In Court Filing, Wisconsin Republicans Say They Have No Grounds to Oust Leader of Wisconsin Elections Commission

Tuesday, October 17th, 2023 -- 12:01 PM

(Molly Beck, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel) After voting last month to fire the nonpartisan leader of Wisconsin's elections agency, Senate Republicans are now saying they did not have the grounds to oust her nor the power to replace her despite claiming the opposite to the public.

According to Molly Beck with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and Senate President Chris Kapenga in a new court filing admitted their effort so far to remove Wisconsin Elections Commission administrator Meagan Wolfe was "symbolic," that Wolfe is legally in her current position, and that lawmakers have no power to replace her, despite GOP leaders claiming the opposite in public statements as recently as Sunday.

The filing was made Monday by the Republican defendants of a lawsuit filed by Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul and the Wisconsin Elections Commission asking a judge to bar the legislative leaders from taking further action to remove Wolfe.

Wolfe oversees a commission that has been under fire for three years because of false claims put forward by former President Donald Trump to persuade supporters he actually won an election he lost and because of policies commissioners approved during the 2020 presidential election to navigate hurdles presented by the coronavirus pandemic.

President Joe Biden defeated Trump in 2020 by about 21,000 votes in Wisconsin, a result that has been confirmed by two recounts paid by Trump, state audits, a partisan review, a conservative study and multiple lawsuits.

But Trump, who is leading the 2024 GOP presidential primary race, has continued to lie about the result of Wisconsin's last presidential election, bolstering the beliefs of those who do not believe Biden is a legitimate president, many of whom have made Wolfe the symbol of the false claims because of her position at the elections commission.

At the same time, some Republican lawmakers have also targeted Wolfe because of actions the bipartisan panel of six commissioners voted to take during the coronavirus pandemic at a time when health officials were advising people to avoid crowds, and for some voting practices that have since been deemed illegal through lawsuits.

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