Complaint Filed against WEC for Failure to Purge Voter List of Illegals, Other Ineligibles

On July 27, 2024, an administrative Complaint was filed with the Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC) alleging it has “failed to perform [its] federal and state law obligations to implement measures ensuring that registrants included in the statewide voter list are United States citizens and otherwise eligible” to vote.

The Complaint was filed on behalf of Wisconsin voter Ardis Cerny by attorneys Michael D. Dean and Kevin P. Scott. In addition to WEC itself, the Complaint names as Respondents WEC administrator Megan Wolfe and WEC commissioners Don M. Millis, Robert F. Spindell, Jr., Marge Bostelmann, Ann S. Jacobs, Mark L. Thomsen, and Carrie Riepl.

Cerny, a Pewaukee resident, was actively involved in the 2020 recount of ballots cast in Milwaukee County.

The Complaint notes “[t]here are three basic requirements to cast a legal vote in federal and state elections: qualification, registration, and identification,” citing a 2014 case, League of Women Voters of Wisconsin Educ. Network, Inc. v. Walker. That case held, among other things, that requiring photo identification for voter registration is “a reasonable regulation that could improve and modernize election procedures, safeguard voter confidence, and deter voter fraud.”

The Complaint points out that the Wisconsin Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) requires applicants for a free voter ID to certify their status as U.S. citizens and provide documentation proving that status. If an applicant cannot produce a birth certificate or other proof of citizenship, DMV checks the applicant’s citizenship status through a database administered by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

By contrast, WEC requires applicants for voter registration to certify their status as U.S. citizens but does not require documentation. Nor does it verify registrants’ claims of citizenship. As a result, the Complaint alleges, the WisVote database includes a substantial number of illegal non-citizens. The Complaint estimates there are at least 10,000 to 15,000 illegally registered voters in the WisVote database.

The Complaint seeks half-a-dozen remedies from Respondents, including that they “[i]nvestigate the violation of … laws by the inclusion of noncitizens or other unqualified registrants in the WisVote list.”

The Complaint echoes a civil complaint filed in circuit court in Marinette County on July 26. That filing, Case #2024CV000176, seeks of Writ of Mandamus compelling WEC to properly maintain the list of eligible voters. Wikipedia defines Writ of Mandamus as “a judicial remedy … consisting of a court order that commands a government official or entity to perform an act it is legally required to perform as part of its official duties, or to refrain from performing an act the law forbids it from doing.”