The state Senate today voted 22-11 along party lines to fire Meagan Wolfe, setting up a legal battle over whether she will remain as Wisconsin’s top election official.
Immediately afterward, Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu, R-Oostburg, introduced a resolution calling on the Elections Commission to appoint a new administrator.
Dems argued today the Senate’s vote was meaningless, and it’s expected a lawsuit will be filed shortly to keep Wolfe in the job.
During debate on the Senate floor, Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu, R-Oostburg, said the actions of Wolfe and the Dem members of the Elections Commission had “cast suspicions” among Wisconsin voters.
He slammed the Dem commissioners for abstaining from a June vote on renominating Wolfe. LeMahieu also knocked Wolfe for refusing to appear before a Senate committee last month on her nomination. At the time, she cited an opinion from Kaul that the issue wasn’t properly before the Senate.
Instead of hearing from Wolfe, LeMahieu said, the committee heard from dozens who expressed concerns about her tenure.
“The vote today represents the lack of faith the people of Wisconsin have in Meagan Wolfe to serve as the administrator of the state Election Commission,” LeMahieu said. “The commission needs to appoint an interim who will participate in the process and rebuild faith in Wisconsin elections.”
After voting to reject Wolfe, the Senate then approved along party lines a resolution calling on the commission to appoint a new administrator.
Minority Leader Melissa Agard, D-Madison, dismissed the resolution as “fiction” and a “charade” as she continued to slam Republicans, saying they were desperately trying to cling to power and giving credence to those who espouse conspiracy theories about the 2020 election.
Under state law, if there’s a vacancy in the administrator’s job for 45 days, the GOP-controlled Joint Committee on Legislative Organization can appoint an interim.
