by Benjamin Yount
The lawmaker in charge of one of Wisconsin’s election investigations is asking more questions about the state’s Elections Commission after they refused to provide her answers about the state’s voter rolls.
Rep. Janel Brandtjen, R-Menomonee Falls, on Wednesday asked why the Elections Commission is fighting a request for information about who has access to the state’s voter database.
“WEC stated that the request was ‘insane’ and would cost $100,000 to fulfill – a request that provides transparency into the WisVote database,” Brandtjen said. “Our request is simple. Who does the work on the WisVote system? Who created it, who maintains it and who has access to it?”
The Elections Commission met Tuesday, and talked about Brandtjen’s request. WEC Administrator Meagan Wolfe said the request would result in a huge amount of data, and take-up an extraordinary amount of time from commission staffers.
Wolfe said it would cost at least $100,000 to fulfill Brandtjen’s request.
Brandtjen says it shouldn’t cost nearly that much.
“The information we requested is already public knowledge. It appears that WEC doesn’t have the resources to comply with technical inquiries,” Brandtjen said. “It begs the question, ‘Should WEC get out of the voter data business since they use Knowledge Services, a third-party vendor, to manage their information technology?’ WEC should stop worrying about perjury and start providing transparency.”
Brandtjen wants to know who has access to the state’s voter rolls and database information as part of the ongoing investigation into the Mark Zuckerberg-funded Center for Tech and Civic Life.
Reports suggest that CTCL worked its way into Green Bay’s election office back in 2020.
“Election integrity requires a full understanding of the current system so we can make legislative corrections if needed,” Brandtjen added. “We should never put a price on election transparency.“
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Benjamin Yount is a contributor to The Center Square.
