{"id":2249370,"date":"2024-05-21T11:22:02","date_gmt":"2024-05-21T15:22:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/outrage-grows-over-incredible-disaster-requiring-absentee-wisconsinites-to-commit-fraud-or-not-vote\/"},"modified":"2024-05-21T11:26:24","modified_gmt":"2024-05-21T15:26:24","slug":"outrage-grows-over-incredible-disaster-requiring-absentee-wisconsinites-to-commit-fraud-or-not-vote","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/outrage-grows-over-incredible-disaster-requiring-absentee-wisconsinites-to-commit-fraud-or-not-vote\/","title":{"rendered":"Growing Outrage Over Absentee Wisconsinites Forced to Choose Between Fraud and Not Voting"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Foutrage-grows-over-incredible-disaster-requiring-absentee-wisconsinites-to-commit-fraud-or-not-vote%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2249370&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The \u2064Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC) faced backlash following a restraining\u2064 order by Judge James Morrison. Allegations of election law violations in the &#8220;absentee ballot \u200bscandal of 2024&#8221; stirred\u2062 controversy. State lawmakers criticized \u200cthe WEC for jeopardizing election integrity. Calls to remove WEC Administrator Meagan Wolfe and dissolve the\u200d commission emerged amidst ongoing legal battles and concerns over\u200b election transparency.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-content\">\n<p>Three days after a Wisconsin judge slapped a <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/05\/17\/exclusive-wisconsin-judge-stops-elections-commission-from-fomenting-election-fraud\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/breaking-georgia-update-judge-issues-restraining-order-for-10-days-preventing-defendants-from-destroying-or-erasing-dominion-voting-machines\/\" title=\"BREAKING GEORGIA UPDATE: Judge Issues Restraining Order for 10 Days Preventing Defendants from Destroying or Erasing Dominion Voting Machines\">temporary restraining order<\/a> <\/a>on the state\u2019s election regulator, the<a href=\"https:\/\/elections.wi.gov\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> Wisconsin Elections Commission<\/a> (WEC) still wasn\u2019t commenting about its latest legal scrape. But state lawmakers were \u2014 including the former chairwoman of the Assembly\u2019s Elections Committee, who called WEC\u2019s alleged violation of election law the \u201cabsentee ballot scandal of 2024.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>As The Federalist first <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/05\/17\/exclusive-wisconsin-judge-stops-elections-commission-from-fomenting-election-fraud\/\">reported<\/a> on Friday, Judge James Morrison issued the <a href=\"https:\/\/wcca.wicourts.gov\/caseDetail.html?caseNo=2024CV000043&#038;countyNo=38&#038;index=0#records\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">restraining order,<\/a> enjoining WEC from requiring that Wisconsin\u2019s approximately<a href=\"https:\/\/electionlab.mit.edu\/landscapes\/wisconsin\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> 1,900 local election clerks<\/a> use legally suspect absentee ballot envelopes while the court deliberates on the merits of the complaint. <\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2-long d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-679134871\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1379703300879-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-d50dd8a509949afbb5d9063a07db82e7 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-d50dd8a509949afbb5d9063a07db82e7\"><\/div>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/wcca.wicourts.gov\/caseDetail.html?caseNo=2024CV000043&#038;countyNo=38&#038;index=0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">lawsuit<\/a>, brought on behalf of a Wisconsin voter by attorneys Kevin Scott and Daniel Eastman, alleges the elections commission leaves Badger State voters in the untenable position of committing election fraud or opting not to cast an absentee ballot. <\/p>\n<p>The complaint charges that in approving new ballot envelopes recommended by WEC staff, the commission violated Wisconsin election law. If used, the envelopes \u201cwould cause voters to falsely certify that the ballot envelope itself is an original or a copy of the ballot request generated through MyVote when it is not in any way.\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/myvote.wi.gov\/en-us\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">MyVote<\/a> is the state\u2019s online portal for voters to request absentee ballots.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBy forcing people to falsely certify that the return envelope itself is a copy of a completely different document, WEC created a situation where people who requested absentee ballots through MyVote were either committing election fraud by making a false statement in conjunction with voting a ballot, or were forced to not vote absentee \u2014 a Hobson\u2019s choice,\u201d Scott told The Federalist. <\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u2018Incredible Disaster\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>It seems the six commissioners \u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wpr.org\/politics\/republican-bill-would-abolish-wisconsin-elections-commission\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">three Democrats and three Republicans<\/a> \u2014 again took questionable advice from the agency attorneys. <\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-e9cd3576e496d50483f1833b40e24e73 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-6\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-e9cd3576e496d50483f1833b40e24e73\"><\/div>\n<p>State Rep. Janel Brandtjen, R-Menomonee Falls, said the latest WEC scandal is an \u201cincredible disaster.\u201d Not only does it put the state in a difficult legal position, WEC\u2019s \u201cfix\u201d to its ballot request problems diminishes election security by weakening the ballot chain of custody for absentee ballots, the lawmaker said. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere is no trail for requesting a ballot. \u2026 This would make the mail-in delivery system untraceable,\u201d said Brandtjen, who was tapped by Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, in 2021 to lead the Assembly\u2019s investigation into the 2020 election. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wispolitics.com\/2024\/brandtjen-knocks-ethics-commission-referral-for-alleged-scheme-to-funnel-funds-to-vos-challenger\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Vos ultimately removed Brandtjen<\/a> from the position after taking heat from the left and their friends in the accomplice media, who labeled as \u201celection deniers\u201d anyone who questioned the integrity of election administration. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cDo you just want to hand the election to the Democrats?\u201d Brandtjen said. Swing-state Wisconsin is expected to play a pivotal role in deciding the next president. \u201cThere is no downside to cheating in the state of Wisconsin with Republicans who are uneducated or unwilling to understand election law as it stands.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>A commission spokesman has not returned multiple requests for comment since Friday. Bob Spindell, a Republican-appointed commissioner, declined to comment on the ongoing lawsuit. <\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-3d79234adf8fddfd7259e0f5ef9b231a fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-10\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-3d79234adf8fddfd7259e0f5ef9b231a\"><\/div>\n<p>\u201cRather than carrying out and enforcing election laws as written, WEC administrators are trying to find a way to skirt state statutes,\u201d state Sen. Julian Bradley, a Milwaukee-area Republican, told The Federalist. \u201cAnytime an unelected bureaucrat decides not to follow the letter of the law \u2014 or even worse, create new law themselves \u2014 it raises concern. We must follow the law and conduct free and fair elections.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Brandtjen is renewing the call to remove controversial Wisconsin Elections Commission Administrator<a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/05\/02\/election-integrity-group-sues-minnesota-wisconsin-to-end-nvra-transparency-exemption\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> Meagan Wolfe<\/a> and dissolve an agency that has had trouble following Wisconsin election law over its tumultuous existence. A group of lawmakers in December proposed a bill to dissolve WEC and turn over election administration to the secretary of state\u2019s office. <a href=\"https:\/\/ballotpedia.org\/Sarah_Godlewski\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Sarah Godlewski<\/a>, the current secretary of state, <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/wisconsin-elections-godlewski-5479895dcd5e4632cf23f4de68bb1925\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">appointed last year<\/a> by Democrat Gov. Tony Evers, is a far-left political climber, but it\u2019s an elected post, and Republicans believe Godlewski will have difficulty winning the statewide election. <\/p>\n<p>Efforts to remove Wolfe from office, including a fizzled <a href=\"https:\/\/legis.wisconsin.gov\/assembly\/82\/wichgers\/media\/kypld0py\/wec-wolfe-impeachment-resolution2.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">impeachment campaign<\/a>, have failed. She\u2019s effectively been squatting in the administrator\u2019s position since last fall when the Republican-controlled legislature <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/wisconsin-senate-meagan-wolfe-elections-firing-62a0ec656530c740934b03083b3e3b11#:~:text=%E2%80%9CThe%20Senate's%20vote%20today%20to,bend%20to%20those%20political%20pressures.%E2%80%9D\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">tried unsuccessfully to fire<\/a> the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/shady-milwaukee-elections-chief-ousted-six-months-before-election-but-will-her-successor-be-worse\/\" title=\"Milwaukee's Controversial Elections Chief Removed Ahead of Polls - Is the Replacement Better?\">embattled elections chief<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p>The litigation involving the ballot envelopes is the latest in a <a href=\"https:\/\/legis.wisconsin.gov\/assembly\/38\/Dittrich\/media\/eupdates\/Friday-October-29-2021.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">long line of complaints <\/a>against a dysfunctional elections commission and Wolfe. <\/p>\n<p>WEC appears to be caught in a problem of its own making. <\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u2018Foment Election Fraud\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>In another Wisconsin election law <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gmtoday.com\/news_graphic\/news\/ozaukee-county-court-rules-in-favor-of-wisconsin-elections-commission\/article_c7aebe00-0a3b-57fc-a88e-a3eb49f83b56.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">case<\/a> earlier this year, a voter challenged the commission\u2019s legal authority to operate <a href=\"https:\/\/myvote.wi.gov\/en-us\/\">MyVote<\/a>. WEC argued that all requests made through the website are \u201cemail\u201d requests, an allowable method of seeking an absentee ballot under Wisconsin election law. <\/p>\n<p>WEC officials submitted sworn testimony stating that when an elector seeks an absentee ballot through MyVote, the \u201crequest\u201d for the ballot is a form generated by the system once the individual completes the online process. The argument is a stretch, but <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ozaukeecounty.gov\/directory.aspx?EID=29\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Ozaukee County Judge Steven Cain<\/a> bought it and held that all requests made through MyVote were \u201cemail\u201d requests and allowable under the statute. The plaintiff is appealing that ruling. <\/p>\n<p>But the allowance seems to have created a snag for WEC. If an applicant requests an absentee ballot by email, Wisconsin <a href=\"https:\/\/docs.legis.wisconsin.gov\/statutes\/statutes\/6\/iv\/86\/6\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">statutes<\/a> require the elector to include \u201cin the envelope\u201d a copy of the \u201crequest\u201d for the ballot \u201cbearing an original signature.\u201d  <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis language found in the new EL-122 [form] ran directly contrary to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/exclusive-wisconsin-judge-stops-elections-commission-from-fomenting-election-fraud\/\" title=\"Exclusive: Wisconsin Judge Halts Elections Commission's Actions on 'Promoting Election Fraud\">sworn testimony provided<\/a> in the [Ozaukee County] case upon which Judge Cain relied,\u201d Scott said. And it opened up the Hobson\u2019s choice to <a href=\"https:\/\/pbswisconsin.org\/news-item\/wisconsins-2022-voter-registrations-up-from-2018-absentee-ballots-down-from-2020\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">hundreds of thousands<\/a> of electors who prefer voting by absentee ballot. <\/p>\n<p>\u201c\u2026 WEC has approved the use of new <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/infographic-the-states-that-changed-mail-in-voting-rules-for-2022\/\" title=\"INFOGRAPHIC: The States That Changed Mail-In Voting Rules for 2022\">absentee ballot return envelopes<\/a> that exacerbate and foment election fraud \u2014 as defined by Wisconsin Statutes \u2014 by coercing a voter returning an absentee ballot requested through MyVote to falsely certify that the envelope itself is a \u2018copy\u2019 of the absentee ballot request,\u201d the complaint states. \u201cThe new WEC envelope is not a replacement for a signed copy of the ballot request to be included \u2018in the envelope\u2019 in which the ballot is returned as required by section 6.87(4).\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Elections Commission \u2018Out of Control\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>WEC used <a href=\"https:\/\/elections.wi.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/documents\/Open%20Session%203.3.23-AMENDED.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">$600,000<\/a> in a nearly <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eac.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/paymentgrants\/Election%20Security\/fundsrequest2023\/WI_2023_ES_Funding_Request_Letter.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">$1.2 million U.S. Election Assistance Commission HAVA (Help America Vote Act) grant<\/a> for the new absentee ballot envelopes. The grant funds were designated for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eac.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/Grants\/FY23_Hava_App_Packet\/FY23%20Program%20Narrative%20Instructions.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u201celection security\u201d<\/a> funding. <\/p>\n<p>Scott asserts that the federal election funds are being used to \u201ccoerce Wisconsin voters into making false statements in regard to voting.\u201d He called it \u201cthe height of irony.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While Democrats routinely accuse Republicans of trying to \u201csuppress\u201d voters, WEC\u2019s new absentee ballot envelopes actually do disenfranchise Wisconsin absentee voters, Eastman said. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo at this point in Wisconsin, the only way that you can vote is in-person at a polling place because you can\u2019t use the envelope until WEC fixes the envelope, or, you know, unless the judge pulls the TRO [temporary restraining order],\u201d said the attorney Monday at a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dropbox.com\/scl\/fi\/2m6dykjlggu7tkcx7m2nq\/Kevin-Dan-complete-video.mp4?rlkey=p9rtau7jdh2m2pqhmm5m1s9b5&#038;e=2&#038;st=min7pess&#038;dl=0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">press conference<\/a> in Union Grove. \u201cThe point is, we have a state agency that is simply out of control.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Morrison has scheduled a June 5 hearing on the merits of the lawsuit. The Marinette County judge is expected to ultimately determine whether WEC has once again violated Wisconsin election law and whether the injunction will remain permanently in effect. <\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-2ae3177fcc2bd608c12c2c246f019c24 fdrlst__b89e9-after-post-content\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-2ae3177fcc2bd608c12c2c246f019c24\"><\/div>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">    \t\t\t\t\t   \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Three days after a Wisconsin judge imposed a restraining order on the Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC), silence prevailed from WEC while state lawmakers, including the former Assembly&#8217;s Elections Committee chairwoman, voiced concerns over the alleged &#8220;absentee ballot scandal&#8221; without further comments from WEC<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":656,"featured_media":2249371,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Screenshot-2024-05-20-at-8.15.35-PM.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2249370","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Screenshot-2024-05-20-at-8.15.35-PM.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2249370","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/656"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2249370"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2249370\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2249371"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2249370"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2249370"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2249370"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}