GOP state Rep. Janel Brandtjen has filed a suit that argues Wisconsin is barred from participating in a multi-state effort created to improve voter rolls under a constitutional amendment approved this spring.

That amendment states only election officials may perform tasks related to a primary, election or referendum. Brandtjen, R-Menomonee Falls, argues that prohibits the Electronic Registration Information Center from aiding the state Elections Commission in maintaining the state’s voter rolls.

Her suit, filed two weeks ago in Waukesha County Circuit Court, seeks a judgment that Wisconsin’s participation in ERIC is unconstitutional under the new amendment, as well as an injunction barring the Elections Commission from transmitting data to the multi-state partnership.

She also wants Judge Brad Schimel — the former GOP AG who’s now running for state Supreme Court — to order the Elections Commission to retrieve Wisconsin data from ERIC and any third-party vendors working with the group.

The Elections Commission had no comment on the suit.

State law requires Wisconsin to participate in ERIC, and the commission uses the partnership to check for voters who cast ballots in other states, for example, and to clean up the official registration list. States participating in the system share information such as driver’s license records to aid states in their efforts. States that participate also agree to encourage those who aren’t on the voter rolls to register. It has become a focus for some Republicans, from those who believe encouraging people to register is inappropriate to conspiracy theories about how the group is funded.

According to online court records, Assistant Attorney General Steven Kilpatrick notified the court Monday that he will represent the Elections Commission and Administrator Meagan Wolfe in the suit. No hearings had been scheduled in the case as of this afternoon.

The suit seeks two other orders:

  • That the Elections Commission has not executed a valid agreement with ERIC and the agency is in violation of state law in its work with the group because residents’ information has been shared with third parties.
  • The commission’s agreement with ERIC includes a provision that violates Wisconsin’s open records law because it requires a court order to obtain data from the multi-state effort.

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