Superior School Board member charged with election fraud
Jul. 24—SUPERIOR — A Superior School Board member is charged with two counts of felony election fraud.
A criminal complaint against Steven J. Stupak, 65, was filed Friday, July 21, in the Clerk of Courts Office. He faces two counts of election fraud. An initial appearance in Douglas County Circuit Court was set for Aug. 23.
Stupak continues to serve on the Superior School Board, according to David Coy, communications and public relations specialist with the Superior School District. Coy said the district had no further comment.
The complaint alleges that Stupak falsified his nomination papers for the 2021 school board election by listing an address where he didn't reside.
In his declaration of candidacy for the seat, filed Dec. 22, 2020, Stupak listed his current address as 102 44th Ave. E. in Superior. Property records show it is owned by his son, Steven Stupak Jr.
During an April 2022 interview, Stupak Jr. reportedly told Superior Police Department Detective Sean Holmgren that his father never lived there. Stupak also confirmed to Holmgren that while he intended to move into the home on 44th Avenue East, he did not, according to the criminal complaint.
The other charge alleges that Stupak provided a false statement to an election official when voting in the April 2022 election. He was registered to vote at 5818 Cumming Ave. That property was sold in 2019 and Stupak has not lived there since, according to the criminal complaint.
Stupak voted in the precinct that encompasses the Cumming Avenue address during the election and was issued voter number 198, according to the Superior City Clerk's Office poll books. When questioned about where he was living at the time of the election, Stupak reportedly told Holmgren that he was transitioning between his duplex on North 55th Street in Superior and a home on Wisconsin Highway 35.
The investigation was prompted by a complaint that Stupak did not meet residency requirements to hold a seat on the Superior School Board.
Stupak and his wife own a home in Duluth on Congdon Boulevard, as well as properties in Superior, according to the complaint. Minnesota property details list the Congdon Boulevard address as "100% homestead," meaning that the owners are claiming they live there 100% of the time as their primary residence. The criminal complaint lists the Duluth property as Stupak's address.
When questioned by Holmgren, Stupak reportedly said that his wife lives at the Duluth address full time and that he has always lived in Superior. Stupak said he lived at the property on Wisconsin Highway 35. Holmgren went to that property and observed nobody living there and no furniture in the home, according to the criminal complaint.
Initial investigation into the complaint took place in April 2022 and information was sent to the Wisconsin Elections Commission. The commission confirmed to Douglas County District Attorney Mark Fruehauf on March 7, 2023, that the facts he presented raised a reasonable suspicion that a violation of state statute had occurred and recommended further investigation.
Both charges are Class I felonies and carry a maximum penalty of three years and six months imprisonment and a fine up to $10,000.
According to
Superior School District policy,
a board member's seat shall become vacant immediately if they are convicted of a felony, are imprisoned for one year or more or if they are an incumbent moving their residence out of the school district. School board terms are three years.
This story originally listed the wrong time limit for a school board term in Wisconsin. A school board term is three years. It was updated at 3:50 p.m. July 24, with the proper number of years. The Superior Telegram regrets the error.
