The Wisconsin Elections Commission voted 5-1 to approve seeking an additional $3.2 million in state aid for its 2025-27 biennium budget.
The bulk of the request would go toward a proposed transparency office that the agency had previously requested for the current budget. The commission approved seeking additional funding for 13 items, but followed an agency request not to seek money to increase the salary of WEC Administrator Meagan Wolfe.
Wolfe requested the item not be included in the budget because she is “concerned that adding this item could jeopardize the likelihood that the legislative Joint Committee on Finance approves the WEC’s other requests, which are of paramount importance” after a small faction of GOP legislators have twice tried to impeach Wolfe over the 2020 election.
Dem appointee Mark Thomsen during Wednesday’s meeting slammed the GOP-controlled state Legislature, calling it “terrible that in 2024, a woman recognized around the country for her leadership role in elections isn’t paid fairly” because of political reasons.
“This should not be how nonpartisan elections are run in this state,” Thomsen said.
Thomsen said WEC has been asking for more funding since its creation in 2016 and asked current and potential office holders to push for adequate funding.
The majority of the $3 million budget request comes from a nearly $2 million request for the Office of Election Transparency and Compliance Program. It would fund 10 new positions and “increase the agency’s ability to audit election results, conduct data integrity audits, increase voter accessibility programs and polling place audits and research public or legislative,” according to the commission’s budget request.
The exact same request was submitted in the 2023-35 budget but was not approved by the state legislature.
GOP appointee Bob Spindell voted against the request because it includes the creation of a policy initiatives advisor who would be hired by the WEC administrator and provide objective advice to WEC. He instead wants one Dem-appointed attorney and one GOP-appointed lawyer to advise the commission.
Chair Ann Jacobs said this would require a statutory change because employees of WEC are required to be nonpartisan.
“So if that’s something you want to see change, you would have to go to the Legislature and talk to people about that,” Jacobs said. “But, right now, that’s not something we can address in the budget because that is a significant statutory change.”
The request will now head to the state Legislature for consideration.
Also included in the request is:
- A $156,700 annual increase to the GPR budget in its base funding for the increased cost of the Electronic Registration Information Center.
- An increase to the Accessibility Review and Supply Program budget by $9,700 GPR annually, up from $48,300.
- A $446,500 increase over two years to convert four federal project positions to four federal permanent positions to continue supporting the Wisconsin Elections Commission’s elections security infrastructure.
