{"id":2322274,"date":"2024-08-10T07:08:02","date_gmt":"2024-08-10T11:08:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wisconsin-city-accused-of-electioneering-during-early-voting\/"},"modified":"2024-08-10T07:15:47","modified_gmt":"2024-08-10T11:15:47","slug":"wisconsin-city-accused-of-electioneering-during-early-voting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wisconsin-city-accused-of-electioneering-during-early-voting\/","title":{"rendered":"Wisconsin City Accused Of Electioneering During Early Voting"},"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%2Fwisconsin-city-accused-of-electioneering-during-early-voting%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=2322274&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>Officials in \u200cNeenah, \u200dWisconsin, have faced scrutiny \u2062for allegedly engaging in \u200celectioneering during early\u200b voting by placing news\u2064 articles in voting booths that interpret two <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wisconsin-voters-have-a-chance-to-rid-their-elections-of-zuckbucks-for-good\/\" title=\"Wisconsin Voters Can Eliminate &#039;Zuckbucks&#039; from Elections\">constitutional amendment questions<\/a> on the ballot. The Wisconsin\u2062 Institute for \u2064Law &#038;\u2063 Liberty (WILL) issued a \u200bwarning letter to Neenah City Clerk Char Nagel after\u2064 reports indicated that election workers were urging voters to read the article, \u2064which characterized the referendum as partisan. The law prohibits such\u2064 actions,\u2064 as they\u200c can \u2063influence voting and \u200bviolate election\u200d integrity standards. WILL emphasized that it is not the role \u2062of \u2064election officials to\u2064 educate voters or\u200c suggest partisan interpretations. Following pressure\u200b from WILL, the city attorney confirmed that the articles were removed from the\u200d voting\u2063 booths and emphasized that only ballots and \u200dmarking instruments\u200d would be present. Critics\u2063 argue that this incident reflects a broader trend of\u2062 election officials exceeding\u2063 their authority\u2064 and attempting to sway voter\u2063 opinions \u2062illegally. The discussion highlights ongoing concerns about election integrity, particularly as Wisconsin prepares for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/soros-funded-pac-labels-black-republican-an-uncle-tom-in-campaign-ad-skinfolk-aint-kinfolk\/\" title=\"Soros-backed PAC calls Black GOP member &#039;Uncle Tom&#039; in ad: &#039;Skinfolk \u2260 Kinfolk&#039;\">significant upcoming elections<\/a>.  <\/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>Facing accusations of electioneering, officials in an eastern Wisconsin city say they have removed from voting booths what voters described as copies of a Yahoo.com news article on two constitutional amendment ballot questions.<\/p>\n<p>Election law experts say it&rsquo;s a win for election integrity but another glaring example of the &ldquo;maternalistic arrogance of a clerk&rdquo; who believes it her duty to explain to voters how they should vote.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>&lsquo;It Is Not Your Job to Explain&rsquo;<\/h2>\n<p>The Milwaukee-based <a href=\"https:\/\/will-law.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Wisconsin Institute for Law &amp; Liberty<\/a> (WILL) on Wednesday sent a <a href=\"https:\/\/will-law.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Neenah-Letter-to-Clerk-Nagel-Aug-7.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">warning letter<\/a> to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ci.neenah.wi.us\/departments\/clerk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Neenah City Clerk Char Nagel<\/a> after receiving multiple reports about the news article being placed within each voting booth.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Wisconsin voters are in the midst of <a href=\"https:\/\/city.milwaukee.gov\/earlyvoting\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">early voting<\/a> ahead of next Tuesday&rsquo;s statewide primary elections. The ballot includes <a href=\"https:\/\/www.badgerinstitute.org\/what-to-know-about-wisconsins-constitutional-amendment-vote-2024\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">two related referendum questions<\/a> asking voters whether the Wisconsin Constitution should bar the state legislature from ceding its &ldquo;sole power to determine how moneys shall be appropriated&rdquo; and prevent the governor from having broad discretion on spending significant federal funds granted to the state. The issue came to the foreground when leftist Gov. Tony Evers unilaterally made spending decisions on billions of dollars in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/first-winner-of-1m-ohio-vaccine-lottery-announced-i-cannot-believe-it\/\" title=\"First Winner Of M Ohio Vaccine Lottery Announced: \u2018I Cannot Believe It\u2019\">federal pandemic relief<\/a>, paying for a host of liberal, big government initiatives. Nothing in the law stopped him from doing so, even as he was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wpr.org\/education\/gov-evers-directs-90m-federal-pandemic-funds-wisconsin-schools\">accused<\/a> of effectively buying votes with federal taxpayer dollars. &nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The article, according to WILL, &ldquo;characterizes the question as partisan, pitting Republicans and &lsquo;conservative groups&rsquo; against the Governor, Democrats, &lsquo;and liberal groups.&rsquo;&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>While activist groups, especially on the left, have dumped a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.piercecountyjournal.news\/stories\/the-capitol-report-constitutional-amendments-spur-rare-august-debate,100480\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">mountain of money<\/a> into ad campaigns attempting to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/patriot-games-how-new-englands-disastrous-nfl-season-is-changing-the-2024-election\/\" title=\"New England&#039;s NFL season disaster alters 2024 election\">sway voter sentiment<\/a>, the ballot questions are ultimately nonpartisan. Wisconsin liberals might well be quite happy to have the check on the executive branch the next time a Republican controls the governor&rsquo;s office.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Regardless, it is not the business of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wisconsin-supreme-court-rules-absentee-ballot-drop-boxes-are-illegal\/\" title=\"Wisconsin Supreme Court Rules Absentee Ballot Drop Boxes Are Illegal\">local election clerks<\/a> to &ldquo;educate&rdquo; voters on who supports ballot initiatives and why. State law is pretty clear on that.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>WILL&rsquo;s warning letter notes some Neenah election workers were urging voters to &ldquo;read it carefully.&rdquo; One voter who accused the city clerk&rsquo;s office of &ldquo;unlawful electioneering&rdquo; was told that &ldquo;voters don&rsquo;t understand&rdquo; what the ballot questions mean so elections officials &ldquo;have to explain&rdquo; them, according to WILL.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It is not your job to &lsquo;explain&rsquo; referendum questions to voters,&rdquo; Rick Esenberg, WILL&rsquo;s president and general counsel, and deputy counsel Dan Lennington scolded the clerk in the letter. &ldquo;And it is certainly not your job to suggest to voters that this is a partisan issue that pits &lsquo;Democrats&rsquo; and &lsquo;liberals&rsquo; against &lsquo;Republicans&rsquo; and &lsquo;conservatives.&rsquo; It is your job to administer elections according to the law.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<h2>&lsquo;Cease and Desist&rsquo;<\/h2>\n<p>State law prohibits such interference by election officials. It&rsquo;s called <a href=\"https:\/\/docs.legis.wisconsin.gov\/statutes\/statutes\/12\/03\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">electioneering,<\/a> and it relates to any activity &ldquo;intended to influence voting at an election,&rdquo; the attorneys explained.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Wisconsin state law also prohibits posting and distribution of election-related materials &lsquo;at the polling place, at locations where absentee ballots may be cast, or near the entrance of such locations,&rsquo;&rdquo; the letter noted.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Placing a Yahoo.com news article opining on the partisan nature of a ballot question most definitely falls into the category of electioneering, WILL warned. Violators may face up to six months in jail or a $1,000 fine &mdash; or both.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We demand that you cease and desist this unlawful activity immediately. If you do not confirm that you have stopped this unlawful practice by noon, August 8, we will refer your conduct to the appropriate authorities,&rdquo; the demand letter states.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>It definitely got the city&rsquo;s attention. Albeit begrudgingly, the clerk was ordered to take down the news article.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;While we respectfully disagree with your appraisal of both the facts and the applicable law as may relate thereto, in the interest of maintaining election integrity and avoiding even the appearance of impropriety, the subject material was immediately removed at the request of the citizen and will not be permitted to be re-posted,&rdquo; wrote <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ci.neenah.wi.us\/departments\/city-attorney\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">city attorney David Rashid<\/a> in a <a href=\"https:\/\/will-law.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/WILL-08.08.24-ltr.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">letter<\/a> dated Aug. 8. The clerk and the city&rsquo;s mayor were copied.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Moreover, nothing other than ballots and marking instruments will be present in our voting booths,&rdquo; the attorney concluded.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>But Lennington said some damage has already been done. <a href=\"https:\/\/myvote.wi.gov\/en-us\/Voter-Deadlines\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Absentee in-person voting<\/a> began last week.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We are very concerned it&rsquo;s already impacted voter decisions,&rdquo; the attorney told me.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>&lsquo;Not Satisfied with Following the Law&rsquo;<\/h2>\n<p>Lennington said the Neenah incident is just the latest example of elections officials pushing beyond the law to administer elections as they see fit.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;re now moving to a place where one side is just not satisfied with following the law,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Progressives and liberals think they should do extra legal things to ensure their view of democracy prevails.&rdquo; Hence illegal drop boxes and voting vans rolled out in left-leaning areas and unconstitutional universal mail-in voting and turning federal agencies into Democrat get-out-the-vote machines &hellip; and the list goes on and on.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The narrative that, &lsquo;Voters are too dumb to take care of themselves so we have to go outside the law so that they vote the way we want them to,&rsquo; which includes ballot harvesting or placing electioneering materials in voting booths, is part of that overall trend we&rsquo;re seeing,&rdquo; Lennington said.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The shenanigans and law-breaking in critical swing state Wisconsin, expected to again play an outsized role in November&rsquo;s presidential election, never end.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>As <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/05\/13\/controversial-wisconsin-clerk-admits-to-violating-election-law-claims-she-doesnt-understand-it\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Federalist reported<\/a> in May, controversial Green Bay City Clerk Celestine Jeffreys conceded that she did not understand election law regarding the voter rolls. In <a href=\"https:\/\/publicinterestlegal.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/2024-04-29-Clerk-Jeffreys-Response-Hogan-v-Jeffreys.pdf\">response<\/a> to a complaint filed by the <a href=\"https:\/\/publicinterestlegal.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Public Interest Legal Foundation<\/a> on behalf of three Green Bay citizens, Jeffreys &ldquo;concedes that she has not been strictly adhering to the statutory requirements in Wisconsin Statutes &hellip; but the failure to do so was inadvertent and due to a lack of awareness of the statutory requirements.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>In <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/04\/08\/leftist-groups-cancel-cash-prize-gotv-event-after-wisconsin-da-warns-bribery-is-still-illegal\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">April,<\/a> Green Bay leftist groups were forced to cancel a get-out-the-vote drive with big cash prizes after Brown County District Attorney David Lasee informed them that election bribery is still against the law in Wisconsin. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wkow.com\/news\/green-bay-area-public-school-district-faces-challenges-in-2024\/article_35849dce-cfa6-11ee-b82a-271cc155d245.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">United Front for Change<\/a> offered monetary prizes for the top five social media influencers as well as free food and beverages and a &ldquo;FREE Open Bar.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Neenah, a city of some 27,000 residents located about 40 miles south of Green Bay, is part of the crucial <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxcitieslifestudy.org\/fox-cities-map\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Fox Cities<\/a> area. The vote-rich region includes the cities of Appleton, Kaukauna, Menasha, and several villages along the Fox River. The Fox Valley has traditionally leaned conservative, but it has proved to swing bluer, particularly in Winnebago County, home to Neenah. The so-called BOW counties &mdash; Brown, Outagamie, and Winnebago &mdash; have played a key role in deciding Wisconsin elections.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Matt Kittle is a senior elections correspondent for The Federalist. An award-winning investigative reporter 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>In response to allegations of electioneering, officials in a city in eastern Wisconsin have stated that they have taken down what voters reported as copies of a Yahoo.com news article regarding two constitutional amendment ballot questions from voting booths. Experts on election law view this as a positive step for maintaining election integrity, but also highlight it as another instance of the &#8220;maternalistic arrogance&#8221; displayed by a clerk who feels it is her responsibility to guide voters on how to cast their votes.<\/p>\n<p>The Wisconsin Institute for Law &amp; Liberty (WILL), based in Milwaukee, sent a warning letter to Neenah City Clerk Char Nagel after receiving several complaints about the article being present in each voting booth. Currently, Wisconsin voters are participating in early voting ahead of the statewide primary elections scheduled for next Tuesday. The ballot features two related referendum questions asking whether the state constitution should prevent the legislature from relinquishing its exclusive authority over budget appropriations and restrict the governor&#8217;s discretion regarding significant federal funds allocated to the state. This issue gained attention when Governor Tony Evers made unilateral spending decisions concerning billions in federal pandemic relief funds, which were used for various liberal initiatives.<\/p>\n<p>According to WILL, the article presented these questions as partisan issues that divided Republicans and conservative groups against Democrats and liberal organizations. While left-leaning activist groups have invested heavily in advertising campaigns aimed at influencing voter opinions, these ballot questions are fundamentally nonpartisan; even liberals may appreciate having checks on executive power when Republicans hold office.<\/p>\n<p>Regardless of political implications, local election clerks should not be involved in &#8220;educating&#8221; voters about who supports specific ballot measures or why\u2014state law clearly outlines this responsibility. WILL&#8217;s letter pointed out that some Neenah election workers were encouraging voters to &#8220;read it carefully.&#8221; One voter accused city officials of unlawful electioneering after being told that &#8220;voters don\u2019t understand&#8221; what was on the ballot and thus needed explanations from elections staff.<\/p>\n<p>Rick Esenberg, president and general counsel at WILL, reprimanded Clerk Nagel through their letter: \u201cIt is not your job to \u2018explain\u2019 referendum questions,\u201d he stated. \u201cAnd you certainly shouldn\u2019t suggest that this is a partisan issue.\u201d He emphasized that her role is simply to administer elections according to legal standards.<\/p>\n<p>State law explicitly prohibits such interference by election officials under regulations against electioneering\u2014defined as any activity intended to influence electoral outcomes. The attorneys noted that distributing or displaying any materials related to an upcoming vote at polling places is illegal; placing an opinion piece about partisanship within voting booths clearly falls under this category.<\/p>\n<p>WILL warned violators could face penalties including up six months imprisonment or fines up $1,000\u2014or both\u2014and demanded immediate cessation of these unlawful activities with confirmation required by noon on August 8th or further action would be taken against them.<\/p>\n<p>This situation prompted swift action from city officials; although they disagreed with WILL\u2019s interpretation of events and laws involved, they complied with requests for removal due primarily concerns over maintaining electoral integrity while avoiding any appearance of impropriety. City attorney David Rashid confirmed via correspondence dated August 8th that only ballots and marking tools would remain inside voting booths moving forward.<\/p>\n<p>However, Lennington expressed concern over potential impacts already inflicted upon voter decisions due absentee early voting commencing last week\u2014a reflection he believes illustrates broader trends where certain factions feel compelled beyond legal boundaries while administering elections according their own perspectives rather than adhering strictly established laws governing such processes across states like Wisconsin known pivotal swing states during presidential cycles ahead November\u2019s upcoming elections<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":656,"featured_media":2322275,"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\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-09-at-4.05.37-PM.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[25322,37740,5894,33790,4124],"class_list":["post-2322274","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-early-voting","tag-electioneering","tag-politics","tag-voter-rights","tag-wisconsin"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-09-at-4.05.37-PM.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2322274","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=2322274"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2322274\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2322275"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2322274"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2322274"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2322274"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}