Wisconsin’s chief electoral officer is the target of an impeachment resolution filed by five members of the State Assembly, who are alleging maladministration.
Meagan Wolfe, the controversial administrator of the Wisconsin Election Commission (WEC), is facing actions calling for her impeachment.
On Sept. 21, five Republican state assembly members presented both houses of the Legislature with a 23-page resolution containing 15 articles accusing Ms. Wolfe of maladministration in office.
The lawmakers further alleged that Ms. Wolfe either created or implemented a string of policies and practices that run contrary to state law.
Since the 2020 presidential election, several actions by the WEC under Ms. Wolfe’s guidance have been declared illegal by Wisconsin courts.
Cosponsors of the resolution are Reps. Janel Brandtjen, Scott Allen, Elijah Behnke, Ty Bodden, and Chuck Wichgers—all Republicans.
On Jan. 6, 2021, Congress acknowledged the WEC’s tally that President Trump had lost Wisconsin to Joe Biden by less than 21,000 votes.
Just Following Orders
Within hours of the filing of the resolution, Ms. Wolfe issued a statement responding to the charges, saying they “misrepresent my actions and how this agency works.”
Ms. Wolfe has consistently maintained that she is not a policymaker and has done nothing but follow WEC’s orders. However, critics says this attempt to pass the buck runs contrary to the state law creating the Wisconsin Election Commission, which reads in pertinent part, “The election commission shall be under the direction and supervision of an administrator who shall be appointed by a majority of the members of the commission.”
Ms. Wolfe stated, “Every major decision relating to the 2020 election was made by the agency’s six bipartisan commissioners in public meetings.”
In her response, she disputed the veracity of the claims made in the resolution, pointing out that numerous investigations have shown that “Wisconsin’s elections are run with integrity.”
“It’s irresponsible for this group of politicians to willfully distort the truth,” she said.
Calling the attempt at impeachment “unlikely to succeed,” Ms. Wolfe urged election officials to start preparing for the next presidential election—an election, she said earlier, that she intends to manage despite a lack of Republican support for her to continue on in what they say should be a non-partisan position.
By Steven Kovac
