Administrator Meagan Wolfe says her No. 1 priority is to provide local clerks stability as they head into 2024 after the Elections Commission deadlocked on whether to renominate her to lead the agency.
That move, Dem members argued, keeps Wolfe in the job indefinitely.
But Commission Chair Don Millis said after last night’s actions he fears a court could push Wolfe out of the job, forcing the agency to scramble for a new leader just as Wisconsin heads into a year in which it is again expected to be one of the states that decides the presidency.
“Her position could be in jeopardy on a moment’s notice,” Millis said last night following the commission’s vote. “I don’t think that’s good for the staff. I don’t think that’s good for the administration of elections in Wisconsin.”
All three GOP members of the six-member commission voted late yesterday to renominate Wolfe for another four-year term beginning next month. But the three Dem appointees abstained from the vote, leaving the motion short of the majority needed to send the reappointment to the GOP-controlled Senate.
The Dem members argued that Wolfe will remain in the post unless a majority of the commissioners vote to remove her. In doing so, they cited a state Supreme Court ruling from last year that allowed an appointee to the Natural Resources Board to continue serving on the body until his replacement was confirmed. The ruling defined when there is a vacancy in an appointed position.
Dem commissioners Mark Thomsen and Ann Jacobs regularly cited the Supreme Court ruling in the DNR Board case as they argued there’s no vacancy and the commission should refrain from acting.
Thomsen said a vote to forward a nomination to the Senate would open the door to Republican lawmakers rejecting Wolfe.
Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu, R-Oostburg, has predicted Wolfe would be rejected by the GOP-controlled chamber if she were renominated to the post.
“I will take my shot with the courts rather than the Senate,” Thomsen said.
Aides to LeMahieu and Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, didn’t immediately respond to messages late yesterday.
Following the vote, Wolfe acknowledged the state is now in “unchartered territory.”
Still, Wolfe said she will remain focused on providing accurate information to local election clerks, adding the commission should’ve met on her status months ago.
“It remains that my No. 1 guiding principle is ensuring that elections officials in the state of Wisconsin have the stability they need,” she said.
Wolfe has been the focus of attacks by those who have falsely claimed widespread fraud in the 2020 election. All six commissioners praised Wolfe during yesterday’s meeting, saying she has been unfairly blamed for decisions that they had made over the years in how state elections are run.
During the debate, GOP appointee Bob Spindell said Wolfe has lost the confidence of Republicans and conservatives around the state over the 2020 election, leading him to believe she can no longer effectively serve in the role. Still, he praised her performance in the post, saying she was largely carrying out directives from the commissioners.
He said Wolfe has been good to work with and responsive to any concerns he has raised, including those he has heard from others.
Spindell made the motion to renominate Wolfe for the job, saying he believed it was best to send the nomination to the state Senate for consideration.
“They are the elected representatives. I’m not. I’m just an appointed official,” Spindell said.
After the vote, Jacobs downplayed the chances of a legal challenge to Wolfe continuing to serve in the role or that GOP leaders could step in and try to appoint someone new to the post.
The state Supreme Court ruled 4-3 last summer that DNR Board appointee Fred Prehn could continue serving in the role until the Senate confirmed his successor. The GOP-controlled state Senate refused to take up Dem Tony Evers’ appointment of a replacement, which allowed Prehn to continue serving under that court ruling until he stepped down following the guv’s reelection.
Some have cited that ruling in arguing that Wolfe could continue serving in the post if the commission deadlocked on a decision. That’s because they believe there is no vacancy in the office under the rationale laid out in the court’s ruling.
State law says if a vacancy in the commission administrator’s position remains after 45 days, the Joint Committee on Legislative Organization — now controlled by Republicans — would appoint an interim leader until a new administrator has been confirmed by the Senate. The interim administrator could serve for up to one year.
Millis acknowledged he’s contemplated the possibility the JCLO could seek to appoint someone new, leaving the agency with competing administrators.
Jacobs, though, said she believes the court’s ruling leaves the law “crystal clear.” She also knocked the state Senate for failing to confirm numerous Evers appointments during the last session and rejected the suggestion JCLO would appoint someone to the post even as Wolfe remains on the job.
She said such a move would show the JCLO isn’t serious about election administration in 2024 and doubt anyone serious would accept the appointment and “hop” the role considering the complex issues facing the agency over the next 18 months.
“If people are serious about wanting to have proper election administration, they’re not going to be cute about something like that,” she said.
