‘Absolutely disgusting’: GOP lawmakers continue to criticize Wisconsin Election Commission

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Republican state lawmakers continued to sharply criticize the Wisconsin Election Commission in a legislative hearing Tuesday as the commission’s administrator and a number of advocacy groups spoke out on behalf of the agency.

The hearing was called to consider a recently released audit of the 2020 Election Administration in Wisconsin. The audit, conducted by the Legislative Assembly’s non-partisan Legislative Audit Office, was ordered by the GOP-controlled state legislature shortly after the election. He found no voter fraud or widespread wrongdoing, but pointed to a number of shortcomings in the administration of elections by the Wisconsin Election Commission and made dozens of recommendations to update state policies. and state election laws.

None of the six Wisconsin Election Commission commissioners – three of whom are appointed to the body by Democrats and three by Republicans – appeared at the hearing. The committee has yet to hold a meeting to discuss the audit findings, citing scheduling conflicts.

During the hearing, State Representative John Macco R-Ledgeview said the absence of the Commissioners, as well as the speed of their reaction to the audit, was unacceptable.

“We’re all sitting here cooling our jets,” Macco said. “I find it absolutely disgusting that no one can come forward.”

Wisconsin Democrats argued that the audit offered more evidence that there were no major issues with the 2020 Wisconsin election, but Republicans raised concerns about the administrative shortcomings described commission, as well as audit statements regarding the alleged refusal of some local election officials to physically hand over election documents to auditors.

According to the audit, the electoral commission’s alleged administrative problems in 2020 included:

Failing to establish formal policies, which must be approved by state legislators, that establish the content of training for special voting deputies and election inspectors. Do not obtain electronic copies of signatures from the state Department of Transportation for people who have registered to vote online. Issue guidelines to local election officials that officials could adjourn before completing the counting of ballots on election night “due to unavoidable circumstances”. State law does not provide for such an allowance. Issue guidelines that local election officials could move polling stations under certain circumstances. State law does not provide for such an allowance. Issue guidelines that local election officials should not send special deputies to nursing homes and care facilities due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which conflicts with state law.

The report makes 30 recommendations to Wisconsin Election Commission staff for policy changes and 18 recommendations to lawmakers for potential changes to state law.

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos R-Rochester called for the resignation of Wisconsin Election Commission administrator Meagan Wolfe following the audit, but Wolfe refused to resign.

As soon as the report was released, Wolfe noted that the commission did not have prompt access to the document, as is typical state policy, and argued that it contained some inaccuracies that could have be avoided if such an examination had been authorized.

She reiterated this point during Tuesday’s hearing.

“We should all want this to be an accurate record of the election,” Wolfe said. “There are good recommendations we are grateful for, in terms of a roadmap that we can easily implement, but there are mistakes.”

In the report, the audit office said it did not allow the committee to review the document before it was released due to confidentiality concerns. The auditors argued that state law only allows government agencies like the Election Commission to hold private meetings on certain topics, and these do not include the review of draft audit reports.

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Wolfe said errors in the audit include statements about how often the state obtains data from the Electronic Registration Information Center, or ERIC, a non-profit organization that helps states maintain the accuracy of its electoral rolls.

“In particular, the ERIC data table (in the audit) implies that Wisconsin missed many opportunities to obtain data,” Wolfe said in prepared testimony. “This is absolutely wrong.”

State Representative Mark Born R-Beaver Dam brushed off Wolfe’s concerns, calling it “an unprecedented attack on the audit office.”

“I am very concerned about the initial tone of the audit response,” he said. “I don’t see where there are major issues with this audit, I don’t see the errors you cite.”

State Senator Melissa Agard, D-Madison, argued Republicans had “demonized” election officials in the wake of the audit and “poisoned the water” with potential talks about improving the electoral administration in the state.

“When you poison the water before inviting them to sit at the table, those conversations usually don’t go well,” she said.

A number of advocacy groups, including Disability Rights Wisconsin, the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, Wisconsin Conservation Voters, and the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin, expressed support for the election commission during the hearing.

Eileen Newcomer, head of voter education for the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin, said the commission had “proven itself to be an important partner in maintaining the integrity of elections.”

“Over the past year, the Legislature has focused on issues and non-existent threats to our elections that are neither productive nor evidence-based,” Newcomer said. “The elections are not perfect, but we applaud the dedicated work of the Election Commission and clerks across the state for achieving a record turnout with minimal fuss, despite the pandemic. “

In addition to the potential follow-up to the audit, there is an ongoing election inquiry led by Vos.

The inquiries come after Wisconsin completed a series of routine election audits and a presidential recount in the state’s two largest counties. None of these reviews revealed widespread fraud or wrongdoing. There have also been numerous Republican-backed trials in the state, not all of which have resulted in findings of wrongdoing by election officials or voters.

Biden won Wisconsin by about 21,000 votes – a margin similar to several other very slim statewide elections in recent years.

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