Legislative legal advisers offer contrasting views on clerks barring state auditors from handling ballots
Legal advisers for the state Legislature offered differing takes on whether several clerks had the right to prevent state auditors from physically handle ballots during a review of the 2020 election Leg Council attorneys in a memo said it was “arguably reasonable” for clerks to cite U.S. Department of Justice advice in declining to allow Legislative Audit Burea staffers to handle ballots. Senate Minority Leader Janet Bewley, D-Town of Mason, requested the opinion after GOP leaders indicated they would empower the chamber’s Elections committee to look into Madison’s refusal to allow the Legislative Audit Bureau to physically handle ballots. Instead,