Days after Wisconsin finished its unofficial count of the presidential election showing Democrat Joe Biden winning the state by about 20,000 votes, Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos has directed a committee with investigatory powers to review how the election was administered.
Vos’ request for the Assembly Committee on Campaigns and Elections, a body with subpoena power, to review the election comes as President Donald Trump has lashed out at the national election process and repeated unsupported claims about mail-in ballots and that Democrats are trying to “steal” the election.
While unfounded rumors about elections administration in Wisconsin and elsewhere have swirled, Wisconsin election officials have so far expressed confidence in the result.
Vos has instructed a further probe just as clerks in counties across the state get to work on certifying the results.
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“I am directing the committee to use its investigatory powers under Wisconsin SS 13.31 to immediately review how the election was administered,” Vos said in a statement. “With concerns surfacing about mail-in ballot dumps and voter fraud, Wisconsin citizens deserve to know their vote counted. There should be no question as to whether the vote was fair and legitimate, and there must be absolute certainty that the impending recount finds any and all irregularities.”
Vos’ comments are similar to some of the misleading claims Trump has made blasting the election process.
“Last night I was leading, often solidly, in many key States, in almost all instances Democrat run & controlled,” Trump tweeted. “Then, one by one, they started to magically disappear as surprise ballot dumps were counted.”
The late counting of absentee ballots is normal and expected, especially as elections officials handle a surge in absentee ballots due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The city of Milwaukee, for example, said weeks before the election that it didn’t anticipate finishing counting until between 3 a.m. and 6 a.m. early Wednesday morning due to the amount of absentee ballots and the speed of their voting tabulators.
Absentee ballots in Wisconsin and elsewhere consisted of more Democratic votes, as earlier public polling suggested. Because election officials in central count jurisdictions such as Milwaukee needed to finish counting all the absentee ballots before they could report a result, the final unofficial report from some of those cities came in later in the night.
Trump himself voted in person but for previous elections voted by mail. He has repeatedly pushed unfounded claims criticizing the practice.
Vos said Wisconsin’s election system is “one of the best in the country” and he noted Wisconsin finished counting its ballots before most other states, but Vos said he wants to improve the process, specifically pointing to the time it took for Milwaukee to finish its central count of absentee ballots.
“I hope the committee investigates the inefficiency of Milwaukee’s central counting of absentee ballots, as well as the removal of voters from the rolls who no longer live here,” Vos said.
Milwaukee is one of 39 jurisdictions in Wisconsin that uses a central count system to tabulate its absentee ballots. Because Milwaukee had so many ballots to process this year, the city didn’t finish tabulating them and reporting the final unofficial results until around 3 a.m. Wednesday morning, as expected.
While Vos only criticized Milwaukee, Brown and Kenosha counties, which also use central count systems, reported their election results after Milwaukee County did, finishing up around 6 a.m.
State law prohibits election officials from tabulating the results of absentee ballots until 7 a.m. on Election Day, so officials couldn’t get a head start. Rep. Ron Tusler, R-Harrison, chairman of the Committee on Campaigns and Elections, will lead the probe.
“It’s important for us to answer the questions that Wisconsinites have about this election,” Tusler said in an interview. “Transparency is incredibly important with a very close election like we just had. We just want to get down to the bottom of some of the questions that are being asked.”
Wisconsin election officials have expressed confidence in the process.
Wisconsin Elections Commission administrator Meagan Wolfe said the election process followed state laws, which do not permit the counting of absentee ballots before Election Day and allow municipalities to count absentee ballots at a central location, which results in late updates to the totals.
“There are no dark corners or locked doors in elections,” Wolfe said in a press briefing Wednesday morning. “Anybody was free to watch those processes as they unfolded yesterday.”
Wolfe emphasized that in the coming days and weeks, municipal, county and state elections officials will begin the process of meticulously double- and triple-checking the results through the canvassing process.
The state will also begin a random selection of 5% of the voting equipment used in this election, which must be audited to ensure the paper tally matches the tally from the voting equipment.
When asked, Tusler did not cite any evidence for why an investigation into the election is necessary. He instead cited Trump’s unfounded claims about the election.
“Maybe (Trump) has information,” Tusler said. “We will get that information regarding this, whether there was an issue or not. The president of the United States says there’s potential fraud, and we’re going to investigate whether he’s right or wrong.”
He said he’s looking forward to the participation of the Wisconsin Elections Commission, which he expects will have a role in explaining the logistics and difficulties of administering the election.
“There are many people, not just the president, there is a large group of people that are asking questions about this election and we’re talking about a very close election, an election that just requires additional insight, additional thought, additional effort to look into, and we’re going to do that,” Tusler said.
In a statement, Wisconsin Elections Commission public information officer Reid Magney said, “We are confident in Wisconsin’s election processes and look forward to providing any information requested by the Legislature.”
Democrats are skeptical.
Gov. Tony Evers, responding to questions about the Trump campaign alleging, without evidence, potential “irregularities” in the election process, called the rhetoric “irresponsible.”
“We had a smooth, smooth election under extremely difficult conditions,” Evers said in a call with reporters earlier in the week. He added the Trump campaign could go through with a recount if it had concerns.
Assembly Minority Leader Gordon Hintz, D-Oshkosh, said Vos was unfairly singling out Black voters in Milwaukee and that the timing is suspect. He criticized the probe for potentially undermining the integrity of the election process and assuming there are issues with the election when officials have expressed confidence in the result.
Further, counties may conduct a recount if Trump’s campaign requests one.
“It seems to be really making it clear that this is Donald Trump’s Republican Party and the speaker is in lock-step in it,” Hintz said. “I have not heard (of) a single incident other than we had high voter turnout.”
Photos: Election Day 2020
Photos: Election Day 2020
The Orpheum Theatre serves as a polling location on Election Day in Madison, on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020.
Young voters fill out their ballots at the Orpheum Theatre.
Voters cast ballots and election officials process absentee ballots at the polling place at the Orpheum Theatre on Tuesday.
A voter leaves the O’Keeffe Middle School polling place on the morning of Election Day.
Margaret Berg and her friend Katya Maes walk along North Shore Drive in Madison in United States Post Office box costumes. Berg made the costumes out of boxes from new patio heaters, and the two women walked around downtown Madison the morning of Election Day.
Voters fill in ballots behind privacy screens at the Olbrich Gardens polling place on Election Day in Madison, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020.
Election officials Tom Otto and Alex Foote feed absentee ballots into the voting tabulator machine at the O’Keeffe Middle School polling place on Election Day in Madison. Absentee ballots were delivered to each polling location, and election officials spent the day processing them.
One of Madison’s busiest polling places, O’Keeffe Middle School, had a slow stream of voters in and out of its doors on Election Day in Madison, on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020.
Election officials Jess Wilson and Jessie Chmell process absentee ballots at the the O’Keeffe Middle School polling place.
According to the Dane County Clerk, Olbrich Gardens is one of Madison’s busiest polling places.
Election official Sharon Lewandowski sanitizes a voting booth at the Olbrich Gardens polling place on Tuesday.
Voters wait in line and filled out ballots at Olbrich Gardens Tuesday morning.
Election Official Bonnie Buchanan sits at the voter registration table at Olbrich Gardens.
An election official holds a stack of absentee ballots as she waits in line to put them into the voting machine at Olbrich Gardens on Tuesday morning.
Voters and election officials stream in and out of the commons at Olbrich Gardens Tuesday morning.
A voter fills in her ballot at the O’Keeffe Middle School polling place on Election Day in Madison, on Tuesday.
An election official moves from one station to another to process absentee ballots while a voter fills in his ballot behind a privacy screen, at O’Keeffe Middle School Tuesday morning.
A voter fills out a ballot behind a privacy screen at O’Keeffe Middle School Tuesday morning.
Logan Millenbah holds a sign, directing voters to the Chazen Museum polling place on Election Day in Madison, Tuesday, Nov. 3.
A Prius with “Vote” written on the windows is parked outside of the Memorial Union at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, which serves as a polling place on Election Day.
Signs direct voters to the polling place within the University of Wisconsin-Madison Memorial Union on Election Day.
Election Official Lindsey Weiss stands in line to process voters’ absentee ballots at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Memorial Union polling place on Tuesday morning.
Voting booths are empty as election officials wait in line to process absentee ballots at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Memorial Union Tuesday morning.
Hand sanitizer and “I voted” stickers are available for voters at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Memorial Union polling place, on Election Day.
University of Wisconsin - Madison psychology major Madeline Wellman poses for a portrait with a #BadgersVote mask, outside of Smith Residence Hall on Election Day.
Election official Nate Stevens assists voter Joan Wheeler with curbside voting outside of the Faith Bible Community Church polling place on Election Day in Madison, on Tuesday, Nov. 3.
Election officials and University of Wisconsin-Madison Juniors Kisa Sow and Jordan Shapiro wait on the sidewalk of West Johnson Street for curbside voters, as a person sleeps on a doorstep behind them, on Election Day in Madison.
A cyclist rides past the Orpheum Theatre polling place on Election Day.
Robert Crisler stands on the side of Dayton Street, holding a sign directing voters to the poling place at Nicholas Recreation Center, at the University of Wisconsin - Madison, on Tuesday afternoon.
Londyn and Lily sit in the back of a mini van as a small crowd gathers in the plaza at the corner of North Carroll and State streets in support of the anti-racism movement, on Election Night in Madison, Tuesday, Nov. 3.
As a small crowd gathers near the Capitol, Jalynn Hoffer (3) peeks through an opening in the art installment the evening of election night.
Londyn and Lily play in the plaza at the corner of North Carroll and State streets as a small crowd gathers in support of the anti-racism movement, on election night in Madison, on Tuesday, Nov. 3.
The marquee at the Orpheum Theatre reads "Vote out voter suppression," on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 3.
Scott Ball uses a flashlight to see the carne asada steak on his grill, during an outdoor election results party in the Schenk-Atwood neighborhood of Madison, on Tuesday night.
Frances Ball, 9, plays a glowing stacking game in the rooftop tent of a camper, while the election news is projected on a screen below her, at an outdoor election results party in the Schenk-Atwood neighborhood of Madison Tuesday night.
Neighbors gather for an outdoor election results party in the Schenk-Atwood neighborhood of Madison, on Tuesday, Nov. 3.
Frances Ball, 9, and Anna King, 9, sit on a blanket and watch the election news at an outdoor election results block party.
Annie Kubena and her dog Vinnie settle in for a long night of watching election news, at their home in Madison, on Tuesday, Nov. 3.
Gary Olson and Tony Cass watch election coverage on televisions at Wilson’s Bar in Madison on election night.
Sports and election coverage are shown on televisions at Wilson’s Bar in Madison on Tuesday night.
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Riley Vetterkind | Wisconsin State Journal
Capitol reporter
Riley Vetterkind covers politics and state government for the Wisconsin State Journal. He can be reached at (608) 252-6135 or rvetterkind@madison.com.
