May 20, 2011- A Republican legislative aide is under investigation for possible vote fraud after she cast her ballot in the November election in Onalaska although she lives in Madison.
La Crosse County District Attorney Tim Gruenke said he has forwarded the report from the Onalaska Police Department to Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne to see if criminal charges are warranted against Marcie Malszycki, 30, an aide to state Rep. Warren Petryk, R-Eleva.
Records from the Government Accountability Board show Malszycki voted in Onalaska on Nov. 2, 2010, and Nov. 4, 2008, at the same time she had a home in Madison and worked at the state Capitol. Messages left with Malszycki by email, phone and Facebook weren't returned.
Before the November election, Malszycki worked on the campaign of 92nd Assembly District candidate Dennis Clinard. The district lies just northeast of Onalaska.
Gruenke said he believes state law requires the case be handled in Dane County. Ozanne said he is researching which office has jurisdiction.
Petryk, Malszycki's boss, is one of several co-sponsors of the controversial voter ID bill that passed the Senate Thursday.
In a post on Facebook the day of the 2010 general election, Malszycki said she had voted for GOP candidates Scott Walker, Ron Johnson, Dan Kapanke, Mike Huebsch and J.B. Van Hollen and planned to return to her South Side neighborhood the next day.
Former Dane County Sup. Patrick DePula challenged Malszycki's right to vote in Onalaska on her Facebook page then posted the exchange on his blog last month. A Madison man read the blog and filed a complaint.
Under state law, "a person who moves to another location for a temporary purpose is not eligible to vote there," said Diane Lowe, the lead elections specialist for the GAB. "At times, it is difficult to ascertain whether a person has an intent to return from whence they came or not."
However, the Facebook posting suggests "that this person was fully aware that her stay in Onalaska was only temporary; she, therefore should have voted from her Madison address," Lowe said.