A rural McFarland couple were charged Monday with voting twice in last spring’s general election — once each in Dane and Columbia counties.

Louis and Janice Kwiatkowski, both 66, are charged with felony election fraud for allegedly casting absentee ballots on April 2 in the village of Wyocena in Columbia County, then voting in person in the town of Blooming Grove five days later.

According to a criminal complaint, Louis Kwiatkowski initially denied having voted twice, telling Columbia County sheriff’s Detective Jay Yerges that he had only voted absentee in Wyocena. He emphatically denied voting elsewhere on the day of the election and said he believed that he and his wife were in Milwaukee that day.

Shown a copy of the poll record from the town of Blooming Grove, he said he couldn’t say how that had happened. He eventually admitted, though, that he had voted in both counties, the complaint states.

"I live in both counties," Louis Kwiatkowski told Yerges. "You want to affect what is going on in each county."

Janice Kwiatkowski acknowledged that the couple had voted in both places because they were interested in issues in both areas, according to the complaint. She said they researched voting regulations and believed they could do it. She admitted having voted twice for some candidates in statewide races, the complaint states.

Property records from Dane and Columbia counties indicate that the Kwiatkowskis own property in Blooming Grove and in Wyocena.

Dane County District Attorney Brian Blanchard said the issue with the Kwiatkowskis came to light after a worker at the Columbia County clerk’s office, who was entering names into a statewide voter database, was alerted by her computer that the Kwiatkowskis had also voted in Blooming Grove.

The couple appeared in court on Monday and received signature bonds.