Dems and Republicans in a confirmation hearing sparred over Wisconsin Elections Commission Administrator Meagan Wolfe’s role, with Dems arguing the Senate has no standing to act on her appointment.
Wolfe has become a target for Republicans due to gripes over the administration of the 2020 election and false claims of widespread fraud. Senate Republicans moved to put her future as the state’s top elections official before the body over the objections of Dems.
Sen. Mark Spreitzer at the opening of Tuesday’s Shared Revenue, Elections and Consumer Protection Committee hearing called a point of order that the committee not take up Wolfe’s confirmation, arguing there is no vacancy for her position.
The Beloit Dem noted WEC had voted 3-0 to renominate Wolfe for another four-year term running through 2027, with Dem members abstaining. Spreitzer backed Dem commissioners’ argument that the vote fell short of a majority of the commission required to renominate Wolfe. Dem commissioners argued that means Wolfe can continue to serve in the post indefinitely.
“This committee cannot take up a nomination that has not been made,” Spreitzer argued.
Senate Republicans have argued the law requires a majority of those voting, not a majority of the body.
Committee Chair Dan Knodl rejected Spreitzer’s request not to take up Wolfe’s appointment, saying he was acting after the Senate approved a resolution stating Wolfe had been renominated to the position.
“I will not abdicate my authority, or the Senate’s authority in this process, which perhaps yourself or others are willing to do,” the Germantown Republican said.
Wolfe declined to attend the hearing after AG Josh Kaul opined the Senate has no authority to confirm or reject her as the state’s top elections officer.
In written comments to the committee, Wolfe argued the commission has worked hard to address recommendations in a 2021 Legislative Audit Bureau audit of the 2020 election. Wolfe wrote overall, the LAB report tells “a positive story” about Wisconsin elections.
The audit found no widespread fraud while recommending a series of changes to election administration.
The hearing included a series of speakers who made false or misleading claims about the 2020 election.
Rep. Janel Brandtjen, who previously chaired the Assembly Campaigns and Elections Committee, criticized Wolfe for failing to fulfill an open records request she had filed.
The Menomonee Falls Republican was removed as committee chair after endorsing Assembly Speaker Robin Vos’ primary opponent last year.
Brandtjen had used the position to push a series of false claims about the 2020 election. She claimed Wolfe failed to fill a request she filed for information about who had access to the state’s voter registration list and who is able to update the state’s voter database and when.
“This is not the work of somebody that the state of Wisconsin has trust in or transparency,” Brandtjen said. “And honestly, I think it was something that undercuts our ability to go forward as Republicans and Democrats to have faith in the system.”
She argued the commission had to provide the committee with the information she had requested because it is tasked with investigating state elections.
Spreitzer, who was on Brandtjen’s committee during his time in the Assembly, noted the committee had never voted to request the information from WEC as he suggested was required.
Dem Wisconsin Elections Commissioner Ann Jacobs also testified in her personal capacity and not on behalf of the commission.
She said Brandtjen’s request was of an “astonishing size and breadth” and would have required shutting down the computer system. She added the request touched on personally identifiable information, which is protected under federal law.
Jacobs contended the hearing was illegitimate, citing a recent state Supreme Court decision, Kaul v. Prehn, finding appointees can remain in their positions until the Senate has confirmed their replacement.
Jacobs, who is an attorney, said while she believes that decision was a “terrible case” that ought to be overturned, it is up to lawmakers to change the definition of a vacancy under state law if they want to act on Wolfe’s appointment.
Sen. Romaine Quinn argued there is a “big difference” between former Natural Resources Board Chair Fred Prehn staying on past his term and commission members abstaining from voting on Wolfe’s renomination.
“So it’s not that Meagan is choosing to sit in her seat perpetually, forever — you as a commissioner are choosing to use your position to not take a vote to follow the intent of the law,” the Cameron Republican said.
Knodl brought up previous comments by Jacobs saying she didn’t intend on “indulging the Legislature’s circus” with regards to Wolfe’s appointment.
“I’m deeply saddened by your disdain for the Legislature,” Knodl said.
Senate Minority Leader Melissa Agard in a statement blasted Knodl for the hearing, arguing Republicans were “rehashing conspiracies and misinformation” about the 2020 presidential election.
“It is clear that Senator Dan Knodl is more interested in stirring the partisan pot than actually governing,” the Madison Dem said. “There is no room for continued conspiracy theories and falsehoods in the State Legislature. The people of Wisconsin deserve better.”
Connor Fitzgerald in Knodl’s office told WisPolitics Knodl doesn’t know yet whether the committee will hold an executive session on Wolfe’s appointment and when.
Former conservative Justice Michael Gableman, who Vos fired after appointing him to lead a review of the 2020 election, slammed Wolfe for failing to appear at the hearing.
Gableman said if he had the opportunity to defend his actions in public office, “wild horses couldn’t keep me from coming here.” He charged Wolfe with “deficiently underperforming, seemingly deliberately trying to diminish faith and confidence in our elections.”
Gableman’s review of the 2020 election was widely criticized, including his call to decertify the results of Wisconsin’s 2020 presidential election, which legal experts have said isn’t possible. Gableman also came under fire last year for mocking the way Wolfe dresses, saying, “black dress, white pearls — I’ve seen the act, I’ve seen the show.”
Vos fired him as special counsel last year, calling him an “embarrassment to the state.”
Former state Rep. Tim Ramthun, R-Campbellsport, and conservative activist Harry Wait also testified at the hearing. Ramthun ran a failed bid for governor last year and introduced a resolution seeking to decertify the 2020 election during his time in the Assembly.
Wait is facing two felonies and two misdemeanors after illegally requesting absentee ballots for Vos and Racine Mayor Cory Mason, a former Dem lawmaker. He has likened his actions to civil disobedience to point out flaws in the election process.
