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Post-Election
POST-ELECTION DEVELOPMENTS IN WISCONSIN
In Wisconsin, the Trump
campaign focused its complaints on the
Democratic strongholds of Dane and Milwaukee
Counties. After paying for a recount of
the two counties, which resulted in tiny
changes to the tally, and after Gov. Evers
certified the results on Nov. 30, the campaign
filed lawsuits in state and federal
courts. Republicans also organized a
joint legislative hearing on Dec. 11. On
Dec. 14 as electors met to cast the state's 10
electoral votes for Joe Biden, Republican
electors also met. In a last ditch
effort, the Trump campaign filed a lawsuit, Trump
v. Biden with the U.S. Supreme Court at
the end of December. On Feb. 22, 2021
the Court declined to take up the case.
PRESENTED BELOW AS A RESOURCE FOR READERS IS A COLLECTION OF SOURCE MATERIAL ARRANGED CHRONOLOGICALLY TO GIVE A SENSE OF HOW THE POST-ELECTION UNFOLDED IN WISCONSIN. KEEP IN MIND THAT WHILE ELECTION OFFICIALS WERE DOING THEIR JOBS TO ENSURE AN ACCURATE TALLY OF THE VOTE, THE TRUMP CAMPAIGN AND OTHER ACTORS WERE SPREADING DISINFORMATION. THE CHALLENGE AT THE TIME WAS TO SORT THROUGH IT ALL AND MAKE SENSE OF WHAT LATER CAME TO BE KNOWN AS "THE BIG LIE."
Donald J. Trump for President, Inc.
TRUMP CAMPAIGN STATEMENT ON WISCONSIN
“Despite ridiculous public polling used as a voter suppression tactic, Wisconsin has been a razor thin race as we always knew that it would be. There have been reports of irregularities in several Wisconsin counties which raise serious doubts about the validity of the results. The President is well within the threshold to request a recount and we will immediately do so.”- Bill Stepien, Trump 2020 campaign manager
Wisconsin Elections Commission
November 5, 2020
Important Things Voters
Should Know After the Election
MADISON, WI – The Wisconsin Elections Commission today released its list of the top things Wisconsin voters should know after the General Election.
1. Wisconsin voters turned out in record numbers.
Unofficially, Wisconsin’s voters cast 3,296,374 votes cast for president, the most ever in Wisconsin, smashing the record of 3,071,434 in 2012.
“I am so proud of Wisconsin’s voters, not just for the record numbers with which they participated in their democracy, but for the peaceful, civil way they did it in this extremely challenging year,” said Meagan Wolfe, administrator of the Wisconsin Elections Commission. “There were very few problems reported at polling places, which is a credit to our voters and our local election officials.”
The state of Wisconsin has Election Day registration. This means that voters who may not have registered previously can register to vote at their polling place, increasing the number of voter registrations. Wolfe said that the number of paper registrations is reported as part of turnout by each of the local election officials. The law gives each of the 1,850 local election officials 45 days to enter this data into the statewide system, which then displays on the MyVote Wisconsin website (https://MyVote.wi.gov). After the 45 days, WEC is required to post election statistics, like the number of Election Day registrations to the public. The local election officials are also now in the process of certifying the election at the municipal, county, and then state level. Part of that process is ensuring that every voter participation entered has a corresponding, valid voter registration.
The unofficial turnout percentage of
Wisconsin’s 4,536,417 voting age population was
72.67%, which was not quite a record. The
2004 presidential election remains the
high-water mark in terms of percentage turnout,
because the voting age population was
significantly lower. Wisconsin has
historically been among the top states in terms
of voter turnout percentage.
| Year | Voting Age Population | General Elections Voters | General Election Turnout |
| 2020 | 4,536,417 | 3,296,374* | 72.66% |
| 2018 | 4,498,402 | 2,673,308 | 59.43% |
| 2016 | 4,461,068 | 3,004,051 | 67.34% |
| 2014 | 4,416,501 | 2,422,040 | 54.84% |
| 2012 | 4,378,741 | 3,071,434 | 70.14% |
| 2010 | 4,372,347 | 2,171,331 | 49.66% |
| 2008 | 4,330,695 | 2,996,869 | 69.20% |
| 2006 | 4,260,038 | 2,166,671 | 50.86% |
| 2004 | 4,118,621 | 3,016,288 | 73.24% |
| 2002 | 4,060,973 | 1,785,710 | 43.97% |
| 2000 | 3,908,533 | 2,619,184 | 67.01% |
* Unofficial
Approximately 1.95 million of the votes cast in the election were absentee, according to preliminary data tracked in the statewide voter database, Wolfe said. Of those, approximately at least 651,195 were in-person absentee ballots cast at the clerk’s office or a satellite voting location. Absentee voting reports and other data are available on the WEC’s website: https://elections.wi.gov/elections-voting/statistics.
Some jurisdictions choose to report their turnout as a percentage of registered voters. So for example, if a city has 100,000 registered voters headed into Election Day and 10,000 new voters register using Election Day registration, those jurisdictions sometimes report “110% turnout.” The state reports turnout as a percentage of the voting-age population, which is the unofficial 72.65% number referenced above.
2. Voters concerned about whether their vote counted should not worry.
“Many voters are visiting our MyVote Wisconsin website to check their records,” said Wolfe. “As allowed by state law, it can take 30 to 45 days for local clerks to record everyone’s paper registrations and voter participation into the electronic statewide voter database. Please do not worry if you do not see your participation or registration recorded right away.”
A message on the MyVote website informs voters how long it can take to enter participation:
Opportunity Wisconsin
November 7, 2020
November 7, 2020
Voters Come Together to Celebrate Democracy in Madison
Saturday, November 7th
Wisconsin community leaders, activists and voters gathered at the Capitol to celebrate a smooth and successful electionMADISON, Wis.— Community
leaders and activists gathered together in
Madison today to celebrate democracy and
congratulate Wisconsin officials on smooth
election and vote count. With all eyes on
Wisconsin in November, the Badger State played
a pivotal role in sending a new president to
the White House for the second time in a row.
By a margin of just over 20,000 votes, the
state’s ten electoral votes will go to Joe
Biden and Kamala Harris. Despite the
coronavirus pandemic, record turnout, and
close margins, by all accounts the election
was well administered and smoothly run.
Speakers at today’s press conference sent a
clear message: the voters decided, now it’s
time to get to work.
Video from the event can be found on the Opportunity Wisconsin Facebook page.
“Now that the voters have decided, it is critical that we come together in recognition of what we have achieved and continue to speak up for our shared values and what we believe in: representation of all voices in our democracy, justice and equity across race and place, and reminding all politicians that voters choose our leaders, not the other way around,” said Kevin Gundlach, President of the South Central Federation of Labor.
“We have come here this morning to affirm that in Wisconsin every vote was counted. We’ve come to make our voices heard. We are not obligated to finish the work of fighting for a just nation, but we must not stand idly by,” said Rabbi Laurie Zimmerman. “We must never give up our struggle for democracy, and we must never give up our struggle for justice.
“The American people are very resilient, hard working, and determined. Just about five days ago we went to the polls, to assess and make a statement about Donald Trump and his administration,” said Madison City Councilman and Assemblyman-elect Samba Baldeh. “We’ll make sure that every vote is counted. Be patient, sit tight, all the votes will come through.”
“None of us forget how powerful [the vote] is, especially in the African American community,” said SEIU member and frontline worker Michael Elvord. “Black power is the Black vote.”
“Power is in us. Power is in our people, in our streets, in our communities — taking care of each other, feeding each other, keeping each other safe. I saw that power this week when I watched people in Wisconsin — in Madison, Milwaukee, and across the state — rising up to come together and make our voices heard,” said Maya Banks of Sunrise Madison. “That power is what decided this election.”
“[Our democracy] hasn’t always been perfect, we all know that. When it started you had to be a landowning white male to vote. Slowly, over time, we have become more inclusive. And because we have become more inclusive, because more people have voted, have used their voice in this democratic process, our society has improved greatly. We have a long ways to go still, but we have come a long way. And in this election, in 2020, it’s never been more true,” said Awais Khaleel of the Wisconsin Muslim Civic Alliance.
“We have a voice. Not only at a national level, but at a local level, we have a voice. One of the most important ways to use your voice is to vote,” said Fitchburg Alder Joe Maldonado. “You all made the outcome of this election possible. Black people in Milwaukee, in Detroit, in Georgia made things possible. Hmong communities and indeginious communities in Wisconsin made this possible. Don’t ever lose that voice.”
“Young people turned out in waves because their lives literally depended on it this cycle. Young people, particularly young people of color, decided this election all across the state. They made a difference at every level. But we know the work’s not done. We know that young people didn’t just have a moment, that this is going to be a movement. We know that young people are going to be turning out at historic rates, taking their power back, and making sure that they have a government that represents their values,” said Kade Walker of NextGen Wisconsin.
Video from the event can be found on the Opportunity Wisconsin Facebook page.
“Now that the voters have decided, it is critical that we come together in recognition of what we have achieved and continue to speak up for our shared values and what we believe in: representation of all voices in our democracy, justice and equity across race and place, and reminding all politicians that voters choose our leaders, not the other way around,” said Kevin Gundlach, President of the South Central Federation of Labor.
“We have come here this morning to affirm that in Wisconsin every vote was counted. We’ve come to make our voices heard. We are not obligated to finish the work of fighting for a just nation, but we must not stand idly by,” said Rabbi Laurie Zimmerman. “We must never give up our struggle for democracy, and we must never give up our struggle for justice.
“The American people are very resilient, hard working, and determined. Just about five days ago we went to the polls, to assess and make a statement about Donald Trump and his administration,” said Madison City Councilman and Assemblyman-elect Samba Baldeh. “We’ll make sure that every vote is counted. Be patient, sit tight, all the votes will come through.”
“None of us forget how powerful [the vote] is, especially in the African American community,” said SEIU member and frontline worker Michael Elvord. “Black power is the Black vote.”
“Power is in us. Power is in our people, in our streets, in our communities — taking care of each other, feeding each other, keeping each other safe. I saw that power this week when I watched people in Wisconsin — in Madison, Milwaukee, and across the state — rising up to come together and make our voices heard,” said Maya Banks of Sunrise Madison. “That power is what decided this election.”
“[Our democracy] hasn’t always been perfect, we all know that. When it started you had to be a landowning white male to vote. Slowly, over time, we have become more inclusive. And because we have become more inclusive, because more people have voted, have used their voice in this democratic process, our society has improved greatly. We have a long ways to go still, but we have come a long way. And in this election, in 2020, it’s never been more true,” said Awais Khaleel of the Wisconsin Muslim Civic Alliance.
“We have a voice. Not only at a national level, but at a local level, we have a voice. One of the most important ways to use your voice is to vote,” said Fitchburg Alder Joe Maldonado. “You all made the outcome of this election possible. Black people in Milwaukee, in Detroit, in Georgia made things possible. Hmong communities and indeginious communities in Wisconsin made this possible. Don’t ever lose that voice.”
“Young people turned out in waves because their lives literally depended on it this cycle. Young people, particularly young people of color, decided this election all across the state. They made a difference at every level. But we know the work’s not done. We know that young people didn’t just have a moment, that this is going to be a movement. We know that young people are going to be turning out at historic rates, taking their power back, and making sure that they have a government that represents their values,” said Kade Walker of NextGen Wisconsin.
Wisconsin Elections Commission
November 10, 2020
Correcting Misinformation about Wisconsin's Election
MADISON, WI – In the week after the presidential election, misinformation has circulated on social media and political websites raising unfounded rumors about the integrity of Wisconsin’s election results.“Wisconsin’s election was conducted according to law and in the open,” said Meagan Wolfe, Wisconsin’s chief election official. “While the results are still unofficial and are currently being triple checked as part of the canvass and certification process, we have not seen any credible information to cast any doubt on those unofficial results.”
Wolfe further stated, “When issues are reported to our office, we take them very seriously. We look into each allegation and request evidence from parties involved. At this time, no evidence has been provided that supports allegations of systemic or widespread election issues.”
“Unfortunately, we are seeing many concerns that result from this unsubstantiated misinformation. We want Wisconsin’s voters to know we hear their concerns and to provide facts on these processes to combat the rumors and misinformation,” Wolfe said.
Every step of the election process is publicly observable and transparent, Wolfe said. This includes voting at the polls on Election Day and the counting of absentee ballots. It also includes the canvass and certification of the tally that is happening right now in counties across the state. Every ballot cast in Wisconsin has a paper audit trail. Voting equipment is randomly selected for audit after the presidential election and the paper trail is audited against the electronic vote totals; this process is conducted as part of a public meeting. If there is a recount, these materials will again be analyzed, as they were in 2016.
“Election results in Wisconsin are triple-checked for accuracy before they are certified,” Wolfe said. “Your municipal and county clerks, and the staff of the Wisconsin Elections Commission are looking at everything to ensure the will of the voters is carried out and to affirm that only valid ballots were cast and counted.”
In response to the misinformation, the WEC today released a list of the top facts about Wisconsin elections. This list is in addition to last week’s news release which addressed rumors like Wisconsin having more votes than registrations and ballots being added to the unofficial totals on the morning of November 4, that release can be found here: https://elections.wi.gov/node/7235.
1. Wisconsin voters can trust their vote was counted.
“Many voters are visiting our MyVote Wisconsin website to check their records,” said Wolfe. “As allowed by state law, it can take 45 days after a presidential election for local clerks to record everyone’s paper registrations and voter participation into the electronic statewide voter database. If you do not see your participation or registration recorded right away, don’t worry it takes time to get all of the data entered into the system.
A message on the MyVote.wi.gov website informs voters how long it can take to enter participation. Wolfe said the MyVote website absentee ballot tracking feature will continue to show voters whether their absentee ballot arrived.
Wolfe noted that in the last three presidential elections, Wisconsin had among the lowest rates of mail ballot rejections and other problems in the nation, according to the Elections Performance Index, a state-by-state data monitoring project maintained by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
However, voters should note that their record will never contain information on how you voted. State and federal law protect voter anonymity. Once you cast your ballot, who you voted for can not be tracked back to you. Your paper ballot is always anonymous, and it cannot be tied to your voter participation record.
2. Minor news media errors in reporting Wisconsin’s unofficial results do not affect the outcome of the election.
“Several people have contacted us about discrepancies they may have seen in unofficial results on media websites or TV broadcasts on Election Night,” Wolfe said. “They believe that these reporting errors are evidence that vote totals were somehow changed or flipped. Nothing could be farther from the truth.”
Wolfe explained that Wisconsin does not have a statewide system for reporting unofficial results on Election Night, and there is no central official website or feed where results are reported. State law requires that counties post the unofficial election night numbers for each polling place. The unofficial statewide and county results numbers that the public sees on Election Night and the days thereafter come from the news media, including the Associated Press, which collects them from the 72 county clerks’ websites.
One false rumor circulating now is that results were flipped in Rock County on Election Night, based on screenshots from FOXNews.com. According to the Associated Press, there was an error that occurred in the way they gathered results from Rock County’s website which caused AP to transpose results for Joe Biden and Donald Trump. An AP correspondent noticed the error within a few minutes and corrected it, according to a statement from the newswire:
Patrick Maks, media relations manager for The Associated Press said, “There was a brief technical error in AP’s collection of the vote count in Rock County, Wisconsin, that was quickly corrected. AP has myriad checks and redundancies in place to ensure the integrity of the vote count reporting. We are confident in what we have delivered to customers.”
https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2020/nov/10/eric-trump/no-rock-county-did-not-have-glitch-stole-votes-tru/
The AP’s error in no way reflects any problem with how Rock County counted or posted unofficial results. The WEC has confirmed with Rock County that their unofficial results reporting was always accurate.
There have been similar false claims about numbers on a CNN broadcast around 4 a.m. Wednesday when the city of Milwaukee’s absentee ballot results were added to ballots cast at the polls on Election Day.
“Voters should be extremely cautious about drawing any conclusions based on changes in numbers during Election Night reporting,” Wolfe said. “The news media is doing its best to report accurate results, but sometimes they make minor mistakes. These errors have nothing to do with Wisconsin’s official results, which are triple checked at the municipal, county and state levels before they are certified.”
3. Absentee ballots were counted properly, regardless of when the results were reported.
There are 39 municipalities which count their voters’ absentee ballots at a central location. Because several municipalities could not finish processing their absentee ballots by the time the polls closed at 8 p.m. on Election Day, there was a delay in reporting those results to county clerks. This was especially true in major cities including Milwaukee, Green Bay and Kenosha, where final unofficial results were reported after 3 a.m. Wednesday.
“Due to the pandemic and the high number of absentee ballots, it took until early Wednesday for all the unofficial results to come in,” said Wolfe. “It does not mean something went wrong – it means election officials did their jobs and made sure every valid ballot was counted.”
In Wisconsin, voters must be registered before they can request an absentee ballot. Voters then need to submit a valid request for an absentee to their municipal clerk who sends the ballot and tracks it in the statewide database and using USPS intelligent mail barcodes. When a voted ballot is received by your clerk, it has to be recorded that it was received. On Election Day and night, only ballots issued to registered voters, with a valid request on file, and with completed certificates signed by the voter and their witness, are counted. If any of these elements are missing, the ballot is rejected and is not counted.
Some central count municipalities, including Milwaukee and Green Bay, took extra steps to provide the public and the media with live webcams of the absentee tabulation, and the physical locations were all open to the public and the media. Representatives of both major political parties were present, as well as independent poll watchers.
“Despite this transparency, we have seen unfounded allegations that clerks and poll workers stopped counting, that they mysteriously found absentee ballots in the middle of the night, or that all the votes on absentee ballots were only for one candidate,” Wolfe said. “It’s just not true.”
The Wisconsin Elections Commission anticipated there would be misinformation about late absentee ballot reports in central count municipalities. To proactively provide insight into the process of counting and reporting absentee ballot totals, the WEC put out news releases in advance of the election and even produced a video about how results get reported. https://elections.wi.gov/2020
4. The pens or markers used by some voters did not prevent their ballots from being counted.
Wolfe said that voters have contacted the WEC because of posts they saw on social media about the use of felt tip pens or “sharpies” on ballots. “Voters do not need to worry, their ballots were counted,” Wolfe said. “Voting equipment in Wisconsin is tested at both the local, state, and federal level for all kinds of pens and other marking devices. While we recommend that voters use the pen or marking device provided at their polling place or as instructed in their absentee ballot, the use of a felt-tip pen doesn’t invalidate a ballot.”
5. Wisconsin ballots do not have any special encoding with invisible watermarks or blockchain codes.
One of the stranger claims after the election was that legitimate ballots had been specially encoded by one of the political parties so any illegitimate ballots could be rejected.
Wisconsin county clerks are responsible for printing ballots which are distributed to municipal clerks, Wolfe said. “The secrecy of your ballot is safe,” Wolfe said. “Clerks do not print any watermarks or codes on them that would identify any voter or political party.” Ballot anonymity is a requirement of the law, and what candidate a voter chose is not a part of their record. The state of Wisconsin also does not track party affiliation. Local election officials do not know voter’s party preference when issuing ballots.
6. Clerks and poll workers followed state law in curing absentee ballot certificates that were missing address information.
Another unfounded claim is that just before the election the WEC illegally told clerks they could add witness addresses to absentee ballot certificate envelopes. Here are the facts:
- The Wisconsin Elections Commission’s guidance permitting municipal clerks to fix missing witness address components based on reliable information has been in effect since October 2016. There was no new guidance or change to this requirement.
- Voter and witness signatures can only be added by the voter and the original witness. Signatures can never be added by poll workers (unless they were the original witness during in-person absentee).
- The motion to approve the guidance was made by Republican members of the Commission in 2016 and it passed unanimously.
- The guidance has been in effect for 11 statewide elections, including the 2016 presidential and presidential recount, and no one has objected to it until now.
- Guidance to clerks that was posted on October 19, 2020, simply restates this earlier guidance.
- The law says that a witness address needs to be present for the certificate to be accepted and the ballot to be counted, it does not specify who affixes the address (for example, voter address is added by the clerk on the certificate envelope). If an absentee certificate does not contain a witness address (i.e. the witness forgot or the clerk cannot add it based on reliable information) then the ballot cannot be counted.
- There were no corrections made to “ballots” as some articles and posts claim. These were witness addresses added to the certificate, in accordance with the 2016 directive. They are also distinguishable (initials, red pen, etc.) and done as part of the publicly observable process.
There have been unfounded allegations that the WEC violated the law by not removing approximately 232,000 voters from the registration list because they may have moved.
The Wisconsin Court of Appeals ruled in February 2020 that WEC could not remove voters from the registration list. The court case, Zignego v. Wisconsin Elections Commission, was argued before the Wisconsin Supreme Court in September and no decision has been issued yet. The WEC will follow the Supreme Court’s decision once it is issued.
The current process requires anyone who may have moved to affirm their address when receiving a ballot. These voters have a watermark next to their name in the poll book and are asked to sign to affirm that they still live there. If any voter has moved, they are directed to register to vote before they can be issued a ballot.
Wisconsin Elections Commission
November 16, 2020
WEC Releases County and State Recount Cost Estimates and Recount Timeline
Madison, WI – Wisconsin’s county clerks have submitted cost estimates totaling approximately $7.9 million for a statewide recount, according to the Wisconsin Elections Commission.“We still have not received any indication that there will or will not be a recount,” said Meagan Wolfe, Wisconsin’s chief election official. “But we want Wisconsin’s voters to know we are ready.”
Part of that readiness includes collecting recount cost estimates from all 72 counties and assembling a statewide estimate, which must be paid before any recount can begin.
“Our county clerks have carefully estimated their costs for recounting 3.2 million ballots, which is approximately $7.9 million,” Wolfe said. “These estimates are significantly higher than the actual costs of the 2016 recount, but they take into account factors not present four years ago, including the need for larger spaces to permit public observation and social distancing, security for those spaces, the higher number of absentee ballots, a compressed timeframe over a holiday, and renting high-speed ballot scanning equipment.”
The Wisconsin Legislature changed state law in 2017 following the 2016 presidential recount to allow the Wisconsin Elections Commission to include its costs in the estimate. WEC costs are less than $30,000 of the total estimate. If the estimated costs exceed actual costs, the candidate’s committee will receive a refund for the difference, Wolfe said.
Last week, the WEC contacted the presidential campaigns to inform them of the procedures for requesting a recount. A copy of the letter is attached.
Wolfe also announced the potential timeline for a recount, if one is requested. The timeline permits the recount to be completed and the results to be certified by December 1, 2020.
Tuesday, November 17, 2020 – The last county canvass is received. There are several counties outstanding, and some have indicated they will not be finished before November 17.
Wednesday, November 18 by 5:00 p.m. – The deadline for the aggrieved presidential candidate to file for a recount and submit payment.
Thursday, November 19, 2020 – The Commission Chair issues the Recount Order. This starts the 13-day recount clock and is also the first day that recount boards can meet.
Saturday, November 21, 2020 at 9:00 a.m. – The deadline by which county boards of canvassers must convene for the recount (no later than 9:00 a.m. on the third day after the recount order is issued).
Tuesday, December 1, 2020 – The deadline to complete the recount. This is also the deadline, under Wisconsin law, for WEC to certify results from the General Election. Therefore, recounts must be completed and results must be filed with WEC by noon on December 1, 2020.
Wolfe said WEC understands the timeline will be difficult to navigate, but noted that state law does not account for the many challenges on the calendar, including the Thanksgiving holiday. The Wisconsin Legislature changed the recount law in 2017, shortening the recount request window, which compresses the timeline even more than in 2016.
Recount Facts
- Wisconsin does not have automatic recounts, even if the unofficial results are extremely close.
- The second-place candidate must wait to request a recount until after the last county reports its certified results to the state. This is expected to happen on November 17.
- For presidential recounts, the aggrieved candidate has just one day to file for a recount. The Wisconsin Legislature changed this deadline from three days to one day following the 2016 presidential recount.
- According to unofficial results, the margin of victory between the top two presidential candidates is 20,470 votes, or 0.62%, which makes the race eligible for recount if the losing candidate wishes to request one.
- Because the margin is more than 0.25%, the aggrieved candidate must prepay the estimated costs of the recount at the time of requesting it.
- Complete
information about Wisconsin’s recount laws and
procedures is available here: https://elections.wi.gov/manuals/recount.
Wisconsin Elections Commission
November 17, 2020
All County Canvasses Have Been Filed
The Wisconsin Elections Commission has
received verified canvass statements from
all 72 counties. Those canvass
statements are available on the WEC’s
website: https://elections.wi.gov/node/7239.
These results have been reviewed by WEC
staff but are not scheduled to be certified
by the WEC until December 1.
The Trump/Pence campaign now has until 5:00 p.m. Wednesday to request a recount according to the procedures required by state statutes. More information about the process for requesting a recount and Wisconsin’s preparations for a recount are available here: https://elections.wi.gov/node/7246.
The Trump/Pence campaign now has until 5:00 p.m. Wednesday to request a recount according to the procedures required by state statutes. More information about the process for requesting a recount and Wisconsin’s preparations for a recount are available here: https://elections.wi.gov/node/7246.
For more information, contact
Reid Magney, public information
officer
Donald J. Trump for President, Inc.
November 18, 2020
The Wisconsin Elections Commission directed Wisconsin municipal clerks to illegally alter incomplete absentee ballots contrary to Wisconsin law. Clerks were instructed that they could rely on their own “personal knowledge,” or unspecified “lists or databases at his or her disposal” to add in missing information on returned absentee ballots. Under Wisconsin law, incomplete absentee ballots may not be counted.
Municipal clerks across Wisconsin issued absentee ballots to voters without requiring an application, in direct conflict with Wisconsin’s absentee voting safeguards. Wisconsin law expressly requires that absentee ballots may not be issued without receiving a written application requesting the ballot. Despite this clear mandatory requirement, clerks uniformly issued absentee ballots without collecting a written application from persons who requested absentee ballots in person during the two week in-person absentee voting period that ran from October 20, 2020 through November 1, 2020.
Voter identification is an essential requirement in Wisconsin and elsewhere to ensure that only eligible voters may cast their ballots. In clear abuse of Wisconsin’s provision to issue ballots to indefinitely confined voters without requiring them to present voter identification, some Democrat county clerks illegally advised voters to illegally mischaracterize that they were indefinitely confined to circumvent Wisconsin voter ID law. Those claiming to be “indefinitely confined” rose from 72,000 in 2019 to more than 240,000 at the time of the November 3, 2020 election. A substantial number of those claiming that status were sent and then returned ballots without proper identification and without otherwise meeting the requirements for that status.
“The people of Wisconsin deserve to know whether their election processes worked in a legal and transparent way. Regrettably, the integrity of the election results cannot be trusted without a recount in these two counties and uniform enforcement of Wisconsin absentee ballot requirements. We will not know the true results of the election until only the legal ballots cast are counted,” said Jim Troupis, counsel to the campaign. “We will not stop fighting for transparency and integrity in our electoral process to ensure that all Americans can trust the results of a free and fair election in Wisconsin and across the country.”
The petition will be filed with the Wisconsin Elections Commission.
Wisconsin Elections Commission
November 18, 2020
“The request is for all of Milwaukee and Dane Counties. No other counties or jurisdictions were requested,” said Meagan Wolfe, Wisconsin’s chief election official. “It was filed in-person in our office today at 10:58 a.m. and appears, upon facial review, to meet all of the requirements in pairing with the payment that was received late yesterday.”
Wolfe further stated, “ We understand the eyes of the world will be on these Wisconsin counties over the next few weeks. We remain committed to providing information about the process and assisting our county clerks by providing facts on the mechanics of a recount and status updates.”
A copy of the recount petition is attached, as is a photograph of Attorney James Troupis presenting the recount petition to Ms. Wolfe.
Here is the timeline for a recount:
Wednesday, November 18, 6:00 p.m. – The Wisconsin Elections Commission holds a special meeting to discuss details of the partial recount for president and to review supplements to the Recount Manual in light of public health guidance. Information about the meeting and how to attend online is available here: https://elections.wi.gov/node/7247.
Thursday, November 19, 2020 – The Commission Chair issues the Recount Order. This starts the 13-day recount clock and is also the first day that recount boards can meet.
Saturday, November 21, 2020 at 9:00 a.m. – The deadline by which county boards of canvassers must convene for the recount (no later than 9:00 a.m. on the third day after the recount order is issued).
Tuesday, December 1, 2020 – The deadline to complete the recount. This is also the deadline, under Wisconsin law, for WEC to certify results from the General Election. Therefore, recounts must be completed and results must be filed with WEC by noon on December 1, 2020.
Complete information about Wisconsin’s recount laws and procedures is available here: https://elections.wi.gov/elections-voting/recount.
Wisconsin Elections Commission
November 19, 2020
The order comes following a meeting of the six-member, bipartisan commission late Wednesday at which the commission unanimously approved the recount order. (A copy of the order is attached.)
The recount order requires Dane and Milwaukee counties boards of canvassers (BOCs) to convene by 9 a.m. Saturday, November 21, and complete their work by noon on Tuesday, December 1. The county BOCs may start their work as early as today.
The Dane County BOC will meet at Monona Terrace in Madison. The Milwaukee County BOC will meet at the Wisconsin Center in Milwaukee. Each BOC will issue its own public notice for starting and meeting times, and must include 24 hours public notice.
At its meeting Wednesday, the WEC also unanimously approved changes to its Recount Manual designed to ensure representatives of both presidential campaigns have access to ballots and other materials during the recount. “… it is clear that the ballots and materials must be available for candidates and their representatives to view and offer any objections to a ballot being counted,” the revised manual states.
The revised Recount Manual with changes to the observer and public health sections highlighted will be posted shortly to the commission’s website. The rest of the manual remains unchanged.
The WEC also unanimously approved a three-page memorandum from staff containing Public Health Guidance for Recount Proceedings.
Proposed revisions to the manual about when a county’s Board of Canvassers should examine requests for absentee ballots during a recount were not approved following a series of 3-3 votes. The commission requires four votes to approve a motion.
Separately, the WEC unanimously approved guidance for 190 municipalities that will be conducting voting equipment audits before the certification deadline of December 1. The guidance includes a November 27 deadline for completion of the hand-count audits, which are designed to confirm the accuracy of voting equipment. More information about voting equipment audits is available on the WEC’s website: https://elections.wi.gov/elections-voting/voting-equipment/audit-page.
“We understand the eyes of the world will be on these Wisconsin counties over the next few weeks,” said Meagan Wolfe, administrator of the WEC and Wisconsin’s chief election official. “We remain committed to providing information about the process and assisting our county clerks by providing facts on the mechanics of a recount and status updates.”
Here is the timeline for a recount:
Wednesday, November 18, 6:00 p.m. – The Wisconsin Elections Commission holds a special meeting to discuss details of the partial recount for president and to review supplements to the Recount Manual in light of public health guidance. Information about the meeting and how to attend online is available here: https://elections.wi.gov/node/7247.
Thursday, November 19, 2020 – The Commission Chair issues the Recount Order. This starts the 13-day recount clock and is also the first day that recount boards can meet.
Saturday, November 21, 2020 at 9:00 a.m. – The deadline by which county boards of canvassers must convene for the recount (no later than 9:00 a.m. on the third day after the recount order is issued).
Tuesday, December 1, 2020 – The deadline to complete the recount. This is also the deadline, under Wisconsin law, for WEC to certify results from the General Election. Therefore, recounts must be completed and results must be filed with WEC by noon on December 1, 2020.
Complete information about Wisconsin’s recount laws and procedures is available here: https://elections.wi.gov/elections-voting/recount.
November 23, 2020 Wisconsin Voters Alliance v. Wisconsin Elections Commission filed in the Supreme Court of Wisconsin charges Wisconsin Election Commission and local elections officials failed to conduct the election in accordance with state law and asks that "the election should be declared void and the choice of the Presidential Electors revert back to the State Legislature."
Danielle Melfi
November 29, 2020
Wisconsin Elections Commission
November 30, 2020
The Chair is not certifying the presidential race today, said Meagan Wolfe, administrator of the WEC and Wisconsin’s chief election official. “This is a very different process than for the other contests on the November 3 ballot where the WEC Chair does determine the winner and issues certificates of election. There is no certificate of election in a presidential contest,” Wolfe said.
In other contests that were on Wisconsin’s November 3 ballot, including Congress, state Senate, and state Assembly, the Chair does canvass the results and then issues a certificate of election. That is not the case in a presidential election. The law requires that the Chair determine the result, or the numbers, of the recount and the contest based on the certified result statements submitted by each of the 72 counties. This determination is what can be appealed. If there is not a determination, then parties to a recount do not have anything to appeal.
Today, Chair Jacobs will make a “determination of the recount and the presidential contest” which allows President Trump's campaign to exercise the five-day recount appeal rights afforded to it under Wis. Stat. 9.01(6) if the campaign believes the determination inaccurately reflects the election outcome.
As part of today’s determination, a copy of the canvass determination for president and a statement of ascertainment will be sent to the Governor’s office. The Governor then decides whether to sign off on the slate of presidential electors. The Chair does not sign the ascertainment and only makes the determination of the canvass. Wolfe said that the determination or the statement of ascertainment can be modified if ordered by a court upon appeal.
On Tuesday, during the regularly-scheduled Commission meeting, the Chair will certify the other contests, which will result in the issuance of certificates of election to the winners, because there is no recount in those contests and therefore no appeal time period.
Wolfe also noted that this is the exact process followed for the 2016 presidential election where the determination was made and the statement of ascertainment sent immediately after the conclusion of the recount. The Chairperson of the Commission, or their designee, has always signed the determination and certificates of election, as is outlined under state law. This has been the process followed under the leadership of both Democratic and Republican Chairs of the Commission. The full Commission has never voted on the canvass, determination, certification or the preparation or issuance of certificates. This is the process that has been used for more than 20 elections under the bipartisan Wisconsin Elections Commission. Here is the current timeline for certification of the election:
Monday, November 30, 2020 – State Canvass of the Presidential Contest and Determination of the Results of the Recount. At 3:30 p.m. the Chairperson of the WEC will review the results and sign a canvass statement that determines the result of the election conducted on Tuesday, November 3, 2020, for the Office of President of the United States which includes the recount in Dane and Milwaukee counties.
Tuesday, December 1, 2020 – The deadline under Wisconsin law for the Chairperson of the WEC to certify results from the General Election that were not subject to a recount. The Chairperson of the WEC will certify results for all other state elections during the WEC’s regular meeting.
Monday, December 14, 2020 – Presidential Electors meeting. At noon, presidential electors for the winning candidate will meet at the State Capitol to cast their votes for president.
Donald J. Trump for President, Inc.
November 18, 2020
Trump Campaign Files a Petition for Recount in Two Wisconsin Counties
President Donald J. Trump’s re-election campaign will file a petition today for a recount in two Wisconsin counties – Milwaukee and Dane – citing illegally altered absentee ballots, illegally issued absentee ballots, and illegal advice given by government officials allowing Wisconsin’s Voter ID laws to be circumvented. These two counties were selected because they are the locations of the worst irregularities. Donald J. Trump for President, Inc. transferred $3 million to Wisconsin to cover the estimated cost of the recounts.The Wisconsin Elections Commission directed Wisconsin municipal clerks to illegally alter incomplete absentee ballots contrary to Wisconsin law. Clerks were instructed that they could rely on their own “personal knowledge,” or unspecified “lists or databases at his or her disposal” to add in missing information on returned absentee ballots. Under Wisconsin law, incomplete absentee ballots may not be counted.
Municipal clerks across Wisconsin issued absentee ballots to voters without requiring an application, in direct conflict with Wisconsin’s absentee voting safeguards. Wisconsin law expressly requires that absentee ballots may not be issued without receiving a written application requesting the ballot. Despite this clear mandatory requirement, clerks uniformly issued absentee ballots without collecting a written application from persons who requested absentee ballots in person during the two week in-person absentee voting period that ran from October 20, 2020 through November 1, 2020.
Voter identification is an essential requirement in Wisconsin and elsewhere to ensure that only eligible voters may cast their ballots. In clear abuse of Wisconsin’s provision to issue ballots to indefinitely confined voters without requiring them to present voter identification, some Democrat county clerks illegally advised voters to illegally mischaracterize that they were indefinitely confined to circumvent Wisconsin voter ID law. Those claiming to be “indefinitely confined” rose from 72,000 in 2019 to more than 240,000 at the time of the November 3, 2020 election. A substantial number of those claiming that status were sent and then returned ballots without proper identification and without otherwise meeting the requirements for that status.
“The people of Wisconsin deserve to know whether their election processes worked in a legal and transparent way. Regrettably, the integrity of the election results cannot be trusted without a recount in these two counties and uniform enforcement of Wisconsin absentee ballot requirements. We will not know the true results of the election until only the legal ballots cast are counted,” said Jim Troupis, counsel to the campaign. “We will not stop fighting for transparency and integrity in our electoral process to ensure that all Americans can trust the results of a free and fair election in Wisconsin and across the country.”
The petition will be filed with the Wisconsin Elections Commission.
Wisconsin Elections Commission
November 18, 2020
WEC Receives Petition for Partial Recount; Recount to be Ordered Thursday
Madison, WI – The Wisconsin Elections Commission has received a partial recount petition and a wire transfer from the Trump campaign for $3 million.“The request is for all of Milwaukee and Dane Counties. No other counties or jurisdictions were requested,” said Meagan Wolfe, Wisconsin’s chief election official. “It was filed in-person in our office today at 10:58 a.m. and appears, upon facial review, to meet all of the requirements in pairing with the payment that was received late yesterday.”
Wolfe further stated, “ We understand the eyes of the world will be on these Wisconsin counties over the next few weeks. We remain committed to providing information about the process and assisting our county clerks by providing facts on the mechanics of a recount and status updates.”
A copy of the recount petition is attached, as is a photograph of Attorney James Troupis presenting the recount petition to Ms. Wolfe.
Here is the timeline for a recount:
Wednesday, November 18, 6:00 p.m. – The Wisconsin Elections Commission holds a special meeting to discuss details of the partial recount for president and to review supplements to the Recount Manual in light of public health guidance. Information about the meeting and how to attend online is available here: https://elections.wi.gov/node/7247.
Thursday, November 19, 2020 – The Commission Chair issues the Recount Order. This starts the 13-day recount clock and is also the first day that recount boards can meet.
Saturday, November 21, 2020 at 9:00 a.m. – The deadline by which county boards of canvassers must convene for the recount (no later than 9:00 a.m. on the third day after the recount order is issued).
Tuesday, December 1, 2020 – The deadline to complete the recount. This is also the deadline, under Wisconsin law, for WEC to certify results from the General Election. Therefore, recounts must be completed and results must be filed with WEC by noon on December 1, 2020.
Complete information about Wisconsin’s recount laws and procedures is available here: https://elections.wi.gov/elections-voting/recount.
Wisconsin Elections Commission
November 19, 2020
WEC Orders Presidential Election Recount
Madison, WI – The Wisconsin Elections Commission today ordered a partial recount of presidential election results in Dane and Milwaukee counties after receiving a recount petition and $3 million payment from the Trump campaign.The order comes following a meeting of the six-member, bipartisan commission late Wednesday at which the commission unanimously approved the recount order. (A copy of the order is attached.)
The recount order requires Dane and Milwaukee counties boards of canvassers (BOCs) to convene by 9 a.m. Saturday, November 21, and complete their work by noon on Tuesday, December 1. The county BOCs may start their work as early as today.
The Dane County BOC will meet at Monona Terrace in Madison. The Milwaukee County BOC will meet at the Wisconsin Center in Milwaukee. Each BOC will issue its own public notice for starting and meeting times, and must include 24 hours public notice.
At its meeting Wednesday, the WEC also unanimously approved changes to its Recount Manual designed to ensure representatives of both presidential campaigns have access to ballots and other materials during the recount. “… it is clear that the ballots and materials must be available for candidates and their representatives to view and offer any objections to a ballot being counted,” the revised manual states.
The revised Recount Manual with changes to the observer and public health sections highlighted will be posted shortly to the commission’s website. The rest of the manual remains unchanged.
The WEC also unanimously approved a three-page memorandum from staff containing Public Health Guidance for Recount Proceedings.
Proposed revisions to the manual about when a county’s Board of Canvassers should examine requests for absentee ballots during a recount were not approved following a series of 3-3 votes. The commission requires four votes to approve a motion.
Separately, the WEC unanimously approved guidance for 190 municipalities that will be conducting voting equipment audits before the certification deadline of December 1. The guidance includes a November 27 deadline for completion of the hand-count audits, which are designed to confirm the accuracy of voting equipment. More information about voting equipment audits is available on the WEC’s website: https://elections.wi.gov/elections-voting/voting-equipment/audit-page.
“We understand the eyes of the world will be on these Wisconsin counties over the next few weeks,” said Meagan Wolfe, administrator of the WEC and Wisconsin’s chief election official. “We remain committed to providing information about the process and assisting our county clerks by providing facts on the mechanics of a recount and status updates.”
Here is the timeline for a recount:
Wednesday, November 18, 6:00 p.m. – The Wisconsin Elections Commission holds a special meeting to discuss details of the partial recount for president and to review supplements to the Recount Manual in light of public health guidance. Information about the meeting and how to attend online is available here: https://elections.wi.gov/node/7247.
Thursday, November 19, 2020 – The Commission Chair issues the Recount Order. This starts the 13-day recount clock and is also the first day that recount boards can meet.
Saturday, November 21, 2020 at 9:00 a.m. – The deadline by which county boards of canvassers must convene for the recount (no later than 9:00 a.m. on the third day after the recount order is issued).
Tuesday, December 1, 2020 – The deadline to complete the recount. This is also the deadline, under Wisconsin law, for WEC to certify results from the General Election. Therefore, recounts must be completed and results must be filed with WEC by noon on December 1, 2020.
Complete information about Wisconsin’s recount laws and procedures is available here: https://elections.wi.gov/elections-voting/recount.
November 23, 2020 Wisconsin Voters Alliance v. Wisconsin Elections Commission filed in the Supreme Court of Wisconsin charges Wisconsin Election Commission and local elections officials failed to conduct the election in accordance with state law and asks that "the election should be declared void and the choice of the Presidential Electors revert back to the State Legislature."
Danielle Melfi
November 29, 2020
Statement by Biden Wisconsin State Director Danielle Melfi
"As we have said, the recount only served to reaffirm Joe Biden's victory in Wisconsin. In the midst of the worst pandemic in a century, election officials worked tirelessly through Thanksgiving weekend to ensure every vote was recounted quickly and transparently. Throughout the process, Dane and Milwaukee County Boards of Canvassers resoundingly rejected -- often on a bipartisan basis -- the Trump campaign's baseless attempts to disenfranchise hundreds of thousands of Wisconsinites who simply followed the law when they voted. And despite repeated incendiary accusations, there was no evidence of fraud whatsoever. The facts are clear: after ballots were counted and counted again, Joe Biden decisively won Wisconsin by more than 20,000 votes."Wisconsin Elections Commission
November 30, 2020
WEC Chair to Canvass Presidential Election Results Today
Madison, WI – Chairperson Ann Jacobs of the Wisconsin Elections Commission will canvass results of the presidential election and sign the determination today at 3:30 p.m., including results from the recounts in Dane and Milwaukee counties.The Chair is not certifying the presidential race today, said Meagan Wolfe, administrator of the WEC and Wisconsin’s chief election official. “This is a very different process than for the other contests on the November 3 ballot where the WEC Chair does determine the winner and issues certificates of election. There is no certificate of election in a presidential contest,” Wolfe said.
In other contests that were on Wisconsin’s November 3 ballot, including Congress, state Senate, and state Assembly, the Chair does canvass the results and then issues a certificate of election. That is not the case in a presidential election. The law requires that the Chair determine the result, or the numbers, of the recount and the contest based on the certified result statements submitted by each of the 72 counties. This determination is what can be appealed. If there is not a determination, then parties to a recount do not have anything to appeal.
Today, Chair Jacobs will make a “determination of the recount and the presidential contest” which allows President Trump's campaign to exercise the five-day recount appeal rights afforded to it under Wis. Stat. 9.01(6) if the campaign believes the determination inaccurately reflects the election outcome.
As part of today’s determination, a copy of the canvass determination for president and a statement of ascertainment will be sent to the Governor’s office. The Governor then decides whether to sign off on the slate of presidential electors. The Chair does not sign the ascertainment and only makes the determination of the canvass. Wolfe said that the determination or the statement of ascertainment can be modified if ordered by a court upon appeal.
On Tuesday, during the regularly-scheduled Commission meeting, the Chair will certify the other contests, which will result in the issuance of certificates of election to the winners, because there is no recount in those contests and therefore no appeal time period.
Wolfe also noted that this is the exact process followed for the 2016 presidential election where the determination was made and the statement of ascertainment sent immediately after the conclusion of the recount. The Chairperson of the Commission, or their designee, has always signed the determination and certificates of election, as is outlined under state law. This has been the process followed under the leadership of both Democratic and Republican Chairs of the Commission. The full Commission has never voted on the canvass, determination, certification or the preparation or issuance of certificates. This is the process that has been used for more than 20 elections under the bipartisan Wisconsin Elections Commission. Here is the current timeline for certification of the election:
Monday, November 30, 2020 – State Canvass of the Presidential Contest and Determination of the Results of the Recount. At 3:30 p.m. the Chairperson of the WEC will review the results and sign a canvass statement that determines the result of the election conducted on Tuesday, November 3, 2020, for the Office of President of the United States which includes the recount in Dane and Milwaukee counties.
Tuesday, December 1, 2020 – The deadline under Wisconsin law for the Chairperson of the WEC to certify results from the General Election that were not subject to a recount. The Chairperson of the WEC will certify results for all other state elections during the WEC’s regular meeting.
Monday, December 14, 2020 – Presidential Electors meeting. At noon, presidential electors for the winning candidate will meet at the State Capitol to cast their votes for president.
Gov. Tony Evers
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 30, 2020
Gov. Evers Certifies 2020 General Election Results
MADISON — Gov. Tony Evers today, in accordance with state and federal law, signed the Certificate of Ascertainment, certifying the results of the November 3rd General Election.“Today I carried out my duty to certify the November 3rd election, and as required by state and federal law, I've signed the Certificate of Ascertainment for the slate of electors for President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris,” said Gov. Evers. “I want to thank our clerks, election administrators, and poll workers across our state for working tirelessly to ensure we had a safe, fair, and efficient election. Thank you for all your good work.”
Donald J. Trump for President, Inc.
December 1, 2020
Trump Campaign Files Lawsuit in Wisconsin to Restore Election Integrity
President Donald J. Trump’s re-election campaign filed a lawsuit to the Wisconsin Supreme Court following the campaign's requested recount to uncover fraud and abuse that irrefutably altered the outcome of this election. Today's suit includes four cases with clear evidence of unlawfulness, such as illegally altering absentee ballot envelopes, counting ballots that had no required application, overlooking unlawful claims of indefinite confinement, and holding illegal voting events called Democracy in the Park. These unlawful actions affected no less than approximately 221,000 ballots out of over the three million ballots cast in Wisconsin.
The Wisconsin Elections Commission directed municipal clerks to illegally alter incomplete absentee ballot envelopes contrary to Wisconsin law. Clerks were instructed that they could rely on their own “personal knowledge,” or unspecified “lists or databases at his or her disposal” to add in missing information on returned absentee ballots. Under Wisconsin law, incomplete absentee ballots must be corrected by the voter, and only the voter or they may not be counted.
In another example, municipal clerks issued absentee ballots to voters without requiring the mandatory application, in direct conflict with Wisconsin’s absentee voting safeguards. Wisconsin law expressly requires that absentee ballots may not be issued without receiving a written application requesting the ballot. Despite clear statute, clerks in Madison and Milwaukee issued thousands of absentee ballots without collecting a written application during the two-week in-person absentee voting period that ran from October 20, 2020, through November 1, 2020.
Voter identification is an essential requirement in Wisconsin to ensure only eligible voters cast ballots. In Madison and Milwaukee, voters were fraudulently permitted by election officials to circumvent voter ID laws and claim an absentee voting status that is only to be used for voters who are indefinitely confined under the circumstances that they are physically ill, infirm, elderly, or disabled. More than 20,000 voters claimed that status and received and returned ballots without providing proper identification and without meeting the requirements for that status, and those ballots should not be counted in accordance with Wisconsin statute.
Finally, the city of Madison created unlawful polling locations at over 200 parks and city locations through their Democracy in the Park voting events. These voting events were held outside of the county’s approved polling locations and did not follow the state’s strict absentee voting requirements. Not only did they not follow the law, but Joe Biden’s campaign encouraged this unlawful voting, advertising these events as opportunities to vote and telling voters to bring their completed ballot to turn in or their incomplete ballot to have a so-called “poll worker” serve as a witness. Voters are not allowed to turn in their absentee ballots anywhere other than the designated polling locations, and any ballots illegally cast there should not be counted.
“The people of Wisconsin deserve election processes with uniform enforcement of the law, plain and simple. During the recount in Dane and Milwaukee counties, we know with absolute certainty illegal ballots have unduly influenced the state's election results. Wisconsin cannot allow the over three million legal ballots to be eroded by even a single illegal ballot,” said Jim Troupis, counsel to the campaign. “We will continue fighting on behalf of the American people to defend their right to a free and fair election by helping to restore integrity and transparency in our elections.”
"As we have said from the
very beginning of this process, we want all
legal votes and only legal votes to be counted," said Rudy
Giuliani, former New York City Mayor and
Personal Attorney to President Trump. "Americans
must be able to trust in our election results,
and we not stop until we can ensure voters once
again have faith in our electoral process."
_____
[ed. action w/o exhibits]
Donald J. Trump for President, Inc.
December 2, 2020
The complaint is based on the unlawful and unconstitutional acts by Wisconsin public officials, including the Wisconsin Elections Commission, the Mayors of Milwaukee, Madison, Kenosha, Green Bay, and Racine, and other election officials.
The suit seeks relief under the Electors Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which requires that public officials follow State Election Law when conducting a presidential election in their state. The lawsuits asks the U.S. District Court to find constitutional violations by defendants and send the matter to the Wisconsin Legislature for appropriate relief under Article II, Section 1.2. The U.S. Constitution makes the state legislature the final decision-makers on how to address constitutional violations involving a presidential election, and textually grants them the authority to select delegates to the Electoral College.
Specifically, the lawsuit alleges the following key unlawful acts:
“Today’s federal lawsuit in Wisconsin reveals an apparently coordinated effort to push a new form of balloting upon Wisconsin voters that was not protected by uniform chain of custody and security standards and protocols. Regrettably, this is the same sort of conduct we have seen across many battleground states that Democrats knew they had to win to defeat the President where the rules of the election were changed at the last minute and guardrails against fraud were simultaneously lowered.
We hope that the State Legislatures in every affected State will take up this battle to protect the voters in their State. This is a solemn responsibility the Constitution entrusts directly to State Legislatures. The time for full scale investigations and resolve to uphold the Constitution is now, and President Trump is committed to fighting corruption and ensuring free and fair elections today and into the future for every American.” Jenna Ellis, Senior Legal Adviser for Trump 2020 Campaign and Attorney to President Trump.
Click here to read the filing
Dec. 3, 2020 - The Supreme Court of Wisconsin declines to take up Trump v. Evers, ruling such actions should be filed in circuit court.
Donald J. Trump for President, Inc.
December 3, 2020
“We welcome the direction of the Supreme Court to file in Dane and Milwaukee Counties as we pursue making certain that only legal votes count in Wisconsin - and we will immediately do so. It was clear from their writings that the court recognizes the seriousness of these issues, and we look forward to taking the next step. We fully expect to be back in front of the Supreme Court very soon,” said Jim Troupis, Wisconsin counsel for the campaign. “As I have said before, we will continue fighting on behalf of Wisconsinites and the American people to defend their right to a free and fair election. The only way to do that is by helping to restore integrity and transparency in our elections.”
The original complaint can be found here.
Donald J. Trump for President, Inc.
December 4, 2020
Following established practice, the campaign also formally requested that Wisconsin Supreme Court Patience D. Roggensack “appoint a circuit judge, who shall be a reserve judge if available, to hear the appeal.”
The campaign also requested an expedited schedule for a scheduling conference for the appointed judge to set a schedule for further steps including, but not limited to dates for filing the complaint, filing for an answer, submitting evidence, hearings, and other necessary steps.
“As the Supreme Court directed, we have filed an appeal in Dane and Milwaukee Counties as we work to ensure only legal votes count in Wisconsin. We fully expect to be back in front of the state’s highest court very soon,” said Jim Troupis, Wisconsin counsel for the campaign. “We will continue fighting on behalf of Wisconsinites and the American people to defend their right to a free and fair election.”
Read the Notices of Appeal here. The original complaint can be found here.
League of Women Voters of Wisconsin
Common Cause
December 10, 2020
————————–
December 10, 2020
To: Senator Kathleen Bernier, Chair, Committee on Elections, Ethics and Rural Issues
Senator Alberta Darling, Vice-Chair, Committee on Elections, Ethics and Rural Issues
Senator Mark Miller, Senator Jeff Smith, Senator Duey Stroebel
Representative Ron Tusler, Chair, Committee on Campaigns and Elections
Representative Joe Sanfelippo, Vice-Chair, Committee on Campaigns and Elections
Representative Janel Brandtjen, Representative John Macco, Representative David Murphy, Representative Shae A. Sortwell, Representative Mark Spreitzer, Representative Lisa Subeck, Representative JoCasta Zamarripa
Re: Joint Public Hearing on 2020 Election – December 11, 2020
Dear Members of the Joint Committee on Elections,
Wisconsin makes a compelling case for why the election clerks across the state should have heard from you before the November 2020 election if you felt there was a need to further clarify standards to process ballots prior to Election Day. The options to use absentee ballots understandably became much more attractive to voters as COVID-19 hit and devastated Wisconsin beginning last Spring and accelerated in the Fall. But only now, after the election is over and the results have been canvassed and certified, you call into question the results of your own inaction, and in the process, incite chaos and undermine voter confidence in the election system you created over the last decade.
And now, clerks and election officials at every level across the state have had people from their districts and from out of Wisconsin, in their offices, on the phone, and on social media threatening and degrading them and their staff, and calling into question this election because you have not stood by the election officials who have done their civic duty, and, have acted conscientiously as public servants doing the work, proscribed by the law, that you wrote. You have not stood up to the people in Wisconsin who are angry about the results, and who are resentful because their candidate for President didn’t win this election, and who continue to echo the lies about the results and how this election has been administered. They have not brought forward credible evidence to buttress their claims, and they have put their candidate over their country. You have failed to tell them that they are wrong and that the rumors they believe are unfounded.
The damage being done to our election system and to our democracy is very real and palpable, the longer this charade continues. Wisconsin legislators are complicit in tearing down our system of government and law. Listen to Senator Devin LeMahieu’s own words in 2019, when he proposed legislation (SB 574) that sought to process absentee ballots early and provide the help that election clerks have been advocating for and advising for years: “Election integrity is of utmost concern for voters in Wisconsin, and the longer the count takes, the more potential for mistrust in results to be fomented by those who mean harm to our democracy.” State legislators who have supported the numerous false and unsupported allegations of voting fraud in Wisconsin have wrongly given credence and credibility to these vicious attacks on our system. You have been ignoring exactly what Sen LeMahieu warned about only a year ago.
And to what end? To claim you’re now investigating and seeking to improve the election process? To now ask questions and hold this hearing about the validity of the 2020 Wisconsin election after the final result has been canvassed, recounted and certified? You are now participating in the devaluation of tens of thousands of legitimately cast and counted votes after the election, simply because some of you don’t like the result of the election. And your targeted disenfranchisement of only voters in Wisconsin’s most populous counties, Milwaukee and Dane, are because they voted overwhelmingly for Joe Biden over Donald Trump and because they contain the largest number of Black and Brown voters in Wisconsin. The ramifications of this maneuver are beneath contempt.
Wisconsin has voted. America has voted. America is bigger than any one party or one candidate. Where we can agree is that we need to continue to look for ways to improve our elections to ensure people can vote securely, immediately process early votes, and expand voter access so every eligible citizen – no matter what they look like or where they live – can take part in our democracy. The voters have decided. Let’s get Wisconsin moving forward. Wisconsin leaders need to focus on beating COVID and helping our hurting economy instead of wasting time contesting confirmed elections. It’s time to accept the results and tackle the very real challenges Wisconsinites currently face.
In 2016, Common Cause in Wisconsin thanked our election officials for administering a difficult and very close election, including running a statewide recount. The 2016 recount confirmed that our process was secure and was done with integrity. Between 2016 and 2020, we worked tirelessly with many partners to increase voter education and improve election administration according to the law so that all eligible voters are more informed and engaged participants in our democracy.
In 2020, we again thanked our election officials for overcoming the challenges of administering a difficult election in an unprecedented year. This time with many more voters using absentee ballots but without giving clerks the ability to begin processing those ballots earlier so the results could be reported sooner. This time with a global pandemic to navigate which required implementing procedures to keep both voters and election officials safe. This time with greater transparency about election administration being reported to the public every step of the way. This time with completing their work across the state, as well as completing the recounts in Milwaukee and Dane counties, as the law requires and with integrity. This time under threats to the lives and safety of election officials at every level from the commissioners at Wisconsin Election Commission to local municipal clerks and their staff. They all deserve your acknowledgement of their good work and respect for the integrity with which they administered this election.
Finally, election officials and the voters of Wisconsin deserve your respect and support for the outcome of this election in Wisconsin.
“We’ve heard enough. After a morning of wild conspiracy theories that went unchallenged and uncorrected, it is clear that today’s joint hearing is exactly the kind of disgraceful display that we all feared it would be. It is clear that it does not focus on the real challenges facing our state, like addressing the urgent need for COVID-19 relief.
“This hearing does nothing but undermine our elections and election officials. Witnesses attacked our clerks and poll workers while Republicans gave them no serious opportunity to respond. We will not participate in this sham hearing any further.”
State Representative JoCasta Zamarripa (D – Milwaukee)
State Representative Lisa Subeck (D – Madison)
State Representative Mark Spreitzer (D – Beloit)
State Senator Mark Miller (D – Monona)
State Senator Jeff Smith (D – Eau Claire)
December 12, 2020 U.S. District Judge Brett H. Ludwig - Decision and Order in Donald J. Trump v. Wisconsin Elections Commission
"This is an extraordinary case. A sitting president who did not prevail in his bid for reelection has asked for federal court help in setting aside the popular vote based on disputed issues of election administration, issues he plainly could have raised before the vote occurred. This Court has allowed plaintiff the chance to make his case and he has lost on the merits. In his reply brief, plaintiff “asks that the Rule of Law be followed.” (Pl. Br., ECF No. 109.) It has been."
December 14, 2020 Supreme Court of Wisconsin - Opinion in Donald J. Trump v Joseph R. Biden on appeal from Circuit Court for Milwaukee County
"The challenge to the indefinitely confined voter ballots is meritless on its face, and the other three categories of ballots challenged fail under the doctrine of laches."
related opinionFrontsheet
Attorney General Josh Kaul
December 14, 2020
Governor Tony Evers
December 14, 2020
MADISON — Gov. Tony Evers today announced Wisconsin’s 10 Electoral College votes will go to President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.
“Now more than ever, our country deserves leaders who will put people first and return kindness, empathy, and compassion back to the White House,” said Gov. Evers. “That’s why today we were proud to vote unanimously to assign Wisconsin’s 10 electoral college votes to President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.”
Wisconsin’s Electoral College met today, Mon., Dec. 14, 2020, at the Wisconsin State Capitol to officially assign Wisconsin’s Electoral College votes. On Nov. 30, 2020, Gov. Evers signed the Certificate of Ascertainment, certifying Wisconsin’s election results and the slate of electors for President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.
The Electoral College meeting was streamed live on WisconsinEye and can be found on the WisconsinEye website. The Associated Press provided pool photography of the event. Members of the media who are interested in obtaining copies of the photographs should contact Morry Gash at mgash@ap.org or 414-807-0601.
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https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?v=844900789644800&ref=watch_permalink
Republican Party of Wisconsin
December 14, 2020
December 24, 2020 U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit - Opinion in Donald J. Trump v Wisconsin Elections Commission on appeal from the District Court
" On the merits, the district court was right to enter judgment for the defendants. We reach this conclusion in no small part because of the President’s delay in bringing the challenges to Wisconsin law that provide the foundation for the alleged constitutional violation. Even apart from the delay, the claims fail under the Electors Clause."
Donald J. Trump for President, Inc.
December 29, 2020
According to President Trump’s lead Wisconsin attorney, Jim Troupis: “Regrettably, the Wisconsin Supreme Court, in their 4-3 decision, refused to address the merits of our claim. This ‘Cert Petition’ asks them to address our claims, which, if allowed, would change the outcome of the election in Wisconsin.” Troupis noted, “Three members of the Wisconsin State Supreme Court, including the Chief Justice, agreed with many of the President’s claims in written dissents from that court’s December 14 order.”
Professor John Eastman, a constitutional scholar at the Claremont Institute, also noted: “The petition challenging the decision of the Wisconsin Supreme Court to allow partisan state and local election officials to ignore key anti-fraud provisions of Wisconsin law is extremely persuasive. The federal constitutional issues raised by the case cannot be more clear. Article II of the Constitution, as interpreted in Bush v. Gore, assigns to the ‘legislature’ the plenary power to determine the manner of choosing presidential electors, not executive officials, un-elected bureaucrats, or even the state’s judiciary. That authority was eviscerated in Wisconsin, resulting in more than 50,000 illegal ballots being cast and counted.”
The Trump Petition raises a number of issues, including:
- More than 28,000 votes were counted from people who failed to provide identification by abusing the state’s “indefinitely confined” status, including two Biden electors.
- Nearly 6,000 absentee ballots were counted that were contained in incomplete and altered ballot envelopes that the Wisconsin statutes expressly forbid.
- More than 17,000 ballots were collected by hand, in direct contravention of the statutes, in Democrat-sponsored events in Madison in September and October.
Click here to read the Petition.
Click here to read the Motion for Expedited Consideration.
Donald J. Trump for President, Inc.
December 30, 2020
The lawsuit asks the Supreme Court to declare the Wisconsin election unconstitutional and void as a result of the multiple violations of law, and order the Wisconsin state legislature to appoint electors consistent with Article II, Sec 1.2 of the United States Constitution.
The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals specifically held that if the Trump Campaign proved its case, it could void the election as “failed”, and order decertification of the Biden electors, requiring the Wisconsin legislature to appoint electors. The Seventh Circuit Court affirmed a dismissal of the challenge to the November 3, 2020 election based on the doctrine of “latches” – essentially saying the campaign should have filed suit before the election – even though the scope of illegal absentee ballots and the results of the election were as yet unknown and the changes in law and administration of the election in violation of the U.S. Constitution happened on the eve and day of the election.
The Trump campaign issued the following statements:
“In Wisconsin, guardrails against fraud were repeatedly lowered by unelected bureaucrats who changed the rules on the eve of the election without authority to do so. We are asking the Court to find these last-minute changes unconstitutional and conclude that they make it impossible to determine which candidate received the most valid votes.
“Nothing is more important to our national fabric and our future than integrity in our electoral process. This lawsuit is one step in the direction of fairer, more transparent, more professional, and ultimately more reliable elections in America.”
— Bill Bock, Counsel of Record for Donald J. Trump in Wisconsin federal court lawsuit
“President Trump continues to fight for the American people and election integrity. We have to restore integrity to our process through every legal and constitutionally viable mechanism. America has seen the extent of corruption in this election and is demanding swift resolution. We hope that state legislatures in Wisconsin and the five other states will not wait on a court order but exercise their plenary constitutional authority and we continue to appeal to them as well as seek judicial remedy.”
— Rudy Giuliani and Jenna Ellis, attorneys for President Trump
Click here to read the Petition.
Click here to read the Motion for Expedited Consideration.
[ed. action w/o exhibits]
Donald J. Trump for President, Inc.
December 2, 2020
Trump Campaign Statement on Wisconsin Lawsuit
Today President Donald J. Trump filed a lawsuit against the Wisconsin Elections Commission, et. al. in his personal capacity as a candidate for re-election to the office of President of the United States. The suit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, Milwaukee Division.The complaint is based on the unlawful and unconstitutional acts by Wisconsin public officials, including the Wisconsin Elections Commission, the Mayors of Milwaukee, Madison, Kenosha, Green Bay, and Racine, and other election officials.
The suit seeks relief under the Electors Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which requires that public officials follow State Election Law when conducting a presidential election in their state. The lawsuits asks the U.S. District Court to find constitutional violations by defendants and send the matter to the Wisconsin Legislature for appropriate relief under Article II, Section 1.2. The U.S. Constitution makes the state legislature the final decision-makers on how to address constitutional violations involving a presidential election, and textually grants them the authority to select delegates to the Electoral College.
Specifically, the lawsuit alleges the following key unlawful acts:
- Directives by the Wisconsin Elections Commission undercutting Wisconsin’s Photo Identification Law.
- A Plan by the Mayors of Wisconsin’s five largest cities (Milwaukee, Madison, Kenosha, Green Bay and Racine) and funded by an out-of-state organization known as the Center for Tech & Civic Life to implement a new form of balloting in Wisconsin using un-manned, absentee ballot drop boxes without adequate or uniform chain of custody standards and security protocols contrary to the Wisconsin Election Code.
- Directives by the Wisconsin Elections Commission that facilitated the unlawful, un-manned absentee ballot drop box Plan by endorsing illegal drop boxes (which were then ultimately used throughout the State in the election), failing to adopt uniform chain of custody and security protocols for the ballots in the drop boxes and failing to ensure public access to the process.
- Directives by the Wisconsin Elections Commission to election officials to tamper with witness certifications on absentee ballot envelopes which facilitated the counting of unlawful ballots in the election in violation of the Wisconsin Election Code.
“Today’s federal lawsuit in Wisconsin reveals an apparently coordinated effort to push a new form of balloting upon Wisconsin voters that was not protected by uniform chain of custody and security standards and protocols. Regrettably, this is the same sort of conduct we have seen across many battleground states that Democrats knew they had to win to defeat the President where the rules of the election were changed at the last minute and guardrails against fraud were simultaneously lowered.
We hope that the State Legislatures in every affected State will take up this battle to protect the voters in their State. This is a solemn responsibility the Constitution entrusts directly to State Legislatures. The time for full scale investigations and resolve to uphold the Constitution is now, and President Trump is committed to fighting corruption and ensuring free and fair elections today and into the future for every American.” Jenna Ellis, Senior Legal Adviser for Trump 2020 Campaign and Attorney to President Trump.
Click here to read the filing
Dec. 3, 2020 - The Supreme Court of Wisconsin declines to take up Trump v. Evers, ruling such actions should be filed in circuit court.
Donald J. Trump for President, Inc.
December 3, 2020
Trump Campaign Challenge to Remove Unlawful Ballots Advances in Wisconsin
President Donald J. Trump’s re-election campaign released a statement following the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s decision to allow the circuit court to hear the lawsuit challenging absentee ballots unlawfully counted in the presidential election that undoubtedly altered the state’s election results. The suit includes four cases laying out clear evidence of unlawfulness that affected no less than approximately 221,000 ballots out of over the three million ballots cast in Wisconsin.“We welcome the direction of the Supreme Court to file in Dane and Milwaukee Counties as we pursue making certain that only legal votes count in Wisconsin - and we will immediately do so. It was clear from their writings that the court recognizes the seriousness of these issues, and we look forward to taking the next step. We fully expect to be back in front of the Supreme Court very soon,” said Jim Troupis, Wisconsin counsel for the campaign. “As I have said before, we will continue fighting on behalf of Wisconsinites and the American people to defend their right to a free and fair election. The only way to do that is by helping to restore integrity and transparency in our elections.”
The original complaint can be found here.
Donald J. Trump for President, Inc.
December 4, 2020
TRUMP CAMPAIGN FILES NOTICE OF APPEAL IN DANE, MILWAUKEE COUNTIES
This afternoon the Trump campaign, at the direction of the Wisconsin Supreme Court, filed “Notices of Appeal” from the presidential recount in both Dane and Milwaukee Counties.Following established practice, the campaign also formally requested that Wisconsin Supreme Court Patience D. Roggensack “appoint a circuit judge, who shall be a reserve judge if available, to hear the appeal.”
The campaign also requested an expedited schedule for a scheduling conference for the appointed judge to set a schedule for further steps including, but not limited to dates for filing the complaint, filing for an answer, submitting evidence, hearings, and other necessary steps.
“As the Supreme Court directed, we have filed an appeal in Dane and Milwaukee Counties as we work to ensure only legal votes count in Wisconsin. We fully expect to be back in front of the state’s highest court very soon,” said Jim Troupis, Wisconsin counsel for the campaign. “We will continue fighting on behalf of Wisconsinites and the American people to defend their right to a free and fair election.”
Read the Notices of Appeal here. The original complaint can be found here.
League of Women Voters of Wisconsin
December 10, 2020
Assembly Committee on Campaigns and Elections
Re: 2020 General Election Review
Statement on Joint Committee Hearing
To: Senate Committee on Elections, Ethics and Rural IssuesAssembly Committee on Campaigns and Elections
Re: 2020 General Election Review
The League of Women Voters of Wisconsin looks
forward with interest to viewing the session
scheduled for December 11 by your committees to
review the 2020 General Election. While the
notice for this public hearing does not name the
individuals who will speak nor the topics that
will be discussed, we gather from the media that
the main topic will be an investigation of
complaints and allegations of fraud received by
lawmakers about the election. This statement
gives you the League’s perspective, based on
what our observers have reported and the partial
recounts in Dane and Milwaukee counties.
The League of Women Voters believes that voting is a fundamental citizen right that must be guaranteed. We are proud of the fact that, despite the difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the November 2020 election in our state went smoothly and had high participation. We commend our state and local election officials for their long hours of diligent work to make that possible. We also recognize the efforts of thousands of citizens who assisted local clerks and worked at the polls.
The challenges of 2020 were many, but the outcomes included enhanced voter outreach and a younger Election Day workforce. This year our municipal clerks offered multiple ways for citizens to vote safely and securely from home, at In-Person Absentee Voting sites, or at the polls on Election Day. Knowing that many of the older poll workers would not be safe working at the polls this year, hundreds of younger community members statewide stepped up and became election inspectors. We hope they will continue to serve in future elections.
The voting process was smooth in most localities, despite the high turnout amid the pandemic. The League had observers monitoring the voting process, including early voting, polling places, central count locations, post-election equipment audits, and the recount. As always, our observers commended the local election officials who made this possible.
The election was also secure and accurate. The partial recount in two counties found very few irregularities or problems, most of which were the result of human error. The audit found no evidence at all of widespread fraud in the election. The safeguards in our election system and our state’s highly competent and responsible election officials ensure that our elections are fair and clean. There is no justification for the extreme measures being discussed in the courts and the media, which could invalidate the legitimate votes of millions of law-abiding Wisconsin voters.
We can learn from the challenges the pandemic posed for many voters and work to make voting more accessible for all citizens. For example, while many voters found it difficult to have their absentee ballot certificate witnessed in the midst of the pandemic, the fact is that many older or disabled voters have faced that challenge for years. We can also look at how to streamline absentee ballot processing in a manner that is fair for all.
In the 2021-2022 legislative session, we recommend that lawmakers take what we have learned from the successes and challenges of the November 2020 election and support the needs of our local election officials, as they work to make it possible for every eligible citizen to cast a ballot and have it counted.
The League of Women Voters believes that voting is a fundamental citizen right that must be guaranteed. We are proud of the fact that, despite the difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the November 2020 election in our state went smoothly and had high participation. We commend our state and local election officials for their long hours of diligent work to make that possible. We also recognize the efforts of thousands of citizens who assisted local clerks and worked at the polls.
The challenges of 2020 were many, but the outcomes included enhanced voter outreach and a younger Election Day workforce. This year our municipal clerks offered multiple ways for citizens to vote safely and securely from home, at In-Person Absentee Voting sites, or at the polls on Election Day. Knowing that many of the older poll workers would not be safe working at the polls this year, hundreds of younger community members statewide stepped up and became election inspectors. We hope they will continue to serve in future elections.
The voting process was smooth in most localities, despite the high turnout amid the pandemic. The League had observers monitoring the voting process, including early voting, polling places, central count locations, post-election equipment audits, and the recount. As always, our observers commended the local election officials who made this possible.
The election was also secure and accurate. The partial recount in two counties found very few irregularities or problems, most of which were the result of human error. The audit found no evidence at all of widespread fraud in the election. The safeguards in our election system and our state’s highly competent and responsible election officials ensure that our elections are fair and clean. There is no justification for the extreme measures being discussed in the courts and the media, which could invalidate the legitimate votes of millions of law-abiding Wisconsin voters.
We can learn from the challenges the pandemic posed for many voters and work to make voting more accessible for all citizens. For example, while many voters found it difficult to have their absentee ballot certificate witnessed in the midst of the pandemic, the fact is that many older or disabled voters have faced that challenge for years. We can also look at how to streamline absentee ballot processing in a manner that is fair for all.
In the 2021-2022 legislative session, we recommend that lawmakers take what we have learned from the successes and challenges of the November 2020 election and support the needs of our local election officials, as they work to make it possible for every eligible citizen to cast a ballot and have it counted.
________________________________
Common Cause
December 10, 2020
Testimony for today’s Joint Legislative Committee hearing on election results
Below are comments submitted to the joint state legislative committees holding a hearing today from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM reviewing the results of the November 3, 2020 election. The committee chairs limited testimony to invitees only, but we are making public our comments that we submitted to the legislators. You can watch (although not participate) in this “public” hearing by going here: https://wiseye.org/live/————————–
December 10, 2020
To: Senator Kathleen Bernier, Chair, Committee on Elections, Ethics and Rural Issues
Senator Alberta Darling, Vice-Chair, Committee on Elections, Ethics and Rural Issues
Senator Mark Miller, Senator Jeff Smith, Senator Duey Stroebel
Representative Ron Tusler, Chair, Committee on Campaigns and Elections
Representative Joe Sanfelippo, Vice-Chair, Committee on Campaigns and Elections
Representative Janel Brandtjen, Representative John Macco, Representative David Murphy, Representative Shae A. Sortwell, Representative Mark Spreitzer, Representative Lisa Subeck, Representative JoCasta Zamarripa
Re: Joint Public Hearing on 2020 Election – December 11, 2020
Dear Members of the Joint Committee on Elections,
Wisconsin makes a compelling case for why the election clerks across the state should have heard from you before the November 2020 election if you felt there was a need to further clarify standards to process ballots prior to Election Day. The options to use absentee ballots understandably became much more attractive to voters as COVID-19 hit and devastated Wisconsin beginning last Spring and accelerated in the Fall. But only now, after the election is over and the results have been canvassed and certified, you call into question the results of your own inaction, and in the process, incite chaos and undermine voter confidence in the election system you created over the last decade.
And now, clerks and election officials at every level across the state have had people from their districts and from out of Wisconsin, in their offices, on the phone, and on social media threatening and degrading them and their staff, and calling into question this election because you have not stood by the election officials who have done their civic duty, and, have acted conscientiously as public servants doing the work, proscribed by the law, that you wrote. You have not stood up to the people in Wisconsin who are angry about the results, and who are resentful because their candidate for President didn’t win this election, and who continue to echo the lies about the results and how this election has been administered. They have not brought forward credible evidence to buttress their claims, and they have put their candidate over their country. You have failed to tell them that they are wrong and that the rumors they believe are unfounded.
The damage being done to our election system and to our democracy is very real and palpable, the longer this charade continues. Wisconsin legislators are complicit in tearing down our system of government and law. Listen to Senator Devin LeMahieu’s own words in 2019, when he proposed legislation (SB 574) that sought to process absentee ballots early and provide the help that election clerks have been advocating for and advising for years: “Election integrity is of utmost concern for voters in Wisconsin, and the longer the count takes, the more potential for mistrust in results to be fomented by those who mean harm to our democracy.” State legislators who have supported the numerous false and unsupported allegations of voting fraud in Wisconsin have wrongly given credence and credibility to these vicious attacks on our system. You have been ignoring exactly what Sen LeMahieu warned about only a year ago.
And to what end? To claim you’re now investigating and seeking to improve the election process? To now ask questions and hold this hearing about the validity of the 2020 Wisconsin election after the final result has been canvassed, recounted and certified? You are now participating in the devaluation of tens of thousands of legitimately cast and counted votes after the election, simply because some of you don’t like the result of the election. And your targeted disenfranchisement of only voters in Wisconsin’s most populous counties, Milwaukee and Dane, are because they voted overwhelmingly for Joe Biden over Donald Trump and because they contain the largest number of Black and Brown voters in Wisconsin. The ramifications of this maneuver are beneath contempt.
Wisconsin has voted. America has voted. America is bigger than any one party or one candidate. Where we can agree is that we need to continue to look for ways to improve our elections to ensure people can vote securely, immediately process early votes, and expand voter access so every eligible citizen – no matter what they look like or where they live – can take part in our democracy. The voters have decided. Let’s get Wisconsin moving forward. Wisconsin leaders need to focus on beating COVID and helping our hurting economy instead of wasting time contesting confirmed elections. It’s time to accept the results and tackle the very real challenges Wisconsinites currently face.
In 2016, Common Cause in Wisconsin thanked our election officials for administering a difficult and very close election, including running a statewide recount. The 2016 recount confirmed that our process was secure and was done with integrity. Between 2016 and 2020, we worked tirelessly with many partners to increase voter education and improve election administration according to the law so that all eligible voters are more informed and engaged participants in our democracy.
In 2020, we again thanked our election officials for overcoming the challenges of administering a difficult election in an unprecedented year. This time with many more voters using absentee ballots but without giving clerks the ability to begin processing those ballots earlier so the results could be reported sooner. This time with a global pandemic to navigate which required implementing procedures to keep both voters and election officials safe. This time with greater transparency about election administration being reported to the public every step of the way. This time with completing their work across the state, as well as completing the recounts in Milwaukee and Dane counties, as the law requires and with integrity. This time under threats to the lives and safety of election officials at every level from the commissioners at Wisconsin Election Commission to local municipal clerks and their staff. They all deserve your acknowledgement of their good work and respect for the integrity with which they administered this election.
Finally, election officials and the voters of Wisconsin deserve your respect and support for the outcome of this election in Wisconsin.
________________________________
Dec.
11, 2020 - Joint Hearing of the Wisconsin
Assembly Committee on Campaigns and Elections
and the Wisconsin Senate Committee on
Elections, Ethics, and Rural Issues - NTD________________________________
December 11, 2020
December 11, 2020
Senate and Assembly Elections Committee Democrats: We have heard enough
MADSON – State Representatives JoCasta Zamarripa (D – Milwaukee), Lisa Subeck (D – Madison), and Mark Spreitzer (D – Beloit) and State Senators Mark Miller (D – Monona) and Jeff Smith (D – Eau Claire) issued the following statement:“We’ve heard enough. After a morning of wild conspiracy theories that went unchallenged and uncorrected, it is clear that today’s joint hearing is exactly the kind of disgraceful display that we all feared it would be. It is clear that it does not focus on the real challenges facing our state, like addressing the urgent need for COVID-19 relief.
“This hearing does nothing but undermine our elections and election officials. Witnesses attacked our clerks and poll workers while Republicans gave them no serious opportunity to respond. We will not participate in this sham hearing any further.”
State Representative JoCasta Zamarripa (D – Milwaukee)
State Representative Lisa Subeck (D – Madison)
State Representative Mark Spreitzer (D – Beloit)
State Senator Mark Miller (D – Monona)
State Senator Jeff Smith (D – Eau Claire)
December 12, 2020 U.S. District Judge Brett H. Ludwig - Decision and Order in Donald J. Trump v. Wisconsin Elections Commission
"This is an extraordinary case. A sitting president who did not prevail in his bid for reelection has asked for federal court help in setting aside the popular vote based on disputed issues of election administration, issues he plainly could have raised before the vote occurred. This Court has allowed plaintiff the chance to make his case and he has lost on the merits. In his reply brief, plaintiff “asks that the Rule of Law be followed.” (Pl. Br., ECF No. 109.) It has been."
December 14, 2020 Supreme Court of Wisconsin - Opinion in Donald J. Trump v Joseph R. Biden on appeal from Circuit Court for Milwaukee County
"The challenge to the indefinitely confined voter ballots is meritless on its face, and the other three categories of ballots challenged fail under the doctrine of laches."
related opinion
________________________________
Attorney General Josh Kaul
December 14, 2020
AG Kaul Issues Statement on Wisconsin Supreme Court Ruling Regarding the Challenge to Wisconsin’s Election Results
MADISON,
Wis. – Attorney General Josh Kaul
issued the following statement
regarding the Wisconsin Supreme
Court’s ruling on the challenge to
Wisconsin’s election results.
“Today’s decision is a repudiation of a sordid attempt to steal the authority to award our electoral votes away from the people of Wisconsin. The will of the people has prevailed.
“In this case, the President of the United States sought the capricious disenfranchisement of over 200,000 Wisconsinites based on post-election interpretations of the election laws and application of those new interpretations in just two of Wisconsin’s 72 counties. The Wisconsin Supreme Court’s ruling puts an end to this affront to democracy and equal protection under the law.
“The flood in several states of post-election challenges that never had a chance to succeed on the legal merits is, however, major cause for concern. That this attempt to overturn the results of a free and fair election has failed so spectacularly and consistently is a testament to the durability of the safeguards of our liberty. But we must act to strengthen those safeguards to ensure that any future attempt to corrupt our democracy is also warded off. A great place to start would be by bolstering the protection of our right to vote—including through the passage of a constitutional amendment expressly providing for that right and of the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.”
“Today’s decision is a repudiation of a sordid attempt to steal the authority to award our electoral votes away from the people of Wisconsin. The will of the people has prevailed.
“In this case, the President of the United States sought the capricious disenfranchisement of over 200,000 Wisconsinites based on post-election interpretations of the election laws and application of those new interpretations in just two of Wisconsin’s 72 counties. The Wisconsin Supreme Court’s ruling puts an end to this affront to democracy and equal protection under the law.
“The flood in several states of post-election challenges that never had a chance to succeed on the legal merits is, however, major cause for concern. That this attempt to overturn the results of a free and fair election has failed so spectacularly and consistently is a testament to the durability of the safeguards of our liberty. But we must act to strengthen those safeguards to ensure that any future attempt to corrupt our democracy is also warded off. A great place to start would be by bolstering the protection of our right to vote—including through the passage of a constitutional amendment expressly providing for that right and of the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.”
December 14, 2020
Gov. Evers Announces Wisconsin's Electoral College Votes Unanimously for President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris
Wisconsin
Electoral College met today to assign
Wisconsin’s 10 Electoral College votes
MADISON — Gov. Tony Evers today announced Wisconsin’s 10 Electoral College votes will go to President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.
“Now more than ever, our country deserves leaders who will put people first and return kindness, empathy, and compassion back to the White House,” said Gov. Evers. “That’s why today we were proud to vote unanimously to assign Wisconsin’s 10 electoral college votes to President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.”
Wisconsin’s Electoral College met today, Mon., Dec. 14, 2020, at the Wisconsin State Capitol to officially assign Wisconsin’s Electoral College votes. On Nov. 30, 2020, Gov. Evers signed the Certificate of Ascertainment, certifying Wisconsin’s election results and the slate of electors for President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.
The Electoral College meeting was streamed live on WisconsinEye and can be found on the WisconsinEye website. The Associated Press provided pool photography of the event. Members of the media who are interested in obtaining copies of the photographs should contact Morry Gash at mgash@ap.org or 414-807-0601.
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https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?v=844900789644800&ref=watch_permalink
Republican Party of Wisconsin
December 14, 2020
Statement on Republican Electors Meeting
[Madison, WI] – The Republican Party of
Wisconsin released the following statement from
Chairman Andrew Hitt:
“While President Trump’s campaign continues to pursue legal options for Wisconsin, Republican electors met today in accordance with statutory guidelines to preserve our role in the electoral process with the final outcome still pending in the courts.”
“While President Trump’s campaign continues to pursue legal options for Wisconsin, Republican electors met today in accordance with statutory guidelines to preserve our role in the electoral process with the final outcome still pending in the courts.”
December 24, 2020 U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit - Opinion in Donald J. Trump v Wisconsin Elections Commission on appeal from the District Court
" On the merits, the district court was right to enter judgment for the defendants. We reach this conclusion in no small part because of the President’s delay in bringing the challenges to Wisconsin law that provide the foundation for the alleged constitutional violation. Even apart from the delay, the claims fail under the Electors Clause."
Donald J. Trump for President, Inc.
December 29, 2020
TRUMP CAMPAIGN TAKES WISCONSIN CONSTITUTIONAL FIGHT TO SUPREME COURT
Mayor Rudolph J. Giuliani, the Trump campaign’s lead attorney, today announced that the campaign filed a petition for a Writ of Certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court challenging the Wisconsin Supreme Court decision that allowed over 50,000 illegal absentee ballots in violation of Article II of the U.S. Constitution and Wisconsin law. The filing seeks expedited consideration before the January 6 Congressional review of the Electoral College votes. This marks the second Constitutional challenge to illegal mail voting filed by the Campaign, following a petition from Pennsylvania filed on December 20.According to President Trump’s lead Wisconsin attorney, Jim Troupis: “Regrettably, the Wisconsin Supreme Court, in their 4-3 decision, refused to address the merits of our claim. This ‘Cert Petition’ asks them to address our claims, which, if allowed, would change the outcome of the election in Wisconsin.” Troupis noted, “Three members of the Wisconsin State Supreme Court, including the Chief Justice, agreed with many of the President’s claims in written dissents from that court’s December 14 order.”
Professor John Eastman, a constitutional scholar at the Claremont Institute, also noted: “The petition challenging the decision of the Wisconsin Supreme Court to allow partisan state and local election officials to ignore key anti-fraud provisions of Wisconsin law is extremely persuasive. The federal constitutional issues raised by the case cannot be more clear. Article II of the Constitution, as interpreted in Bush v. Gore, assigns to the ‘legislature’ the plenary power to determine the manner of choosing presidential electors, not executive officials, un-elected bureaucrats, or even the state’s judiciary. That authority was eviscerated in Wisconsin, resulting in more than 50,000 illegal ballots being cast and counted.”
The Trump Petition raises a number of issues, including:
- More than 28,000 votes were counted from people who failed to provide identification by abusing the state’s “indefinitely confined” status, including two Biden electors.
- Nearly 6,000 absentee ballots were counted that were contained in incomplete and altered ballot envelopes that the Wisconsin statutes expressly forbid.
- More than 17,000 ballots were collected by hand, in direct contravention of the statutes, in Democrat-sponsored events in Madison in September and October.
Click here to read the Petition.
Click here to read the Motion for Expedited Consideration.
Donald J. Trump for President, Inc.
December 30, 2020
PRESIDENT TRUMP FILES WISCONSIN CASE IN UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT
President Donald J. Trump, in his personal capacity as candidate for re-election, today filed an appeal in the United States Supreme Court seeking to ensure election integrity in Wisconsin.The lawsuit asks the Supreme Court to declare the Wisconsin election unconstitutional and void as a result of the multiple violations of law, and order the Wisconsin state legislature to appoint electors consistent with Article II, Sec 1.2 of the United States Constitution.
The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals specifically held that if the Trump Campaign proved its case, it could void the election as “failed”, and order decertification of the Biden electors, requiring the Wisconsin legislature to appoint electors. The Seventh Circuit Court affirmed a dismissal of the challenge to the November 3, 2020 election based on the doctrine of “latches” – essentially saying the campaign should have filed suit before the election – even though the scope of illegal absentee ballots and the results of the election were as yet unknown and the changes in law and administration of the election in violation of the U.S. Constitution happened on the eve and day of the election.
The Trump campaign issued the following statements:
“In Wisconsin, guardrails against fraud were repeatedly lowered by unelected bureaucrats who changed the rules on the eve of the election without authority to do so. We are asking the Court to find these last-minute changes unconstitutional and conclude that they make it impossible to determine which candidate received the most valid votes.
“Nothing is more important to our national fabric and our future than integrity in our electoral process. This lawsuit is one step in the direction of fairer, more transparent, more professional, and ultimately more reliable elections in America.”
— Bill Bock, Counsel of Record for Donald J. Trump in Wisconsin federal court lawsuit
“President Trump continues to fight for the American people and election integrity. We have to restore integrity to our process through every legal and constitutionally viable mechanism. America has seen the extent of corruption in this election and is demanding swift resolution. We hope that state legislatures in Wisconsin and the five other states will not wait on a court order but exercise their plenary constitutional authority and we continue to appeal to them as well as seek judicial remedy.”
— Rudy Giuliani and Jenna Ellis, attorneys for President Trump
Click here to read the Petition.
Click here to read the Motion for Expedited Consideration.
U.S. Supreme Court Declines to Take Up Trump v. Biden
ema Feb. 22, 2021 - One month into the Biden administration, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to consider Trump v. Biden, one of the last legal gasps of the Trump campaign, denying cert in the Wisconsin case.Copyright © 2020 Eric M. Appleman/Democracy in
Action. All rights reserved.