The writing appears to be on the wall for controversial Wisconsin Elections Commission Administrator Meagan Wolfe, who is running out of time and friends in the Wisconsin State Senate.
Several legislative sources told The Wisconsin Daily Star that Wolfe (pictured above) doesn’t have enough votes to survive confirmation in the Wisconsin Senate, a reality that would bring her tenure as the administrative head of state elections regulation to an unceremonious end.
First, Wolfe would have to receive four of the six votes from WEC commissioners before her current four-year term ends on June 30. Given the lack of support in a Republican-controlled senate that holds a supermajority, getting a majority vote from commissioners may be a tough ask.
Some legislative sources who spoke to The Daily Star said they believe Wolfe will quietly step aside so the commission can begin a national search for her replacement, which in itself could prove to be a controversial move. Others say two of the three Republican commissioners on the partisan WEC could join the three Democrats in approving another term for Wolfe, who will ultimately be shot down by the senate.
“My concern is that the Republican members, especially those appointed by [Assembly] Speaker [Robin] Vos will vote to continue Meagan’s appointment when everyone who has read the Legislative Audit Bureau report would know that anyone in the private sector would be fired for the same kind of mismanagement she showed in the 2020 election,” said State Representative Janel Brandtjen (R-Menominee Falls).
Brandtjen presided over the Assembly’s Campaign and Elections Committee that investigated election integrity allegations and irregularities surrounding the 2020 presidential election in which Democrat Joe Biden narrowly defeated then-President Donald Trump in battleground Wisconsin. Vos removed her from the committee and the leadership post late last year, punishment for Brandtjen’s countenancing allegations of so-called 2020 “election deniers.”
The Audit Bureau’s 2020 report found myriad examples of the Elections Commission and Wolfe issuing guidance and rules contrary to state law. In some more glaring instances, Wolfe issued broad guidance on ‘curing” or correcting ballot information and on ballot drop boxes that violated election law.
Senate sources said the audit has sealed Wolfe’s confirmation fate. She no longer has the support needed to survive a confirmation vote, after being unanimously endorsed by the upper house in May 2019.
“Simply put, Meagan Wolfe has failed to earn the full confidence of Wisconsinites in her administration of Wisconsin’s election laws. Should she be appointed to serve for another four-year term as the administrator of the Wisconsin Elections Commission, I will strongly oppose her confirmation,” said state Senator Duey Stroebel (R-Saukville). “It is my expectation and sincerest hope that the Senate majority would vote to reject her confirmation. I do not believe the public confidence and trust in our election system that has been lost over the better part of the past four years can be restored with Meagan Wolfe continuing to serve at the helm of the Wisconsin Elections Commission.”
Wisconsin Elections Commissioner Bob Spindell told The Daily Star that he will not vote for Wolfe’s reappointment when the matter comes before the commission later this month. Not because she has performed poorly, but because, Wolfe, as Stroebel said, has lost the confidence of Republicans.
“I think the situation is that, whether it’s Senate Republicans or conservative groups, for some reason they have an unfavorable attitude toward her,” Spindell said, blaming Wolfe’s lack of support on a “lack of good public relations” from WEC.
He said many of the audit’s findings of fault rest on the commissioners shoulders, not on Wolfe’s.
“Meagan has been extremely responsive to me on my requests to solve problems,” Spindell said.
But Brandtjen noted Wolfe sued to block a special counsel’s subpoenas to turn over election information. Vos ultimately withdrew the subpoenas issued by former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman, who Vos ultimately fired.
“She tried to supersede the Legislature by stopping an investigation,” Brandtjen said. “She did so without any authorization from the commission. She woke up one morning, rubbed her eyes and decided to sue us… That’s a pretty petty act for an administrator that has stated at every turn that 2020 was the most safe and secure election ever.”
Should the Wisconsin Elections Commission approve another term for Wolfe, the matter would then be in the hands of the senate. Sources say it is unlikely the senate will allow Wolfe to serve without taking up a confirmation vote for a year and a half, as it did with her controversial predecessor Mike Haas.
In early 2018, the senate voted not to confirm Haas, in large part because of his involvement in Wisconsin’s unconstitutional “John Doe II” investigation into dozens of conservative organizations and former Republican Gov. Scott Walker’s campaign, the MacIver Institute reported. Haas had served as interim WEC administrator before the senate finally took up his confirmation vote. A 2017 report by then-Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel detailing the abuses of the secret and politically charged John Doe investigation sealed Haas’ fate.
The commission then thumbed its nose at the senate, voting 4-to-2 to re-appoint Haas as interim administrator, a constitutionally suspect move by the defiant WEC. Haas ultimately told the commission he would not remain in the position, leaving the agency later in the year.
Some have called for a nationwide search for Wolfe’s replacement. Spindell said the commission should be careful with that approach. He said the commission will need to find someone who can survive Senate confirmation.
Wolfe did not return The Daily Star’s request for comment.
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M.D. Kittle is the National Political Editor for The Star News Network.
Photo “Meagan Wolfe” by Wisconsin Elections Commission. Background Photo “Wisconsin State Capitol” by Vijay Kumar Koulampet. CC BY-SA 3.0.
