MADISON – State Representative Janel Brandtjen (R-Menomonee Falls) issued the following statement regarding the Legislative Audit Bureau’s report on the November 2020 election:

“Maintaining voter registration records is the responsibility of Meagan Wolfe and the Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC). Providing accurate data to clerks is essential to voter integrity. The Department of Transportation (DOT), Department of Corrections (DOC), Department of Health Services (DHS) and the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC) provide data for the maintenance of our voter registration rolls. The Legislative Audit Bureau’s (LAB) audit makes it clear that WEC is not complying with state statutes. According to the LAB report:

  • Only online voters have their information verified through the DOT.
  • WEC did not obtain electronic signatures for those who registered online.
  • DOT does not provide WEC with any personally identifiable information for voter matches.
  • 16,000 registered voters may have had multiple voter registration records in Wisconsin.
  • 743 registered voters may have died in other states and received Wisconsin ballots.
  • WEC’s agreements with DOT, DOC, & DHS are outdated; the DOC contract is over six years old.
  • ERIC can provide five types of data; WEC only uses one.

In February 2020, I introduced a bill to address how WEC handles possible double voter information from ERIC, which is a multi-state database. In June of 2021, Senator Jacque and I introduced an expanded version of the bill that describes how WEC should address felons, citizens who are deemed incompetent, and deceased voters (AB 398).

Ms. Wolfe’s testimony states,  ‘Audits designed to detect in-state double voting, as well as voting by persons who have been adjudicated incompetent or who are currently serving a felony sentence, are statutorily required and have been conducted successfully for many years. These audits were conducted long before Wisconsin joined ERIC, and do not depend on its data.’

Ms. Wolfe implied that the WEC already had these issues under control, contrary to what the Audit Bureau stated in their report. If we are going to restore confidence in Wisconsin’s election process, we will need competent people at the helm of our election process”.

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