Elections officials rally behind Wisconsin elections chief, as Assembly Speaker Vos called for resignation

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A bipartisan group of more than 50 elections officials is rallying behind the Wisconsin Elections Commission administrator who has come under attack by Republican legislators with claims of voter fraud.

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos has called for Meagan Wolfe’s resignation for decisions the Elections Commission made last year during the coronavirus pandemic.

The elections officials from states across the country sent a letter Monday to Vos attributing much of the success of Wisconsin elections to Wolfe’s competent leadership. The letter was organized by the nonpartisan Center for Election Innovation and Research.

“Year after year, Wisconsin election officials deliver accurate, secure, and accessible elections that give voice to the citizens of the state,” the letter reads.

Earlier Monday, the state Senate passed a resolution “castigating the Wisconsin Elections Commission for ignoring statutory requirements, for sidestepping the administrative rulemaking process, and for not following both the letter and intent of state statute,” the State Journal reported.

The commission provided guidance to local officials on how to conduct various aspects of elections during the pandemic, including how to handle the flood of absentee ballots, ballot drop boxes and special voting deputies, who help people in nursing homes vote.

The Republican’s outrage is in response to allegations of a handful of cases of voter fraud in Racine County and a report by the nonpartisan Legislative Audit Bureau that did not find any widespread fraud or abuse in the 2020 election that would have affected its outcome.