{"id":2284019,"date":"2024-06-26T14:04:00","date_gmt":"2024-06-26T18:04:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wi-elections-commission-accused-of-violating-restraining-order\/"},"modified":"2024-06-26T14:10:18","modified_gmt":"2024-06-26T18:10:18","slug":"wi-elections-commission-accused-of-violating-restraining-order","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wi-elections-commission-accused-of-violating-restraining-order\/","title":{"rendered":"WI Elections Commission Accused Of Violating Restraining Order"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/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%2Fwi-elections-commission-accused-of-violating-restraining-order%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=2284019&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>Attorneys representing\u200d Thomas Oldenburg, a Marinette County man, are pursuing\u2063 legal action against the Wisconsin Elections\u2062 Commission (WEC), accusing the agency of election \u2062fraud related to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/breaking-kraken-released-attorney-sidney-powell-files-104-page-bombshell-complaint-of-massive-fraud-in-georgia-election-update-michigan-too\/\" title=\"BREAKING: KRAKEN RELEASED! Attorney Sidney Powell Files 104 Page BOMBSHELL COMPLAINT of Massive Fraud in Georgia Election - Update: Michigan too\">absentee ballot envelopes<\/a> and seeking to hold them in contempt for violating \u200ba court&#8217;s restraining order. The complaint revolves around new absentee ballot envelopes introduced by WEC, which allegedly coerce voters\u200b to falsely \u200ccertify that the envelopes are original or copies of \u200btheir ballot requests from MyVote \u2014 a requirement ostensibly at odds with Wisconsin statutes. This situation potentially\u2063 misleads voters using MyVote to procure absentee \u200cballots, creating \u200clegal risks for them. The ongoing legal battle\u2064 includes a request\u2062 for &#8220;remedial sanctions&#8221; against WEC, accusing them of narrowly \u200binterpreting and attempting to circumvent a Marinette County Circuit Court&#8217;s temporary restraining order to avoid its \u200bimplications. The controversy intensified after WEC \u200denacted an &#8220;emergency rule&#8221; related to the\u2063 certification process on the envelopes without proper\u200c legislative oversight. The case is marked by significant dispute \u2063and procedural complications, with scheduled\u200d court hearings delayed by legal maneuvers potentially \u200bfavoring\u200d WEC. The stalemate \u2062exemplifies the contentious\u2064 environment surrounding election \u200blaw and procedural compliance in Wisconsin.  <\/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<div>\n<p>Attorneys for a Marinette County man who is suing the <a href=\"https:\/\/elections.wi.gov\">Wisconsin Elections Commission<\/a> in an election fraud lawsuit are now asking the judge in the case to hold the commission in contempt of court for violating a restraining order. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/05\/17\/exclusive-wisconsin-judge-stops-elections-commission-from-fomenting-election-fraud\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Kevin Scott<\/a>, attorney for <a href=\"https:\/\/fox11online.com\/news\/local\/marinette-county-judge-upholds-ruling-on-absentee-voting-form-until-after-june-hearing-wisconsin-elections-commission-thomas-oldenburg-amberg-james-morrison-injunction\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Thomas Oldenburg<\/a>, tells The Federalist that a hearing on the request for \u201cremedial sanctions\u201d could be held as soon as July 10. Meanwhile, Scott says WEC is dodging Marinette County Circuit Court <a href=\"https:\/\/ballotpedia.org\/James_Morrison_(Wisconsin)\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Judge James Morrison<\/a>\u2019s temporary restraining order by \u201cparsimoniously\u201d interpreting the temporary injunction and essentially working out a plan to get around it.<\/p>\n<p>Such alleged defiance speaks to a rogue state elections commission that is led by a <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/02\/12\/is-wisconsins-republican-speaker-killing-efforts-to-impeach-suspect-elections-chief\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">controversial administrator<\/a> who refuses to leave her post after she was effectively fired by the state Senate. The agency also has on multiple occasions <a href=\"https:\/\/www.maciverinstitute.com\/2023\/06\/surprise-surprise-wec-is-planning-on-violating-state-law-again\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">violated state law<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHere we have WEC acting in contempt of an order already in place,\u201d Scott said. \u201cThe fact that voters and clerks are in this situation right now is due to WEC\u2019s malfeasance.\u201d <\/p>\n<h2>\u2018Inducement to Commit Voter Fraud\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>As The Federalist first <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/05\/17\/exclusive-wisconsin-judge-stops-elections-commission-from-fomenting-election-fraud\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reported<\/a> last month, Judge Morrison issued the temporary restraining order, 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 <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\">suspect absentee ballot envelopes<\/a> while the court deliberates on the merits of the lawsuit against them.  <\/p>\n<p>The complaint alleges 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 MyVote is an 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 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/house-gop-speaks-out-against-h-r-1-bill\/\" title=\"House GOP speaks out against H.R.1 bill\">committing election fraud<\/a> 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 me in May. <\/p>\n<p>As the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.democracydocket.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/2024-02-15-Complaint.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">complaint<\/a> states:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>\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 <em>that the envelope itself<\/em> is a \u2018copy\u2019 of the absentee ballot request. The new WEC envelope is <strong>not a replacement <\/strong>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). The new envelope is an inducement to commit voter fraud.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>It would appear the six feckless 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<h2>A Snag<\/h2>\n<p>In issuing the temporary restraining order, the judge said the plaintiff was likely to succeed in his lawsuit. <\/p>\n<p>Earlier this year, a different voter <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\">challenged<\/a> 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 and therefore allowable.<\/p>\n<p>But that created a snag: If an applicant requests an absentee ballot by email, Wisconsin <a href=\"https:\/\/docs.legis.wisconsin.gov\/statutes\/statutes\/6\/iv\/86\/6\">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 But WEC didn\u2019t indicate that to voters, the lawsuit alleges.<\/p>\n<p>In the meantime, WEC created new, <a href=\"https:\/\/elections.wi.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/documents\/ICYMI%20Absentee%20Envelopes%20Get%20an%20Upgrade.pdf\">color-coded<\/a> absentee ballot return envelopes designated as \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/allvotingislocal.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/EL-12220Standard20Absentee20Ballot20Certificate-portrait2028rev.202020-0829.pdf\">Forms EL-122<\/a>.\u201d These forms required applicants to certify that they requested the ballot and that the EL-122 is \u201can original or a copy of\u201d the \u201crequest.\u201d The lawsuit contends doing so puts in legal peril <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<h2>\u2018Doubled Down\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>Oldenburg\u2019s motion for remedial sanctions alleges the commission engaged in a \u201cmulti-prong attack on this Court\u2019s authority, and in the process has created the exact situation the Plaintiff, and the Court, sought to avoid.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The judge had scheduled a hearing for June 5 on the lawsuit\u2019s merits. But the leftist intervenors in the case \u2014 the League of Women Voters and Disability Rights Wisconsin \u2014 filed a request to replace Morrison with a potentially friendlier judge in left-friendly Dane County Circuit Court, Scott said. <\/p>\n<p>Scott told The Federalist that the move, which bumped the June 5 hearing from the calendar, provided WEC with \u201cfortuitous timing.\u201d At its June 10 meeting, the commission took several actions that Scott says \u201camount to contempt of court.\u201d The court filing alleges the commission \u201cparsimoniously interpreted the Order in the most narrow context possible.\u201d Commissioners \u201cdecided that as long as it didn\u2019t overtly state to any clerk (or voter) that they were required to use the EL-122, WEC was complying with its terms.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHowever, a litigant is not afforded the opportunity to \u2018reinterpret\u2019 a court order to suit its needs and simply go forward with its original planned course of action, as WEC decided to do,\u201d Oldenburg\u2019s court filing asserts. <\/p>\n<p>Records also show that the commission on the same day <a href=\"https:\/\/docs.legis.wisconsin.gov\/code\/register\/2024\/822a2\/register\/emr\/emr2407_rule_text\/emr2407_rule_text.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">promulgated<\/a> \u201cEmergency Rule EL 6.05,\u201d which required election administrations to send absentee voters <a href=\"https:\/\/westfordwi.gov\/documents\/1476\/EL-128_for_all_absentee.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">instructions<\/a> directing them to sign the \u201cCertification of Voter section,\u201d despite its problems. The rule was originally drafted last September, with far-left Gov. Tony Evers signing off on the language in April. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe \u2018emergency rule\u2019 was not presented \u2014 as required by statute \u2014 to the Legislature\u2019s Joint Committee on Rules Regulations until after the June 10, 2024 public meeting. The \u2018emergency rule\u2019 was not noticed for discussion at the June 10, 2024 meeting,\u201d the sanction motion states. <\/p>\n<p>WEC, the document charges, \u201chas taken no steps whatsoever to give clerks an alternative to using the EL-122 in any upcoming election.\u201d Instead, the commission is \u201cemphatically telling clerks that there is nothing wrong with using the document.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn other words, WEC has created a situation where clerks are <em>required<\/em> to use the EL-122, in direct violation of the Order\u2019s prohibition, because WEC has both failed to provide another option, and, as an agency delegated enforcement power over violations of election law, has basically said to clerks \u2018we have your back,\u2019\u201d the motion asserts. \u201cBut that means nothing to a voter or clerk who is either uncomfortable making a false statement in order to vote, or encouraging others to do so. It also means nothing to the District Attorneys of the state, who owe no deference to WEC.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A Wisconsin Elections Commission spokesman said the agency has no comment at this time.  <\/p>\n<h2>\u2018Completely Partisan Manner\u2019 <\/h2>\n<p>Oldenburg\u2019s attorneys are asking the court to impose several sanctions, including ordering the commission to \u201cimmediately convene a meeting\u201d to \u201cexplicitly overturn its previously-adopted requirement that the clerks of the state use the EL-122 in its current form\u201d and issue a new emergency rule cleaning up the alleged violations of law. The motion also seeks a penalty of up to $2,000 for each day WEC remains in contempt of court. And the plaintiff wants the court to \u201cappoint a special master to oversee all of WEC\u2019s actions relating to its administration of elections in this state through November 7, 2024,\u201d two days after Election Day. <\/p>\n<p>Scott said he was surprised that an elections commission with three lawyers on it and election law experts advising it didn\u2019t raise a single question about whether WEC should comply with the essence and sprit of the order. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey seemed to be acting in a completely partisan manner,\u201d the attorney said. <\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Matt Kittle is a senior elections correspondent for The Federalist. An <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-knew-100-percent-he-was-fighting-for-the-little-guy-former-top-trump-economic-adviser\/\" title=\"Trump Knew \u2018100 Percent\u2019 He Was \u2018Fighting for the Little Guy\u2019: Former Top Trump Economic Adviser\">award-winning investigative reporter<\/a> and 30-year veteran of print, broadcast, and online journalism, Kittle previously served as the executive director of Empower Wisconsin.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Attorneys for a Marinette County man suing the Wisconsin Elections Commission for election fraud are requesting the judge to hold the commission in contempt for violating a restraining order. Kevin Scott, representing Thomas Oldenburg, informed The Federalist that a hearing on the contempt request is pending<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":656,"featured_media":2284020,"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\/06\/Screenshot-2024-06-25-at-4.00.23-PM.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[8460,32779,32874,6569,32873],"class_list":["post-2284019","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-accusations","tag-legal-issues","tag-restraining-order","tag-violation","tag-wi-elections-commission"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Screenshot-2024-06-25-at-4.00.23-PM.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2284019","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=2284019"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2284019\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2284020"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2284019"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2284019"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2284019"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}