GOP bill would make it easier to appeal complaints rejected by Wisconsin Elections Commission

Months after the Wisconsin Supreme Court rejected a complaint about a Racine mobile-voting van, Republican lawmakers are pushing to make it easier to bring future complaints to court if they’re dismissed by the Wisconsin Elections Commission.

When the Supreme Court’s liberal majority threw out a lawsuit in February challenging a mobile-voting van used by Racine in 2022, it said former Racine County Republican Party Chair Kenneth Brown’s complaint shouldn’t have even been heard by circuit court in the first place.

Writing for the majority, liberal Justice Jill Karofsky said Brown didn’t prove the Wisconsin Elections Commission’s decision to dismiss his complaint three years earlier “personally affected him.” In short, they said Brown didn’t suffer an injury and, therefore, didn’t have legal standing.

But now, a Republican bill would make it possible for anyone to appeal decisions rejecting an election complaint. To do that, the legislation would tweak state law by specifying that people who appeal WEC decisions in court will be considered to have standing, “regardless of whether the complainant has suffered an injury to a legally recognized interest.”

State Rep. Robert Wittke, R-Caledonia, told WPR it’s an election integrity bill aimed at making those who file complaints with the elections commission “feel like they have had their complaint addressed.” He said while some may conclude it might create a situation where election complaints are appealed regardless of why the commission dismisses them, “maybe it will put both parties on equal footing.”

“And maybe there will be a better chance that it’ll get resolved at that (commission) level rather than having to go to court,” Witke said.

Witke said he doesn’t see the bill as a partisan issue. 

“It doesn’t make any huge changes,” Witke said. “It doesn’t change the way we vote. It doesn’t do anything else. It just says, if there’s a complaint that comes forward, here’s a process to use.”

The legislation is supported by the conservative Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty, which represented Brown’s challenge of the Racine voting van. When the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled Brown didn’t have legal standing to appeal the elections commission decision, attorney Lucas Vebber called it a “sad day” for Wisconsin because it “closes the door” to residents seeking to hold government officials accountable.

Vebber said he thinks the Legislature intended to give residents power to appeal decisions by agencies they don’t agree with, including the elections commission.

“And I think it’s just an important procedural check on, really, any administrative agency, but especially on something that’s as important as our elections,” Vebber said.

A spokesperson for Democratic Gov. Tony Evers didn’t immediately respond to an email asking whether he’d support the legislation. The governor has vetoed numerous Republican bills seeking changes to election laws during his time in office.