{"id":3892,"date":"2023-06-29T05:03:52","date_gmt":"2023-06-29T05:03:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/?p=3892"},"modified":"2023-06-29T06:06:28","modified_gmt":"2023-06-29T06:06:28","slug":"republican-led-wisconsin-senate-turns-tables-on-democrats-in-resolution-that-could-lead-to-elections-commission-chiefs-ouster","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/?p=3892","title":{"rendered":"Republican-Led Wisconsin Senate Turns Tables on Democrats in Resolution That Could Lead to Elections Commission Chief\u2019s Ouster"},"content":{"rendered":"

This post originally appeared at https:\/\/wisconsindailystar.com\/news\/republican-led-wisconsin-senate-turns-tables-on-democrats-in-resolution-that-could-lead-to-elections-commission-chiefs-ouster\/mkittle\/2023\/06\/29\/<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

In a move that turned the tables on Democrats who had played political games with the appointment of controversial Wisconsin Elections Commission Administrator Meagan Wolfe, the Republican-controlled state Senate late Wednesday evening dropped a surprise resolution that sets up a confirmation vote sources say Wolfe can\u2019t win.<\/p>\n

Democrats stormed out of the Senate Chamber, refusing to vote on the resolution.<\/p>\n

Following lengthy debate and passage<\/a> of the state\u2019s 2023-25 budget, the so-called quiet period of post-floor debate resolutions, Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu (R-Oostburg) brought a resolution considering Wolfe to be officially nominated to another term as administrator. That term, however, very well could be short-lived once Senate Republicans, who hold a supermajority, bring her up for the required nomination vote.<\/p>\n

The move floored Democrats, who were completely caught off guard by the rare procedural maneuver. State Senator Tim Carpenter (D-Milwaukee) called the resolution a \u201cknife in the back,\u201d and a \u201cviolation of the relationships of the majority and minority.\u201d<\/p>\n

Republicans felt much the same on Tuesday, when the three Democrats on the six-member Wisconsin Elections Commission abstained from voting on Wolfe\u2019s re-appointment. They believed doing so would effectively keep Wolfe in her position and safe from the \u201cpolitical wolves\u201d of a Senate confirmation vote. The highly partisan move by WEC Democrats relies on a recent Wisconsin Supreme Court ruling that upheld a long-standing decision that allowed appointed members to remain at their posts until they are removed from their positions.<\/p>\n

Senate sources say Democrats\u2019 legal reasoning stands on shaky ground, that the court case is an \u201capples to oranges\u201d comparison.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we have a fundamental agreement on is that Meagan Wolfe is the best person to run our agency and that\u2019s why I am abstaining because I will take my shots with the court rather than at the Senate,\u201d Commissioner Mark Thomsen said at Tuesday\u2019s WEC meeting.<\/p>\n

Thomsen has played such political games before. As chairman of the Elections commission five years ago, he lead what was termed a constitutional crisis in commission action that effectively rejected a Senate vote against confirming another controversial WEC administrator.<\/p>\n

The three Republican members of the evenly divided commission voted to approve Wolfe\u2019s re-appointment, ultimately so the Senate could decide her fate. Commission Chairman Don Millis, appointed by Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester), has said Wolfe has lost the faith and confidence of many Republicans in the Legislature. While Millis apparently has no problem with the administrator, lawmakers from across the state have heard an earful of complaints about\u00a0Wolfe\u2019s handling of Wisconsin\u2019s 2020 presidential election in particular<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes people become a lightning rod and fairness has very little to do with it,\u201d Millis said during Tuesday\u2019s meeting. \u201cAt this point it behooves the commission to follow regular order to give the Senate a chance to decide it one way or another.\u201d<\/p>\n

Democrats on the commission celebrated their temporary victory through impasse.<\/p>\n

\u201cDelighted to report that Wisc. Elections Administrator Meagan Wolfe will retain her position as administrator as we go into the 2024 election cycle. Wisconsin will be well-served by her professionalism and expertise!\u201d Commissioner Ann Jacobs tweeted after the meeting wrapped up Tuesday.<\/p>\n

\n

Delighted to report that Wisc. Elections Administrator Meagan Wolfe will retain her position as administrator as we go into the 2024 election cycle. Wisconsin will be well-served by her professionalism and expertise! https:\/\/t.co\/QiHx7yuYla<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Ann Jacobs (@AnnJacobsMKE) June 27, 2023<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

But the Republican-led Senate delivered a resolution that stunned Democrats, who complained they needed more time to read the two-page, 34-line document.<\/p>\n

The resolution notes the statutory \u2014 constitutional right \u2014 to consider and act upon all nominations for appointments through the confirmation process. That\u2019s the cornerstone of advise and consent,<\/a> and that \u201cspecifically\u201d includes the administrator of the Wisconsin Elections Commission.<\/p>\n

Also noted is the vote count (3-0, with 3 commissioners abstaining) to re-nominate Wolfe to a four-year term.<\/p>\n

Jacobs was\u00a0apoplectic, firing off a manifesto of tweets blasting the Senate move.<\/p>\n

\u201cNOBODY can be appointed as administrator of the WEC without a MAJORITY vote of the commission! It\u2019s the law! 15.61(1)(b)1.: The Elections comm shall be under the direction & supervision of an administrator, who shall be appointed by a MAJORITY of the commission,\u201d she wrote, in part.<\/p>\n

She added, \u201cThere are 6 members of the commission. A majority is 4! Only 3 members voted to re-appoint admin. Wolfe. For those who are math-confused, 3 is less than 4!! And there were NOT 4 votes!\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

There are 6 members of the commission. A majority is 4!
Only 3 members voted to re-appoint admin. Wolfe.
For those who are math-confused, 3 is less than 4!!
And there were NOT 4 votes!<\/p>\n

\u2014 Ann Jacobs (@AnnJacobsMKE) June 29, 2023<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Senate Republicans and their attorneys disagree.<\/p>\n

The Wisconsin Elections Commission, the resolution states, has a \u201chistory of not submitting the nomination of its administrator to the Senate.\u201d It failed to do so in 2016, keeping in place Michael Haas, who was a player in Wisconsin\u2019s unconstitutional John Doe investigations<\/a> into conservatives lead by WEC\u2019s predecessor agency, the Government Accountability Board.<\/p>\n

The Senate eventually in 2018 deemed Haas nominated, as it is doing with Wolfe, and then voted to reject the nomination. Thomsen and WEC Democrats, joined by one Republican member, then re-appointed Haas as interim administrator, creating a constitutional crisis <\/a>in what was seen as the executive branch usurping the authority of the legislative branch. Haas eventually stepped down, ending the standoff.<\/p>\n

Because WEC has not, or can not, submit Wolfe\u2019s nomination to the Senate, the resolution invokes Senate Rule 22, Subsection 3, requiring such lingering nominations to be considered submitted on the fifth day after nomination. That\u2019s five days after the Elections Commission\u2019s 3-0 vote to re-appoint Wolfe, according to the resolution.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, therefore be it resolved by the Senate that the Wisconsin State Senate considered Meagan Wolfe to have been nominated by the Wisconsin Elections Commission as Administrator to serve a term of office expiring July 1, 2027; and be it further resolved that, pursuant to [the rule] the President shall refer Meagan Wolfe\u2019s nomination as Administrator of the Wisconsin Elections Commission to the appropriate standing committee for its recommendation,\u201d the resolution concludes.<\/p>\n

\u2013 \u2013 \u2013<\/p>\n

M.D. Kittle is the National Political Editor for The Star News Network.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The post Republican-Led Wisconsin Senate Turns Tables on Democrats in Resolution That Could Lead to Elections Commission Chief\u2019s Ouster<\/a> appeared first on The Wisconsin Daily Star<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This post originally appeared at https:\/\/wisconsindailystar.com\/news\/republican-led-wisconsin-senate-turns-tables-on-democrats-in-resolution-that-could-lead-to-elections-commission-chiefs-ouster\/mkittle\/2023\/06\/29\/ In a move that turned the tables on Democrats…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":77,"featured_media":3495,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3892","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-wi-daily-star"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3892","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/77"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3892"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3892\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3893,"href":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3892\/revisions\/3893"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3495"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3892"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3892"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3892"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}