{"id":2630190,"date":"2026-07-15T15:33:01","date_gmt":"2026-07-15T19:33:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/its-not-an-oops-critics-call-for-firing-of-incompetent-wisconsin-election-official\/"},"modified":"2026-07-15T15:36:30","modified_gmt":"2026-07-15T19:36:30","slug":"its-not-an-oops-critics-call-for-firing-of-incompetent-wisconsin-election-official","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/its-not-an-oops-critics-call-for-firing-of-incompetent-wisconsin-election-official\/","title":{"rendered":"Critics Call For Firing Of Incompetent Wisconsin Election Official"},"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\">18<\/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%2Fits-not-an-oops-critics-call-for-firing-of-incompetent-wisconsin-election-official%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=2630190&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>Green Bay city officials have decided to handle an ongoing election audit internally rather than appointing an autonomous reviewer, raising concerns about clarity. The City Clerk, Celestine Jeffreys, has faced repeated issues, <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >including sending unsolicited absentee ballots<\/a> to voters and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/report-gop-commission-blocks-primary-results-in-new-mexico-over-voting-machines\/\" title=\"REPORT: GOP Commission Blocks Primary Results In New Mexico Over Voting Machines\">violating state election laws<\/a>. She was placed on administrative leave amid investigations by the Wisconsin Elections Commission and internal review, though city officials have maintained confidence in the election processS security. critics, including the Public Interest legal Foundation (PILF), argue that Jeffreys has a long history of neglecting legal procedures and lacks awareness of election laws, which has undermined voter confidence. PILF has urged the city to remove her permanently, citing multiple violations as cause for her dismissal under Wisconsin law. The foundation offered support and is willing to assist in investigating Jeffreys&#8217; failures. there is ongoing concern about accountability and the integrity of Green Bay\u2019s election administration.  <\/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>Right on cue, Green Bay city officials have changed course on an audit of the latest ballot debacle in the City Clerk\u2019s office, opting to handle the matter in house. So much for an \u201cindependent review\u201d of a disgraced election official with a long record of incompetence and failure to follow Wisconsin law. <\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, the <a href=\"https:\/\/publicinterestlegal.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Public Interest Legal Foundation <\/a>(PILF), a Virginia-based nonpartisan, nonprofit, public-interest election law firm, on Monday sent a <a href=\"https:\/\/publicinterestlegal.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/2026.7.13-GB-Clerk-Ltr.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">friendly letter<\/a> to Green Bay\u2019s far-left mayor and city council encouraging them to permanently relieve City Clerk Celestine Jeffreys of her duties. <\/p>\n<h2>\u2018Unacceptable\u2019 <\/h2>\n<p>Jeffries was placed on administrative leave <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/07\/13\/notorious-wisconsin-clerk-faces-state-investigation-again-for-election-integrity-mess\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">last week<\/a> after her office sent an unspecified number of absentee ballots to voters in several Green Bay wards \u2014\u00a0\u00a0in advance of swing state Wisconsin\u2019s August primary. Jeffreys\u2019 office described the mistake as a \u201cprinting error,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.greenbaypressgazette.com\/story\/news\/politics\/elections\/2026\/06\/29\/green-bay-clerk-mailed-replica-ballots-again-ahead-of-august-election\/90736666007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">according to<\/a> the Green Bay Press Gazette. <\/p>\n<p>In a statement to The Federalist earlier this week, the city said Jeffreys would remain on leave pending the completion of an \u201congoing internal review\u201d and a separate investigation by the Wisconsin Elections Commission. <\/p>\n<p>But the city\u2019s Protection and Policy Committee has ditched a planned independent audit of Green Bay\u2019s suspect election administration processes and is instead directing city staff to complete a full report, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wbay.com\/2026\/07\/14\/green-bay-replaces-election-audit-with-council-report-city-clerk-remains-leave-amid-state-investigation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">according to <\/a>WBAY. Staff members will present their findings at the Aug. 18 city council meeting, the news outlet reported. <\/p>\n<p>As The Federalist reported, the bungling clerk\u2019s latest miscue occurred less than three months after the office issued duplicate absentee ballots \u201cin at least 152 instances\u201d before the city\u2019s spring elections. The Republican Party of Wisconsin and Brown County GOP board member Theresa Sipes<a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/04\/07\/zuckbucks-cities-ballot-blunders-hit-badger-state-election-day\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> filed <\/a>a complaint with the Wisconsin Elections Commission. <\/p>\n<p>At a meeting on Thursday, the Wisconsin Elections Commission moved to open an investigation into Green Bay\u2019s top election official, who has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/notorious-wisconsin-clerk-faces-state-investigation-again-for-election-integrity-mess\/\" title=\"WI ... Faces Investigation Again For Election Integrity Mess\">repeatedly broken state election law<\/a> and has continuously undercut voter confidence in Wisconsin\u2019s third-largest city, as The Federalist reported.<\/p>\n<p>In a statement issued last week, <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/08\/05\/wi-city-at-center-of-zuckbucks-scandal-looks-to-tap-leftist-lawfare-groups-ahead-of-election\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Mayor Eric Genrich<\/a> called the errors \u201cunacceptable,\u201d but insisted the city has \u201cno concerns with the security or propriety of the electoral process.\u201d He said that the city is acting to make sure \u201cthese errors are never replicated.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>But city officials said the same in April. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s not an \u2018oops.\u2019 There\u2019s a long track record of this,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bcrepublicans.net\/contact\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Doug Reich<\/a>, chairman of the Republican Party of Brown County, told The Federalist on Sunday in a phone interview. \u201cIt\u2019s up to the mayor\u2019s office and the city council to remove her from that position and hold her accountable, and when that fails to happen, we\u2019re supposed to have WEC do it.\u201d <\/p>\n<h2>\u2018Unaware\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>As the Public Interest Legal Foundation\u2019s Research Director Logan Churchwell wrote in the letter to city officials, the city clerk has yet again violated state election law and Wisconsin Elections Commission guidance. Will she be held accountable? She really hasn\u2019t been yet. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cOver the years, it seems Clerk Jeffreys relies on WEC violations for on-the-job training. Madison cannot fix this, but you can. Surely you want the situation to remedy,\u201d Churchwell wrote. <\/p>\n<p>Indeed. <\/p>\n<p>Jeffreys has on <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/11\/04\/notorious-wisconsin-election-official-is-ordered-to-follow-the-law\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">multiple<\/a> occasions failed to comply with procedures for auditing voters who have registered to vote at their polling places on Election Day. As The Federalist has <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\">reported<\/a>, Jeffreys admitted that she didn\u2019t comply with the law. Her defense? She wasn\u2019t aware of the law. <\/p>\n<p>PILF brought that successful WEC complaint against Jeffreys. In the letter to Green Bay officials, Churchwell noted that a PILF representative interviewed the clerk in her office after getting \u201cnowhere\u201d with open records requests. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cDuring the interview, Jeffreys said it was WEC\u2019s responsibility to perform audits, not hers. After the WEC complaint was filed, the story drastically changed,\u201d the letter notes. <\/p>\n<p>Green Bay\u2019s city attorney was forced to explain to the Elections Commission that Genrich\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/fox11online.com\/news\/local\/green-bay-mayor-appoints-new-city-clerk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">hand-picked<\/a> clerk was \u201cunaware that she was required to do each of these things, but plans to do so going forward, and is in the process of drafting written procedures for doing so.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s been a common theme in Jeffreys\u2019 nearly six-year tenure as Green Bay\u2019s top election officer. In April, when her office sent out the first batch of duplicate ballots, the feckless Elections Commission ordered her to \u201cconform her conduct to the law and put procedures in place\u201d to avoid the debacle in the future. <\/p>\n<p>Now Jeffreys is being asked to come up with a plan to ensure voters who received duplicate ballots don\u2019t cast more than one in the primary. And she must \u2014 again \u2014 create procedures to prevent the \u201cerrors\u201d from happening in the future. How is Jeffreys to do all of that on administrative leave? That\u2019s not clear. <\/p>\n<h2>\u2018We Will Happily Travel to Green Bay\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>Churchwell asserts the mayor and the city council can make sure Jeffreys doesn\u2019t break another election law.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWisconsin law and Green Bay ordinance require cause for removal of an appointed principal municipal officer. Two sustained WEC complaints are cause,\u201d the PILF official wrote. \u201cThree complaints would be learned helplessness. Are <em>your<\/em> future re-election efforts worth the risk?<\/p>\n<p>Churchwell pledged the foundation\u2019s support for \u201cany investigative or other deliberations\u201d the city requires.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe will happily travel to Green Bay to provide our files on her failures,\u201d the research director wrote. <\/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>Green Bay drops independent audit, handles election issues internally<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":656,"featured_media":2630191,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Screenshot-2026-07-15-at-1.46.27-PM-1024x578.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[50410,7375,3728,5894,4124],"class_list":["post-2630190","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-controversy-2","tag-criticism","tag-election","tag-politics","tag-wisconsin"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Screenshot-2026-07-15-at-1.46.27-PM-1024x578.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2630190","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=2630190"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2630190\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2630194,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2630190\/revisions\/2630194"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2630191"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2630190"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2630190"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2630190"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}