Status of 4 Wisconsin election reviews
Nonpartisan audit likely to issue report by fall
MADISON – The 2020 election remains under the microscope in Wisconsin and could stay there into next year.
Joe Biden narrowly defeated Donald Trump in Wisconsin, helping him secure the presidency. Recounts that Trump sought in Milwaukee and Dane counties yielded additional votes for Biden, slightly widening his margin.
Trump and his allies turned to the courts, which issued eight rulings against them over 12 days in December. Among those ruling against Trump’s side were the U.S. Supreme Court, the state Supreme Court and a federal judge appointed by Trump.
Undeterred, Trump and his backers are pursuing further review of Wisconsin’s election. Republicans — some of whom are trying to seize ballots and voting machines from two counties — say they want to find out more to help build confidence in elections.
Democrats call the reviews ridiculous attempts to amplify baseless suspicions and say Wisconsin is in danger of turning into Arizona, where a monthslong review of ballots has turned into a political sideshow.
One review is being conducted by nonpartisan auditors, while two others are being led by Republicans. A fourth is being run by a small group of Wisconsinites, including one convicted of fraud, who have been gathering images of ballots from around the state.
Here’s a look at the reviews, where they stand and where they may go.
Nonpartisan review
A legislative committee controlled by Republicans in February told the nonpartisan Legislative Audit Bureau to look into how state and local officials run elections, process absentee ballots, conduct recounts, ensure voting machines are accurate and handle complaints about elections.
When the auditors visited Sun Prairie this summer, they spent part of their time examining absentee ballot envelopes and learning what clerks do when ballots cannot be read by voting machines, according to City Clerk Elena Hilby.
The bureau, which is respected by Democrats and Republicans alike, is expected to issue a report on its findings this fall.
Former justice’s review
In March, Republicans in the Assembly passed a measure approving an investigation of the election and authorizing the use of subpoenas to gather information.
By April, Republicans were consulting with former Milwaukee Police Detective Mike Sandvick about how to conduct their review, emails show. Sandvick, who has been involved in Republican politics for years, suggested they have him chase down tips and check with law enforcement agencies to see if any election complaints had been filed.
This summer, Vos announced he was hiring former state Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman and three former law enforcement officers — including Sandvick — to conduct the investigation. One of the officers never signed up for the job, while Sandvick and the other one quit without publicly saying why.
Vos has said Gableman can hire others to assist him, but there are no records of any additional hires so far.
Gableman, who last year told a proTrump crowd without evidence that the election was stolen, is receiving $11,000 a month from taxpayers for work that will continue until at least October.
Gableman recently told WISN-TV he was looking at three issues: guidance the bipartisan Wisconsin Elections Commission gave to municipal clerks; donations the Center for Tech and Civic Life gave to municipalities to help them run elections; and whether voting machines functioned properly.
Gableman said he would perform his work in secret but would publicly release a report once he completed his investigation.
Gableman this month visited Arizona to find out more about a partisan review of Maricopa County’s ballots conducted by Cyber Ninjas, a computer firm that has never before examined an election. The effort has been called a sham by some Arizona Republicans, including by the county record and members of the county board.
In addition, Gableman this month attended a forum hosted by Mike Lindell, the MyPillow CEO and Trump ally who has promoted convoluted conspiracy theories about election hacking. Cybersecurity experts, including one hired by Lindell, have discounted his claims and said data he has provided prove nothing.
Attending the event with Gableman were Robert Spindell, a Republican on the Wisconsin Elections Commission, and Wisconsin Rep. Timothy Ramthun, a Campbellsport Republican who has invoked a theme from the QAnon conspiracy theory while backing an Arizona-style election audit.
Text messages recently released under the public records law show Ramthun was in touch with Gableman in July to provide him with contact information for state Auditor Joe Chrisman, who is overseeing the nonpartisan review of the election. Chrisman did not respond to an email asking if he had heard from Gableman.
Assembly Elections Committee review
The Assembly Elections Committee has held hearings on aspects of the 2020 election since December. The committee is headed by Republican Rep.
Janel Brandtjen of Menomonee Falls, who was part of a delegation that visited the Arizona audit site in June.
Brandtjen this month issued subpoenas to seize the voting machines, ballots and other election material from Brown and Milwaukee counties. Nonpartisan attorneys for the Legislature have written memos saying those subpoenas are invalid because they’re not signed by Vos and Assembly Chief Clerk Ted Blazel.
The clerks have not said how they will respond to the subpoenas.
Chapters of the Republican Party around the state have been putting pressure on Vos and other legislative leaders in recent weeks demanding that they go along with Brandtjen.
Vos, who said he briefed Trump on the election review over the weekend, has not said whether he plans to sign the subpoenas.
If he signs the subpoenas, a court battle could quickly unfold. The U.S. Department of Justice has warned states that audits like Arizona’s could violate a federal law that requires election officials to maintain control of election records for 22 months after each election.
Trump and his allies turned to the courts, which issued eight rulings against them over 12 days in December. Among those ruling against Trump’s side were the U.S. Supreme Court, the state Supreme Court and a federal judge appointed by Trump.
Citizen-led review
This summer, Peter Bernegger and Gary Wait launched their own review of the election with the help of others who they have declined to name. Bernegger, who is part of the family that started the Hillshire Farm brand, spent time in prison after he was convicted of mail fraud and bank fraud in Mississippi in 2009. Wait is a former private investigator.
Their group has used the public records law to collect images of ballots from around the state. In addition, members of the group visited Verona and Westport in Dane County to make copies of their own ballots. They have been seeking to make copies of ballots in Brown County as well.
Bernegger in May sued the Door County clerk because he said she did not turn over all the records he wanted. The county has maintained it has followed the records law.