by Benjamin Yount
The latest step in double-checking Wisconsin’s voter rolls begins this week.
The Wisconsin Elections Commission on Friday said it will send postcards to thousands of “movers” in the state to check if they are still living where they are registered to vote.
“WEC is required to make contact with these voters,” the Commission said in a letter to local election managers last week. “The postcard notifies voters that a transaction with the WisDOT Division of Motor Vehicles or a National Change of Address database update indicates their address may be different than their voter registration address.”
Voters who have moved can re-register. Voters who do not respond could, possibly, be flagged.
But WEC is leaving that decision entirely up to local election managers.
“Decisions to modify voter records are to be made by clerks at the municipal level,” the Commission’s letter states. “The voter records identified for this mailing will remain in an ‘active’ status in WisVote.”
Though WEC is warning that local election managers may want to get a legal opinion before heading down that path.
Anthony LoCoco, a lawyer with the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty, said there are some questions that need to be answered about the advice given to clerks.
“Maintaining accurate voter registrations is a foundation of election administration and a critical bulwark against fraud,” LoCoco told The Center Square. “Unfortunately, the 2020 election in Wisconsin occurred with tens of thousands of active voter registrations connected to individuals who moved. And the Wisconsin Supreme Court declined to compel WEC to update these lists.”
WEC’s latest letter spells out a three-step process to “deactivate” voters, but ultimately delegates all of those decisions to local election managers.
“If a ‘movers’ postcard comes back to the clerk’s office as undeliverable, and the clerk would like to deactivate the record, they are required to send the voter the Undeliverable 30-Day Notice,” the letter states. “Should the Undeliverable 30-Day Notice letter come back as undeliverable, the clerk can inactivate the voter record.”
LoCoco said WEC’s move to put the responsibility for maintaining Wisconsin’s voter roll establishes a scenario wherein voters in different counties are being treated differently.
“WEC’s refusal to take responsibility for registration list maintenance promises inconsistent local practices and more mistakes,” LoCoco explained.
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Benjamin Yount contributes to The Center Square.
Photo “Anthony LoCoco” by Anthony LoCoco.
