Walters solicited Wisconsin voter registration from permanent Illinois residents

A retired Illinois police officer who is only a part-time resident of Presque Isle has signed a notarized affidavit saying Lorine Walters, a candidate for Presque Isle town chairperson in a November 14 special election, solicited his and his wife’s votes in late September, telling them they could give up their Illinois registration, live in Presque Isle for 28 days, register and vote in the upcoming town election, and then re-establish their Illinois registration at a later time.

Robert Hanson, a resident of Park Ridge, Ill., said Walters approached him and his wife Vikki or about Sept. 30. He signed the affidavit Oct. 10 and verified to The Lakeland Times that it was his signature. That affidavit has been forwarded to the Vilas County sheriff’s office for investigation.

For her part, Walters did not contest that a conversation similar to the one described in the affidavit might have happened but strenuously denied that she made any suggestion that the couple become temporary voters, only that they could re-register in Illinois and drop their Wisconsin registration later if they changed their minds.

The couple, who are both retired police officers in the state of Illinois, said Walters approached them on or about Sept. 30 while they were at the Presque Isle Transfer Station to deposit refuse.

The Hansons have owned property in the town since 1997.

“[While] waiting in line we were approached by Lorine Walters who asked, ‘Are you planning to vote in the Presque Isle November election?’” the affidavit states.

Hanson said he told Walters that he and his wife were only part-time residents, were registered in Cook County, Ill., and thus were not eligible to vote in Wisconsin.

But, Hanson’s affidavit states, Walters assured them they could vote, saying “Yes, you can vote here. You only need to have lived here for 28 days prior to the election,” the affidavit states.

Hanson says that didn’t sound right to him.

“[W]hen I expressed some doubt as to whether this was appropriate, Lorine Walters told me that we would give up our voting rights in Illinois but could re-establish them at a later time,” the affidavit states. “She then gave me two Authorization To Cancel Voter Registration New Wisconsin Residents forms, a Voter Qualifications form describing residency and a Wisconsin Voter Registration Application which she offered to help me complete and register me.”

In the affidavit, Hanson says Walters asked the two of them to consider voting for her.

Hanson also states in the affidavit that he and wife inquired about Walters’s position on the ATV/UTV issue and Walters assured that “[t]here have been no incidents, accidents, or deaths,” and that she was all for them and prohibition would not be re-instated.

Hanson said that, as retired police officers in Illinois, he and his wife would have lost the tax exemption on their pension benefits if they claimed Wisconsin residency.

The best of intentions

At the heart of the registration matter is intent.

To be eligible to vote in Wisconsin, a person must have established residency in a municipality at least 28 days before an election in which the new voter plans to vote. However, establishing temporary residency just to vote in an election with the intent to return to the former permanent residence afterwards is not allowed.

In fact, under “elector residence,” state statutes declare that “[t]he residence of a person is the place where the person’s habitation is fixed, without any present intent to move, and to which, when absent, the person intends to return.” The statutes also declare that “no person gains a residence in any ward or election district of this state while there for temporary purposes only.”

The affidavit makes clear the Hansons had no intention of relinquishing their Illinois residency to register in Presque Isle, given Hanson’s articulation of the consequences — loss of the couple’s tax exemption on their pension benefits.

The question is, was Walters suggesting they could in fact establish temporary residency for voting under the law when she told the Hansons they could vote so long as they lived in Presque Isle for 28 days and that, in Hanson’s words, “we would give up our voting rights in Illinois but could re-establish them at a later time”?

Fo his part, Walters opponent in the chairperson’s race, the former chairman John MacLean, says the suggestion was intentional because it was Walters who suggested they could unregister in Illinois and then be able to register there again after voting in Presque Isle, in what MacLean says was an attempt to coax residents into participating in a temporary registration scheme.

MacLean said he was grateful for residents who refused to engage in the gambit.

“I have the greatest respect for citizens like Bob and Vikki Hanson, who when they encountered Lorine Walters encouraging illegal voting activity, came forward and made an affidavit and report so we can stop the madness that distorts the will of the people,” MacLean said. “We owe these whistleblowers our great gratitude and respect.”

For her part, Walters says she suggested no such thing, though she said a similar conversation could have occurred but didn’t likely take place the way Hanson’s affidavit says it did.

Specifically, Walters said she likely did tell them they could re-establish Illinois residency in the future if they changed their minds about permanent residency in Presque Isle but did not suggest they fake intent or establish only temporary residency.

“They’re adding a little bit to what I probably told them,” Walters told the Times. “I don’t remember every conversation. I don’t know who the people are and they might’ve asked me a question that I would answer that, in the future, if they decide to declare Illinois their residence, they can do that. This doesn’t need to be permanent. People change their minds.”

The law says you have to be a resident to vote, Walters said. 

“You have to declare yourself a resident for at least 28 days during the time period before the election, and you have intent to — and of course there’s other requirements, citizenship and all that — but you have to have intent to return like you’re going to return to your home,” she said.

That means they intend to stay as residents of Presque Isle and vote in Presque Isle in the future, Walters said.

“That doesn’t mean that they can’t change that at some point in time because they can change it if they want to change it,” she said. “I am not telling people just to change their registration, vote here, and then go back and re-register at home. I am not telling people that.”

Walters said that, generally, she was asking people if they vote in Presque Isle.

“And they say, ‘no, we’re not registered, we’re not here full time,’” she said. “And I usually say, ‘well how long are you here for?’ And most of them say, ‘well, we come up around Memorial Day and we go home sometime after Labor Day, maybe October.’ And I say, ‘well, it sounds like you may be qualified.’”

Walters said she’s said it so many times she has the script down.

“[I say], ‘well, you may be qualified here, take this handout, read it over,’” she said. “Then other people say, ‘well, yeah, we’re up here all season, but we only come on weekends.’ And I say, ‘well, you’re clearly not actually qualified to vote here.’”

Walters said she was trying to be very clear: “If you know me at all, you know that I’m totally a rule follower,” she said.

Walters said she has been doing elections for 32 years and follows the rules.

“I’m trying to be very careful about conforming with exactly what the WEC (Wisconsin Elections Commission) says,” she said.

Richard Moore is the author of “Dark State” and may be reached at richardd3d.substack.com.