nov. 3, 2020 election, according to District Attorney Eric J. Toney.

“This is the second Fond du Lac County resident charged with illegally voting in the November 3, 2020 election. These prosecutions are not indicative that the election was stolen but elections are the cornerstone of our democracy and the integrity of our electoral process must be protected at every turn. We will continue to prosecute any circumstances of voter fraud, as allowed by law, in order to safeguard our electoral process and ensure the public has confidence in our elections. The defendant is presumed innocent unless or until proven guilty,” said Toney in a statement.

A criminal complaint obtained by Action 2 News shows two Wisconsin Elections Commissions employees submitted letters and documents with the Fond du Lac County DA’s office indicating Van Egtern was on probation or parole for a felony conviction and voted on Nov. 3.

Van Egtern was convicted of a felony on Dec. 11, 2018. Online court records show he pleaded guilty to a charge of Possession of THC (2nd+ Offense). He was scheduled to be on probation until Dec. 11, 2020. That made Van Egtern ineligible to vote in 2020.

A detective interviewed Van Egtern on Nov. 8, 2021. Initially, he denied illegally voting. The detective showed him his signature on a poll book and Van Egtern admitted it was him, according to the complaint. He stated he voted because he thought it was important to vote “and the country was going to hell.”

Court records do not say who Van Egtern voted for in the election.

Van Egtern’s initial court appearance is scheduled for Dec. 7. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of three years and six months in prison.

DA Toney is running for Wisconsin Attorney General.