For the second time since Election Day 2020, uniformed police officers will be on duty when ballot counting begins in Green Bay’s local elections. It’s the result of tension building for over a year in the city, which has become ground zero for election conspiracy theories in a battleground state still consumed by the last presidential race. Furor that started over the use of private funds to help a cash-strapped local government run the 2020 election soon morphed into something darker than normal political disagreement, including a report of a “suspicious person” who improperly accessed the clerk’s office on Election Day 2020, according to city government emails obtained by POLITICO. Now, Green Bay’s nonpartisan city council races — traditionally quiet affairs that focus on taxes and roads — feature ads from a GOP super PAC questioning whether the city’s elections are legitimate and a Democratic super PAC urging voters to “keep Wisconsin elections fair, secure and accessible.” Threats to local officials increased, and some poll workers have dropped out of the election, citing safety concerns. Officials installed cameras on every floor of city hall and formulated evacuation plans, after the November 2020 incident in the clerk’s office and the gathering of protesters outside city hall on Jan. 6., 2021. A mayoral recall effort is underway.
In Wisconsin, G.O.P. Voters Demand the Impossible: Decertifying 2020 | Reid J. Epstein/The New York Times
When she started her campaign for governor of Wisconsin, former Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch, a Republican, acknowledged that President Biden had been legitimately elected. She soon backtracked. Eventually, she said the 2020 election had been “rigged” against former President Donald J. Trump. She sued the state’s election commission. But she will still not entertain the false notion that the election can somehow be overturned, a fantasy that has taken hold among many of the state’s Republicans, egged on by one of her opponents, Tim Ramthun. And for that, she is taking grief from voters in the closing days before Tuesday’s primary. At a campaign stop here last week, one voter, Donette Erdmann, pressed Ms. Kleefisch on her endorsement from former Vice President Mike Pence, whom many of Mr. Trump’s most devoted supporters blame for not blocking the counting of electoral votes on Jan. 6, 2021. “I was wondering if you’re going to resort to a RINO agenda or an awesome agenda,” Ms. Erdmann said, using a right-wing pejorative for disloyal Republicans. Ms. Kleefisch’s startled answer — “don’t make your mind up based on what somebody else is doing,” she warned, defending her “awesome agenda” — was not enough. “I’m going to go with Tim Ramthun,” Ms. Erdmann said afterward. Full Article: In Wisconsin Primary, G.O.P. Voters Call for Decertifying 2020 Election - The New York TimesWisconsin: Trump tries to topple a powerful Wisconsin Republican in his futile quest to reverse his 2020 loss | Reid J. Epstein/The New York Times
After months of toying with Robin Vos, who as the speaker of the Wisconsin Assembly is the most powerful Republican in state politics, former President Donald J. Trump endorsed Mr. Vos’s long-shot primary challenger on Tuesday in a futile effort to push the state’s Republicans to decertify the results of the 2020 election. Mr. Trump backed Adam Steen, a largely unknown and underfunded far-right Republican who said he would aim to claw back the state’s 10 Electoral College votes from 2020 — a legal impossibility — and enact sweeping changes to the state’s voting laws. Mr. Steen’s far-right views are not limited to elections. He is opposed to all abortions under any circumstances and he said in an interview on Monday that he would seek to make contraception illegal in Wisconsin. “This is way deeper than a political discussion. This is a moral issue,” he said. “To me, you’re ending a life. Yes, I would definitely outlaw contraception.” In his endorsement message, Mr. Trump blamed Mr. Vos for blocking efforts to conduct a “full cyber forensic audit” of the 2020 election and said he had “refused to do anything to right the wrongs that were done.” “Speaker Vos had 17 years to prove to Wisconsin residents that he has their best interest in mind, but even in his own campaign efforts, Vos has tried to mislead his constituents, sending out mailers that feature a picture he took with me — trying to make voters believe I am a Vos supporter, which I am not,” Mr. Trump said. “I do not come close to supporting him.” Full Article: Trump, Angry About 2020, Tries to Oust Robin Vos in Wisconsin - The New York TimesWisconsin: Dane County elections committee calls for greater security for equipment, clerks | Chris Rickert/Wisconsin State Journal
Describing the security of election equipment as "inadequate" and threats to elections workers as a "serious problem," a Dane County task force on Monday called for hardening the county's election infrastructure in the wake of a 2020 presidential election that many Republicans continue to falsely claim was tainted by systemic fraud or outright stolen. A report by the nine-member Election Security Review Committee does not make specific recommendations for how much more should be spent or on what, although during a press conference held over Zoom, Dane County Clerk Scott McDonell said he'd like to see a dedicated climate-controlled building, with cameras and other security, to store voting machines and other equipment. The committee also was not able to obtain specific figures from local or federal law enforcement on how many threats were made against the county's election workers or whether any of those were investigated and led to prosecutions. But a survey of the county's municipal clerks found that 84% of respondents said threats against election officials have increased in recent years, with 70% saying they were at least "somewhat concerned" for their safety or the safety of their staffs and 78% saying they worried about being harassed over the phone or on the job. Fifty of the county's 62 clerks' offices responded to the survey. Full Article: Dane County elections committee calls for greater security for equipment, clerks | Local Government | madison.comWisconsin GOP blocks absentee ballot address correction rule | Todd Richmond/Associated Press
Wisconsin Republicans erased regulations Wednesday allowing local election clerks to fill in missing information on absentee ballot envelopes, the latest move in the GOP’s push to tighten voting procedures in the crucial swing state. The Wisconsin Elections Commission developed an emergency rule earlier this year that permits local clerks to fill in missing witness address information on absentee envelopes without contact the witness or the voter. The rule reflected guidance the commission issued to clerks in October 2016. The guidance was in effect during the 2020 presidential election, which saw Joe Biden narrowly defeat then-President Donald Trump. The Republican-controlled Legislature’s rules committee voted 6-4 to suspend the emergency rule. The guidance remains in place, but it’s unclear how many clerks might follow it in light of the committee vote and a court could soon erase it as well. The committee vote is part of a string of Republican efforts to impose tighter restrictions on voting around the country as Trump continues to spread the false claim that Biden stole the election. Multiple reviews and court decisions have found no evidence of fraud on a scale that would have affected the outcome but Trump and his supporters keep working to convince people the election wasn’t legitimate.
Full Article: Wisconsin GOP blocks absentee ballot address correction rule | AP NewsWill Wisconsin’s Republicans Make Voting Meaningless, or Just Difficult? | Dan Kaufman/The New Yorker
In late March, Claire Woodall-Vogg, the executive director of the Milwaukee Election Commission, was in her office in city hall, preparing for Milwaukee’s mayoral election, when an F.B.I. agent called. The agent was investigating death threats that Woodall-Vogg had been receiving since deciding to permit the use of drop boxes during early voting for the upcoming election. Drop boxes had long been used for absentee ballots in some Wisconsin communities, but their use increased dramatically in 2020, owing to the coronavirus pandemic. After President Donald Trump’s narrow defeat in the state, the boxes became a focus of conspiracy theories claiming that the election was stolen from him. Woodall-Vogg, along with other municipal clerks and election officials, was at the center of those conspiracy theories. She played me a few of the hundreds of threats she has received since the 2020 Presidential election. “You motherfucker,” one voice mail went. “You rigged my fucking election. We’re going to try you, and we’re going to fucking convict your piece-of-shit ass, and we’re going to hang you.” Woodall-Vogg is estranged from her mother-in-law, who is a firm believer in the stolen-election conspiracy, and she no longer speaks to her husband’s aunt. “She said that I signed up for this—for death threats?” Woodall-Vogg said. “You have to wonder if people are thinking very deeply about what they’re doing. Do they realize what the alternatives are to a functioning democracy?” Full Article: Will Wisconsin’s Republicans Make Voting Meaningless, or Just Difficult? | The New YorkerWisconsin’s GOP frontrunner for governorTim Michels isn’t ruling out overturning results of 2020 election | Molly Beck/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Republican candidate for governor Tim Michels isn't ruling out supporting a legislative effort to overturn the results of the last presidential election in Wisconsin. Michels, a construction executive who is endorsed by former President Donald Trump, said Tuesday he would "need to see the details" before deciding whether he would support decertifying the 2020 election, an illegal and impossible endeavor that has been promoted by Trump despite it being impracticable. "You know, I have to work with the Legislature and see what these bills look like," Michels told a WKOW reporter at a campaign stop in Green Bay on Tuesday in response to whether he would sign a bill pulling back Wisconsin's 10 electoral votes cast for President Joe Biden in 2020. "As a businessman, I just don't say that I'll do this or I'll do that. It's always about the details." Michels also has pledged to abolish the state's elections commission and has not yet determined what he would want in its place to help the thousands of clerks in Wisconsin navigate election laws. Democratic incumbent Gov. Tony Evers warned supporters Wednesday that if a Republican candidate defeats him in November, the state "will see elections change to the point where the Legislature makes the final decision and that should scare the living crap out of everybody in this room." Evers said he believes Republicans will not stop looking into the election any time soon. "They will continue doing this until Donald Trump is six feet under," he said at a campaign event in Madison.
Full Article: Tim Michels isn't ruling out overturning results of 2020 electionWisconsin elections commission rejects guidance for clerks on how to implement a court ruling outlawing absentee ballot drop boxes. | Scott Bauer/Associated Press
Wisconsin’s bipartisan elections commission couldn’t agree Tuesday on what guidance, if any, to give the state’s more than 1,800 local clerks to help them understand how to implement a Wisconsin Supreme Court ruling outlawing absentee ballot drop boxes. The commission, evenly divided between Republicans and Democrats, repeatedly deadlocked on what to tell clerks about what the decision meant and how to interpret it ahead of the Aug. 9 primary. Commissioners said they may consider giving guidance later. The primary will set the field for the Nov. 8 election where Democratic Gov. Tony Evers and Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson are both on the ballot in high-stakes races. Johnson and Republican candidates for governor have called for disbanding the bipartisan elections commission and overhauling how elections are run in the state. Republican members of the commission argued that it owed it to the clerks who run elections to help them understand the court’s ruling, while Democrats said the guidance proposed went too far, would confuse clerks and only invited more lawsuits. Not taking any action means the commission is telling clerks “go out and figure it out for yourself,” said Republican commissioner Bob Spindell.
Full Article: Wisconsin elections commission rejects guidance for clerks | AP NewsWisconsin: An incompetent circus’: Michael Gableman’s 2020 election review reaches 1 year and the $1 million mark with little to show | Molly Beck/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
A year ago, Robin Vos was unequivocal."We give you our word that we are doing everything we possibly can to uncover what occurred in 2020," the Assembly Speaker told a conference center full of Republicans meeting in Wisconsin Dells for their first state party convention since Donald Trump began tying make-believe voter fraud to his loss in the Badger State, contributing to losing his presidency. But since Vos announced his hire of former Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman to probe the 2020 election completely and Assembly Republicans' intent to pass bills based on Gableman's findings, the review has failed to accomplish those goals. Lawmakers did not receive any recommendations from Gableman before wrapping up their work for the year. And the review has turned up little information not previously known, and has not found evidence showing the 2020 election outcome was incorrectly called. Full Article: Michael Gableman investigation at 1 year: $1 million, little to showWisconsin: A year in, legal fight over Gableman election investigation keeps growing | Shawn Johnson/Wisconsin Public Radio
More than a year after Wisconsin Republicans tapped former Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman to lead a wide-ranging election investigation, the number of court cases connected to the probe continues to grow with no end in sight. This week, the liberal watchdog group American Oversight filed its fourth lawsuit connected to the investigation, this one against Gableman's Office of Special Counsel after he admitted to deleting some documents connected to the probe. Lawyers for Gableman have also filed an appeal of a judge's ruling that found him in contempt of court in another case where American Oversight is seeking open records. "The investigation has become a morass of competing lawsuits back and forth between different parties in the state and outside the state," said Barry Burden, a political science professor and director of the Elections Research Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. "And those legal debates have sort of overtaken the substance of the investigation itself." Full Article: A year in, legal fight over Gableman election investigation keeps growing | Wisconsin Public RadioWisconsin Senator Ron Johnson now says he helped coordinate effort to pass false elector slates to Pence, but his new explanation drew a quick rebuke | Molly Beck and Lawrence Andrea/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
After initially claiming to be "basically unaware" of an effort by his staff to get fake presidential elector documents to Vice President Mike Pence, U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson said Thursday he coordinated with a Wisconsin attorney to pass along such information and alleged a Pennsylvania congressman brought slates of fake electors to his office — a claim that was immediately disputed. Evidence presented this week by the U.S. House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol showed Johnson's chief of staff tried to deliver the two states' lists of fake presidential electors for former President Donald Trump to Pence on the morning of the U.S. Capitol insurrection but was rebuffed by Pence's aide. Johnson initially told reporters this week he did not know where the documents came from and that his staff sought to forward it to Pence. But he said in a Thursday interview on WIBA-AM that he had since discovered the documents came from Pennsylvania U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly, and acknowledged he coordinated with Dane County attorney Jim Troupis and his chief of staff by text message that morning to get to Pence a document Troupis described as regarding "Wisconsin electors." Kelly's office immediately pushed back on Johnson's claim, saying: "Senator Johnson's statements about Representative Kelly are patently false." "Mr. Kelly has not spoken to Sen. Johnson for the better part of a decade, and he has no knowledge of the claims Mr. Johnson is making related to the 2020 election."
Full Article: Johnson now says he coordinated effort to handoff false elector slatesWisconsin election investigator says he deleted records | Scott Bauer/Associated Press
The former Wisconsin Supreme Court justice hired to investigate President Joe Biden’s victory in the battleground state testified Thursday that he routinely deleted records, and deactivated a personal email account, even after receiving open records requests. Michael Gableman testified in a court hearing about whether the person who hired him, Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, should face penalties after earlier being found in contempt for how he handled the records requests from American Oversight. Dane County Circuit Judge Valerie Bailey-Rihn decided against penalizing Vos for contempt, but said she would determine later whether to penalize Vos for how he handled open records requests. She set a hearing for July 28. Bailey-Rihn said that Gableman gave testimony that conflicted at times, but it was clear that he had destroyed records “that were contrary to what fits into the scheme of things.” Vos hired Gableman a year ago under pressure from Donald Trump to investigate the former president’s loss to Biden by just under 21,000 votes in Wisconsin. The investigation has cost taxpayers about $900,000 so far. Biden’s victory has survived two recounts, multiple lawsuits, a nonpartisan audit and a review by a conservative law firm.
Full Article: Wisconsin election investigator says he deleted records | AP NewsWisconsin Election Investigator Fined $2K Daily for Contempt | Scott Bauer/Associated Press
A judge on Wednesday issued a scathing ruling against the investigator hired by Republicans to look into the 2020 election in Wisconsin, accusing him of unprofessional and misogynistic conduct, forwarding his decision for possible disciplinary action against Michael Gableman. Dane County Circuit Judge Frank Remington ordered that Gableman be fined $2,000 a day until he complies with his earlier ruling. He also determined that Gableman violated his oath as an attorney following his “disruptive and disrespectful” appearance in court last week. At that hearing, Remington found a defiant Gableman to be in contempt after he refused to answer questions under subpoena in the courtroom. His attorneys tried unsuccessfully to block the subpoena. “Wisconsin demands more from its attorneys,” Remginton wrote. “Gableman’s demeaning conduct has discredited the profession and every other person sworn ’to commit themselves to live by the constitutional processes of our system.” The order comes in an open records lawsuit filed by liberal government watchdog group American Oversight. It is one of three open records lawsuits the group filed against Gableman, Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and the state Assembly. The group has won a series of victories before Remington and another Dane County judge after Gableman and Vos failed to produce the requested records in a timely manner.
Full Article: Wisconsin Election Investigator Fined $2K Daily for Contempt | Political News | US News
Wisconsin: Future of Election Commission remains unclear as new chair is about to be selected | Joy Powers, Kobe Brown/WUWM
The Wisconsin Election Commission has been in the spotlight since the 2020 election. Unsubstantiated claims of election fraud have pitted many Republican politicians against the commission, despite the fact the election commission was created by former Republican Governor Scott Walker to ensure that both major parties would have equal representation in the process. The commission postponed selecting its new chairperson when Republican commissioner Dean Knudson resigned late last month — citing Republican’s deep desire that he step down in light of Knudson’s assertions that widespread voter fraud didn’t occur in Wisconsin during the 2020 presidential election. Now, Wisconsin state Assembly Speaker Robin Vos has appointed a new Republican member to replace Knudson — attorney Don Millis. "[Don Millis is] a former member of the commission and a former member of the body that preceded the commission, so he has a history and some expertise," says Barry Burden, a professor of political science at UW-Madison and director of the Elections Research Center. "He was well received by former Governor Tommy Thompson, who actually appointed him initially to serve on the state board. There were even positive things said about him by Ann Jacobs, who's the current Democratic chair of the commission." The next chairperson of the commission will be a Republican and will certify the 2022 midterm election and 2024 presidential election. It's likely to be either Millis or Robert Spindell, who attempted to cast Electoral College ballots for President Donald Trump during the 2020 election and has been a strong supporter of the GOP investigation into the election. Full Article: Future of Wisconsin Election Commission remains unclear as new chair is about to be selected | WUWM 89.7 FM - Milwaukee's NPRWisconsin conservatives again lose in court as they challenge election grants to municipalities funded by Mark Zuckerberg | Patrick Marley/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Conservatives are continuing their losing streak in legal challenges over nonprofit grants that helped city clerks run the 2020 election in Wisconsin. The Center of Tech and Civic Life provided more than $10 million to more than 200 Wisconsin communities to help conduct the election during the COVID-19 pandemic. The center, which is funded by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, directed most of the money in Wisconsin to the state’s five largest cities, where Democratic voters are concentrated. Conservatives have brought a series of legal challenges. Each time, they’ve lost. Their latest setback came Wednesday when Dane County Circuit Judge Stephen Ehlke ruled there was nothing illegal about the grants. "Certainly nothing in (state law) prohibits clerks from using private grant money or working with outside consultants in the performance of their duties. ... The bottom line is that the (Wisconsin Elections) Commission correctly concluded that there was no probable cause to believe any Wisconsin law has been violated," Ehlke ruled from the bench. His decision is in line with other courts. A federal judge in Green Bay threw out one lawsuit about the grants before the 2020 election. Just after the election, the state Supreme Court declined to take another case over the grants and other issues. A federal judge in Washington, D.C., dismissed a third case over the grants in 2021 and referred the lawyer who brought the case to an ethics panel that is considering sanctioning him.
Full Article: Conservatives again lose in court as they challenge election grantsWisconsin Elections Commissioner Dean Knudson abruptly resigns, citing ‘deep desire’ from Republicans that he not chair of the panel | Shawn Johnson/Wisconsin Public Radio
The Wisconsin Elections Commission has delayed a vote to pick a new chair after Republican Commissioner Dean Knudson abruptly announced his resignation from the six-member panel, saying it had been made clear to him "from the highest levels of the Republican Party" that they didn't want him to lead the body. Knudson, a former Republican state lawmaker who was appointed to the WEC by Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, made the announcement Wednesday, just moments before commissioners were scheduled to vote on a new chair. Knudson said he would put his conservative record up against anyone in Wisconsin, but said he'd been branded a "RINO" for his work on the commission, referencing the acronym that stands for "Republican In Name Only." Knudson said that was partly because of the way he values personal integrity. "And to me that integrity demands acknowledging the truth, even when the truth is painful," Knudson told commissioners. "In this case, the painful truth is that President (Donald) Trump lost the election in 2020, lost the election in Wisconsin in 2020, and the loss was not due to election fraud." Full Article: Elections Commissioner Dean Knudson abruptly resigns, citing 'deep desire' from Republicans that he not chair of the panel | WisconsinWisconsin judge skeptical of election grant arguments | Scott Bauer/Associated Press
A judge on Tuesday voiced skepticism about a lawsuit challenging the legality of private grant money awarded to Madison to help run the 2020 election, calling some of the arguments “ridiculous,” a “stretch” and “close to preposterous.” The lawsuit argues that private grants given to Madison from a group funded by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg amounted to illegal bribery. The Wisconsin Elections Commission in December rejected that complaint, and this lawsuit is an appeal of that decision. Four nearly identical lawsuits are also pending in Milwaukee, Green Bay, Racine and Kenosha. The case in Madison was the first to hold arguments. Three Wisconsin courts have previously rejected similar lawsuits arguing that the grants were illegal. Similar lawsuits filed in other swing states have also been rejected. Dane County Circuit Judge Stephen Ehlke referenced those rulings when he questioned attorney Erick Kaardal Tuesday. Kardaal said the commission got it wrong and Madison should not have been allowed to use a portion of the grant money to pay for absentee ballot drop boxes because, he said, they are illegal, based on a Waukesha County circuit court ruling issued after the election. The Wisconsin Supreme Court is currently weighing an appeal of that ruling.
Full Article: Wisconsin judge skeptical of election grant arguments | AP NewsWisconsin: Michael Gableman’s vendetta over Wisconsin’s 2020 election must end | Barry C. Burden and Trey Grayson/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Last fall, we warned about the risks of a so-called investigation into the settled 2020 election led by former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman — a costly, bad-faith endeavor with no credibility or transparency. Remarkably, Gableman’s sham review and his partisan antics are still going on, with no end in sight. Just a few days ago, Gableman was campaigning at a rally with hyper-partisan actors in Wisconsin, including conspiracy theorists and candidates running on disinformation and lies. As a majority of Wisconsin voters know, the 2020 election was free, fair, and accurate —and occurred more than 18 months ago. But the bill to Wisconsin taxpayers for Gableman’s “investigation” of that election will be at least $676,000. This review is more than a waste of money. It’s dangerous. As the nearly 2,000 clerks in Wisconsin prepare for the mid-term elections, a more pernicious risk of the sham election review is emerging: that Gableman’s charade erodes confidence in our elections and the officials who make them run smoothly. It’s time for the so-called investigation to end, before Gableman does even more long-term damage in Wisconsin.
Full Article: Michael Gableman's vendetta over Wisconsin's 2020 election must endWisconsin: I’m frankly amazed’: Another judge orders Republicans to prevent destruction of records in Gableman election review | Patrick Marley/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
A second judge Wednesday ordered Wisconsin Republicans to prevent the destruction of public records as they review the 2020 election at taxpayer expense. Dane County Circuit Judge Valerie Bailey-Rihn said she was compelled to issue the order but was astonished she had to do it because the review is being overseen by former state Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman. "I'm frankly amazed that I have to say don't destroy records that are subject to an open records request or order that to occur. I think all of us know what the law is," Bailey-Rihn said at the end of a 30-minute hearing. She said as a former justice Gableman should know what the records law requires and has an ethical obligation to follow it. Gableman has contended he is exempt from retaining records because the lawmakers who hired him are not required to hold onto records under state law. Bailey-Rihn issued her order two weeks after Dane County Circuit Judge Frank Remington issued a similar order in another open records lawsuit. Those two lawsuits and a third one were brought by American Oversight, a liberal group that has been tracking the Assembly review of the presidential election. A month ago, Bailey-Rihn found Assembly Speaker Robin Vos of Rochester in contempt of court for failing to release records about the election review. She will determine later whether Vos has now met his obligations and whether he should be fined.
Full Article: Judge orders Wisconsin Republicans to retain election review recordsWisconsin Assembly Speaker extends Gableman election review after pressure from Donald Trump | Molly Beck Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos is extending the taxpayer-funded contract of the former state Supreme Court justice leading a review of the 2020 election — a decision announced a day after former President Donald Trump sought to intimidate Vos by threatening a successful primary challenge if the review did not continue. In a statement Monday that did not name Vos directly, Trump suggested to his millions of supporters that the Rochester Republican will see a successful primary opponent if he does not extend former Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman's contract with the state Assembly. "Anyone calling themselves a Republican in Wisconsin should support the continued investigation in Wisconsin without interference," Trump said. "I understand some RINOs have primary challengers in Wisconsin. I’m sure their primary opponents would get a huge bump in the polls if these RINOs interfere," Trump said, using an acronym for "Republicans In Name Only." On Tuesday, Vos issued a statement announcing Gableman's office will remain open "as we guarantee the legal power of our legislative subpoenas and get through the other lawsuits that have gridlocked this investigation."
Full Article: Vos extends Gableman election review after pressure from Donald TrumpWisconsin judge orders Gableman’s office to stop deleting records in election investigation | Shawn Johnson/Wisconsin Public Radio
A Dane County judge has ordered former Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman to stop deleting records related to a Republican investigation of the 2020 election. Judge Frank Remington's order Thursday followed a request by the liberal watchdog group American Oversight. Last month, Remington ruled Gableman must turn over documents sought by American Oversight in an open records dispute. The latest court filing from the group showed that Gableman's Office of Special Counsel, or OSC, was deleting certain documents or text messages. American Oversight told Remington this was in violation of Wisconsin's open records law. "Alarmingly, OSC stated that it continues to delete records it deems irrelevant to the election investigation and declared itself exempt from any requirement to retain records," wrote American Oversight attorney Christa Westerberg. Full Article: Judge orders Gableman's office to stop deleting records in election investigation | Wisconsin Public RadioWisconsin: Michael Gableman, leader of the GOP’s review of the 2020 vote, disparages state’s election director for how she dresses | Patrick Marley/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
When Republican attorney Michael Gableman took to the airwaves Tuesday, he didn’t just attack the governor, the attorney general, two judges and five members of the bipartisan Wisconsin Elections Commission. He also took a shot at how the woman leading the commission dresses. "Black dress, white pearls — I’ve seen the act, I’ve seen the show," Gableman said on WTAQ-AM of Meagan Wolfe, director of the Elections Commission. When host Joe Giganti said he recently saw Wolfe wearing a gold locket rather than pearls, Gableman responded, "Oh, Hillary Clinton." The off-script comment came as Gableman, a former state Supreme Court justice, made the case that the Elections Commission should be dissolved and voting rules overhauled. Gableman is conducting his review of the 2020 election using $676,000 in taxpayer funds provided by Republicans who control the Assembly. "I'm a professional who takes my job seriously," Wolfe said in a written statement. "Comments directed at my appearance are a far cry from being serious, and are beneath anybody who purports to be undertaking a review of subject matter as important as election integrity."
Full Article: Michael Gableman disparages elections director for how she dressesWisconsin election clerks face unprecedented scrutiny despite no widespread fraud | Local Government | Alexander Shur/Wisconsin State Journal
Since the 2020 presidential election, Florence County Clerk Donna Trudell said she has fielded about two calls a week from people concerned that hackers will break into voting machines in the county to change votes from one party to another in future elections. To ease those concerns, Trudell, who was a deputy clerk for 10 years and county clerk for the last nine, bought new voting machines without modems to assure callers the devices cannot connect to the internet. But the calls keep coming, and now include many voters skeptical that she has really ordered voting machines without modems. Never mind that there’s no evidence that voting machines that do connect to the internet have ever been hacked to change votes in Wisconsin or anywhere else. Or that some clerks in Florence County — where former President Donald Trump beat President Joe Biden by a nearly 3-to-1 margin — have even held public training sessions to show how the new voting machines work.
Full Article: Wisconsin election clerks face unprecedented scrutiny despite no widespread fraud | Local Government | madison.com
Wisconsin: ‘Let’s sit down and talk about it’: Clerks prepare for public testing of voting machines | A.J. Bayatpour/wkow.com
Lori Stottler knows there's never been so much public interest in the accuracy of the machines her office uses to count Janesville's ballots. To be sure everything is in order ahead of the April 5 spring election, she's conducting three days of pretesting on the city's machines before a public testing. 27 News observed Wednesday's session. Stottler said ongoing skepticism from some conservatives over the 2020 general election leaves her hoping more people will attend Saturday's public test. "Just like anything in life, when it comes to politics, religion, and now, elections, let's sit down and talk about it," Stottler said. "Maybe I can help you understand better and you can help me understand what I need to be doing differently to make sure that I have your trust." A series of legal challenges and recounts in Dane and Milwaukee counties upheld President Joe Biden's victory in Wisconsin. Still, skeptics have pushed unsubstantiated claims of widespread fraud, including theories of foreign actors hacking voting machines. Full Article: 'Let's sit down and talk about it': Clerks prepare for public testing of voting machines | News | wkow.comWisconsin Elections Commission pushes back on Gableman report | Shawn Johnson/Wisconsin Public Radio
The Wisconsin Elections Commission is pushing back on a Republican-ordered report released this week that cast doubt on the 2020 election in Wisconsin, saying the review was full of misunderstandings and outright falsehoods. The report includes an assertion by Republican special counsel Michael Gableman that votes from "incapacitated" nursing home residents had cast doubt on the outcome of the election. Gableman issued his report earlier this week and more than eight months after he signed a contract with Assembly Speaker Robin Vos to investigate the 2020 presidential election in the state. Gableman, a former state Supreme Court justice, made a wide range of broad allegations that the 2020 election was conducted illegally, focusing much of his presentation to Assembly lawmakers on votes cast by elderly people at residential care facilities. In March 2020, the Wisconsin Elections Commission decided that special voting deputies — people deputized by the county clerk to administer absentee voting in nursing homes and qualified care facilities — wouldn't be able to enter those facilities because of COVID-19 concerns. Instead, residents who wanted to vote could request absentee ballots and get help from staff at the homes to complete them. During Gableman's presentation, he showed video interviews of nursing home residents who voted in 2020 being asked to choose between hypothetical candidates based on policy positions, like whether they supported tax cuts. The residents in the video were often confused. Full Article: Wisconsin Elections Commission pushes back on Gableman report | Wisconsin Public RadioWisconsin Elections Commission debates how electronic voting data is stored | Anthony Dabruzzi/Spectrum
Now that state lawmakers have wrapped up their legislative business, many will turn their focus to the campaign trail. As they do, the Wisconsin Elections Commission is continuing to work through its own changes for running elections. Commissioners put their focus on how electronic voting system data is currently stored, during a virtual meeting Wednesday. For every ballot cast in Wisconsin, there is a paper artifact, which is the first way to validate results. Hence, discussion of the issue isn't really about tabulation, rather retention in case questions are ever raised. All across the state, data within electronic voting systems are being kept properly, according to a recent analysis by commission staff. However, the guidance for how information should be stored is 12 years old and doesn't carry the force of law. Full Article: WEC debates how electronic voting data is storedWisconsin: Gableman report calls for decertifying 2020 election. The Legislature’s nonpartisan lawyers say that’s not possible. | Shawn Johnson/Wisconsin Public Radio
The special counsel hired by Wisconsin Republicans to investigate the 2020 presidential election told lawmakers Tuesday that they "ought to take a very hard look" at decertifying the election, a move that has been widely dismissed as legally impossible. Former state Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman also said private grants used to run the election constituted "election bribery" and called on lawmakers to "eliminate and dismantle" the Wisconsin Elections Commission. The commission’s administrator, he said, should be fired. The suggestions to lawmakers come a week after the state Assembly held what Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, said was likely the final session day of the year. Vos, who hired Gableman last year, had also billed these recommendations as Gableman’s final report. But Gableman, who acknowledged some uncertainty over his own contract with the Legislature, vowed that his investigation would continue. "This will not end today," Gableman said at the start of the hearing. "This is an important topic, and there’s a lot of work to do. And I will be back." Gableman’s assertion that the Legislature should — or even could — decertify the presidential election has next to no support, either in the judicial system where he once served, or among lawmakers from either party in the Wisconsin Legislature. Full Article: Gableman report calls for decertifying 2020 election. The Legislature's nonpartisan lawyers say that's not possible. | Wisconsin Public RadioWisconsin GOP seeks more election oversight but faces likely vetoes | Patrick Marley/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Republicans in the state Senate approved measures Tuesday that would change voting rules for those who are confined to their homes and allow lawmakers to cut funding for state agencies that they believe aren't strictly following election laws. Those bills and others related to elections face likely vetoes from Gov. Tony Evers if they get to him. At least one of the bills the Senate approved Tuesday likely won't get to the Democratic governor because of opposition from Republicans in the Assembly. Senate Bill 214 would allow officials to begin counting absentee ballots on the day before election day. Election clerks have pushed for the idea for years to ease their workload and help them avoid reporting their results in the middle of the night. The Senate passed the bill 20-13, with Republican Sen. André Jacque of DePere joining all Democrats in opposition. Democrats have generally supported allowing absentee ballots to be processed before election day but didn't like the particulars of the Republican-drafted bill. Despite the overwhelming support of the measure from Senate Republicans, their counterparts in the Assembly are reluctant to vote on it. "I'd say it's unlikely at this point," Assembly Majority Leader Jim Steineke of Kaukauna said of taking up the bill. Under the bill, election officials could begin processing absentee ballots starting at 7 a.m. on the day before election day. They could not tally the results or publicly report them until after the polls closed at 8 p.m. on election day.
Full Article: Wisconsin GOP seeks more election oversight but faces likely vetoes