MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A jury convicted a Wisconsin man of election fraud and identity theft for requesting the ballots of Republican state Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and Democratic Racine Mayor Cory Mason without their consent.
Jurors in Racine County on Tuesday found Harry Wait guilty of two misdemeanor election fraud charges and one felony identity theft charge following a two-day trial. He was acquitted of a second count of identity theft.
Wait leads a group that makes false election claims, including that Wisconsin's elections are riddled with fraud and that President Donald Trump won the 2020 election. Trump lost Wisconsin in 2020 by about 21,000 votes.
Wait admitted in 2022 that he requested Vos' and Mason's ballots to try to prove that the state’s voter registration system is vulnerable to fraud. Wait told The Associated Press at the time that he wasn’t surprised he was charged.
“You got to expect to pay some costs sometimes when you are trying to work for the public good,” he said.
His efforts drew praise from Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson in 2022, who called Wait a “white hat hacker.”
After the verdict, Wait told WTMJ that he “would do it again.”
“I tested the system and the system failed,” he said.
A sentencing date has not been set. Wait’s attorney Joe Bugni did not respond to an email Wednesday asking whether he would appeal.
Wait, 71, faces up to six years in prison on the felony conviction and up to a year in jail on each of the misdemeanor convictions.
His conviction comes after a jury in 2024 found a former Milwaukee election official guilty of misconduct in office after she obtained three military absentee ballots using fake names and Social Security numbers in 2022. Like Wait, Kimberly Zapata argued that she was trying to expose vulnerabilities in the state’s election system.
Zapata was fined $3,000 and sentenced to one year probation.
FILE - Poll workers sort ballots at the Kenosha Municipal Building on Election Day, Nov. 3, 2020, in Kenosha, Wis. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E, File)
CHICAGO (AP) — Pete Crow-Armstrong has agreed to a $115 million, six-year contract with the Chicago Cubs, according to a person familiar with the deal, establishing the All-Star center fielder as one of the franchise's core players.
The person spoke to The Associated Press on Tuesday on condition of anonymity because the agreement had not been announced.
Crow-Armstrong had agreed to a one-year contract for 2026 calling for $894,000 while in the major leagues and $385,500 while in the minors.
His new agreement includes a $5 million signing bonus payable by May 15 and salaries of $10 million each in 2027, ‘28 and ’29, $20 million in 2030 and $30 million apiece in 2031 and '32.
Crow-Armstrong's 2031 salary would increase by $2 million for each MVP award from 2027-30, $1 million for each second- or third-place finish, $750,000 for fourth or fifth and $500,000 for sixth through 10th. His 2032 salary would increase by the same amounts based on MVP voting for 2027-31.
In addition, he would get a $1 million assignment bonus each time he is traded.
Crow-Armstrong has one year, 170 days of major league service and would have been arbitration-eligible next winter as a so-called Super 2. He gets $55 million for his four arbitration-eligible years and $60 million for what would have been his first two years of free-agent eligibility.
His contract is the biggest with no club options for a player with five years of club financial control left at the time of signing.
Crow-Armstrong, who turns 24 on Wednesday, is coming off a breakout performance. He hit .247 with 31 homers, 95 RBIs and 35 steals last season, helping the Cubs earn an NL wild card for the team's first playoff appearance since 2020.
Crow-Armstrong also covers a ton of ground in the outfield for one of baseball's best defensive teams. The Southern California native won his first Gold Glove last year.
Crow-Armstrong was selected by the New York Mets in the first round of the 2020 amateur draft. He was traded to the Cubs in the Javier Báez deal in July 2021.
He made his major league debut in 2023, going 0 for 14 in 13 games. He had a rough June in his second season before finding his form. He batted .289 with seven homers and 30 RBIs in his last 57 games in 2024.
Crow-Armstrong put together a fast start last year, hearing chants of “M-V-P!” at Wrigley Field while hitting .272 with 21 homers and 61 RBIs in his first 80 games. But he faded down the stretch, batting just .192 and striking out 33 times in his last 35 games in the regular season.
Making his first appearance in the playoffs, he hit .185 (5 for 27) in eight games as the Cubs advanced to the second round before they were eliminated by the Milwaukee Brewers in an NL Division Series.
“I think it’s a season that you would kind of expect from Pete. That’s Pete,” manager Craig Counsell said during the winter meetings in December. "It’s like we saw some incredible things. We saw some stretches where he was an out at the plate. I think his defense was incredibly consistent and brilliant throughout the season.
“And I think really the goal is to just -- it’s just to keep improving. ... That’s what I’d want from Pete. And as long as that quest never burns out and you keep that alive, he’s going to get to better places and great places.”
Crow-Armstrong's preparation for this season including playing for the U.S. during the World Baseball Classic. He is hitting .100 (2 for 20) in eight spring training games with the Cubs.
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FILE - Chicago Cubs' Pete Crow-Armstrong bats during the fifth inning of a spring training baseball game against the Kansas City Royals, Monday, Feb. 23, 2026, in Surprise, Ariz. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)
New York Yankees first baseman Ben Rice (22) makes a catch at first base to get Chicago Cubs' Pete Crow-Armstrong out during the third inning of a spring training baseball game, Tuesday, March 24, 2026, in Mesa, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
