- A Wisconsin judge ruled Friday that the state's top elections official, Megan Wolf, is lawfully holding office.
- Dane County Circuit Court Judge Ann Peacock ruled that the Wisconsin Elections Commission has no obligation to replace Wolf, whose reelection bid last year ended in a deadlock.
- “I agree with the WEC that the public expects stability in our electoral system, and this injunction will provide stability that protects against future removal attempts without legal support,” Peacock wrote. Ta.
A Wisconsin judge ruled Friday that the state's top elections official legally holds his position and that the commission that appoints him is not obligated to appoint a new leader. , inflicting yet another defeat on Republicans who had tried to oust him.
The bipartisan Wisconsin Elections Commission deadlocked in June on a vote to reappoint Megan Wolf as election administrator in the presidential battleground state. Three Republican committee members voted in favor, but three Democrats abstained to prevent the nomination from being approved by the state Senate. That would force the state's Republican Party to remove her from office. A majority of four votes is required for action by the committee.
Wolf has been the subject of conspiracy theories and threats from election skeptics who falsely claim she was involved in a plot to rig the 2020 vote in favor of President Joe Biden. There is. Biden defeated Donald Trump in Wisconsin in 2020 by about 21,000 votes, and Biden's victory came after two partial recounts, a bipartisan audit, a review by a conservative law firm, and multiple Withstood state and federal lawsuits.
Wisconsin Judicial Commission dismisses complaint brought by former state court chief
A dispute over who runs the state's election agency, known as the WEC, is causing instability ahead of this year's presidential election for Wisconsin's more than 1,800 local office workers, who actually administer elections.
“We agree with the WEC that the public expects stability in our election system, and this injunction precludes further legally unsupported elections,” Dane County Circuit Judge Ann Peacock wrote in an order Friday. “It will provide stability to protect against attempts by the government,'' said Wolf, who holds the legal position.
Wisconsin Elections Commission Director Megan Wolf poses outside the Wisconsin State Capitol on August 31, 2020. (Lucy Hauge/Wisconsin State Journal via AP, File)
Senate Republicans approved Mr. Wolf's decision in September, despite objections from Democrats and Congressional bipartisan lawyers who said the Senate did not have the authority to vote at the time because Mr. Wolf remained in office and had not been reelected. He voted in favor of dismissal.
Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul filed a lawsuit challenging the vote, saying in court filings that Republican legislative leaders had reversed course and that the vote to remove Mr. Wolf was merely a “symbol.” He argued that the law had no legal effect. They also asked the judge to order the elections board to appoint an administrator for the Senate vote.
Peacock said in Friday's ruling that Wolf is legally serving as the election board's successor, given the commission is deadlocked on whether to reappoint Wolf. . The Senate's vote to remove her has no legal effect, Peacock ruled a second time, and the commission is not obligated to appoint new leadership while Wolf remains. .
The judge also ruled that the Legislative Leadership Commission does not have the authority to appoint an interim executive during Wolf's tenure. He also ordered Republican Congressional leaders not to take any action contrary to his own ruling.
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Mr. Wolf did not respond to messages seeking comment. Republican legislative leaders, House Speaker Robin Vos and Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu, also did not return messages.
