‌‌‌‌‌Wisconsin Republicans Have Their Sights Set On State Election Officials

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Wisconsin Republicans Talk Criminal Charges For State Election Administration

In WISCONSIN, where Republican legislators have launched multiple reviews of the 2020 election, the state election commission has come under fire.

Why? Not because the results were off, nor because any significant number of ballots were fraudulent.

No, instead, Racine County Sheriff Christopher Schmaling wants five of six election commissioners to be charged with felonies because of COVID-related changes to the state’s nursing home voting policies.

Now, State Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R) says the commission should “probably” file charges against the state’s election commissioners. 
 

Here’s the upshot: Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) says state legislators should just ignore the commission and take over election administration duties themselves.

Reuters Found Out Who’s Threatening Election Workers. Why Can’t Police? 

Reuters on Tuesday published an incredible report: Using public records requests and plenty of stick-to-it-ness, they tracked down nine people who acknowledged sending threats or other hostile messages to election workers. 
 

In short: Not only did the people Reuters reached acknowledge sending the threats, they were also mostly unapologetic about it. One Vermont man “grew agitated, peppering two Reuters reporters with 137 texts and voicemails over the past month, threatening the journalists and describing his election conspiracy theories.”

Though that same man telephoned the secretary of state’s office and said, “You guys are a bunch of f‑‑‑‑‑‑ clowns, and all you dirty c‑‑‑suckers are about to get f‑‑‑‑‑‑ popped,” state police have declined to pursue the case. Apparently “popped” isn’t a clear enough reference to shooting someone, and instead “could be a reference to someone being arrested,” a state police spokesperson told Reuters. The state’s attorneys office agreed that the message represented protected speech. 
 

The harassment takes a toll.

“The sentiment I hear more than any is, they don’t pay me enough for this,” Jennifer Morrell, a former elections official who now works as a consultant in the field, told me. “I’ve heard from professionals that have been in the business for a long time, contemplating how to move up their retirement dates, because they’re just like, ‘I can’t deal with this anymore.’”

A long list of former national security figures called on Congress and the FBI to address these threats this week because, they wrote, “If this playbook of undermining and subverting our elections is left unchecked, the campaigns to do so will become increasingly more sophisticated and difficult to rebuff, making it increasingly likely that a majority of Americans will no longer trust election results.” 

Around The States

After FLORIDA Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) called for a special state police force to hunt down election criminals, local election officials are wondering, “Is there really that much election crime being committed?”
 

FLORIDA state Senate Republicans have released their proposed redistricting maps, drawn behind closed doors without public testimony. Early reaction seems to be: Not terrible — so not terrible that it could be a “head fake,” some have speculated.
 

Scandal breaks out in OHIO, where state Senate Republicans proposed a redistricting map that could pit Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) against Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-OH), the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus.
 

We wrote a few weeks ago about the WHITE HOUSE telling executive branch agencies to find ways to make voting easier for Americans (see here, here and here). Now, a group of Democratic senators wants to add another item to the list of proposals: Make government tax prep centers double as voter registration sites.
 

A federal court will hear arguments on ILLINOIS’ proposed redistricting lines in early December. 
 

VIRGINIA’s Supreme Court rejected all three Republican nominees to serve as “special masters” for new redistricting maps. 
 

MICHIGAN Republicans’ effort to circumvent the governor’s veto with a petition process could result in at least one strange outcome — outlawing donated church space for polling sites. 

The Latest In Audit Mania

What’s a real “audit” of election results? This year’s politicized antics aside, they’re actually quite common and helpful for assuring the integrity of elections and promoting voter trust. That is, if they’re done well. We have two resources on that front this week: The U.S. government’s Election Assistance Commission put out a comprehensive guide on post-election audits at the state level, and the Bipartisan Policy Center has a list of useful principles for states to consider. 
 

Some things for states to consider: Election officials should maintain custody of ballots. And state and local funds, not donations, should pay. Crucially, “the task force recommends that audits be a regular feature of every election and that the introduction of outside actors into the process not be allowed.”

For more: The National Association of Secretaries of State has this resource, out in August.
 

Meanwhile… PENNSYLVANIA Republicans want a new state audit bureau, to replace the post-election audit work currently done at the county level. 

Having already sued Fox News, DOMINION has now also filed suit against FOX CORP. They’re after RUPERT MURDOCH’s records. 
 

Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, housed within the Department of Homeland Security, is beefing up its anti-misinformation team. “One could argue we’re in the business of critical infrastructure, and the most critical infrastructure is our cognitive infrastructure,” CISA Director Jen Easterly said.
 

The Atlantic: “The Desperate Scramble to Stop an Insider Election Threat
 

Texas Observer: “The Consequences Of Redistricting Without A Safety Net” 

Associated Press: “Gerrymandering surges as states redraw maps for House seats” 

Philadelphia Inquirer: A year ago Philadelphia's vote count decided the presidency, but also inspired conspiracies that live on today

Washington Post: “Republicans aren’t ready for Trump-style ‘fraud’ claims in GOP primaries" 

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