Dane County Judge Sides With Elections Commission Member

Thursday, January 19th, 2023 -- 11:01 AM

(By Hope Kirwan, Wisconsin Public Radio) A Dane County judge said the Wisconsin Elections Commission, not its members, is responsible for producing public records created by commissioners. 

According to Hope Kirwan with Wisconsin Public Radio, the decision dismisses Commissioner Bob Spindell from an open records lawsuit seeking documents and communications from the Elections Commission in a case related to the 10 Republicans, including Spindell, who attempted to cast electoral ballots for former President Donald Trump after the 2020 election.

Advocacy group Law Forward originally filed a complaint with the Elections Commission in 2021, calling on the commission to hold the fake electors accountable for what the group describes as violating state election law. Law Forward later demanded that Spindell be recused from considerations of the complaint because of his involvement in the attempt to cast false ballots.

During a November 2021 meeting where the Elections Commission was scheduled to move into closed session, Spindell claimed during the public portion of the meeting that the session was an "attempt to disqualify" him from participating in discussions. Spindell revealed that the commission had discussed his recusal during a closed session at a prior meeting.

According to their complaint, Law Forward submitted a public records request the following day to the Elections Commission for documents and communications related to Spindell's statement, which he appeared to read during the public meeting.

But the legal advocacy group said they only received a document resembling the statement with no information about its author or where it came from, leading the group to sue for the records last April.

During a hearing Tuesday, Dane County Circuit Judge Jacob Frost disagreed with Law Forward's argument that Spindell can be listed as a defendant or held accountable under the state's open records law.

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