Wisconsin elections chief rebuffs GOP calls for resignation

Madison, Wis. (AP) — The head of Wisconsin’s elections commission on Monday rejected a call for her resignation from the Republican Assembly Speaker and said her critics were engaging in political attacks.

Wisconsin Elections Commission administrator Meagan Wolfe called recent criticism of her handling of the 2020 election “partisan politics at its worst” after Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos called for her to step down last week.

The election chief has become the subject of criticism from GOP lawmakers after a nonpartisan audit of the 2020 election made dozens of recommendations on how the state might improve its elections, though none of the issues would have affected many votes or skewed results.

When the audit was released last month, a key Republican legislative leader said it showed the state’s elections are safe and secure. However, Democrats had said they feared Republicans would cherry-pick the findings to sow distrust.

“I think in some ways that they think I’m an easy target — I’m not,” Wolfe said.

Wolfe oversees an agency that has three GOP-appointed and three Democrat-appointed commissioners. She said claims of her mismanaging the agency are unfounded.

Wolfe’s position must be confirmed by the state Senate. She was confirmed for a four-year team in 2019.