Assembly Committee Approves Moving Elections Commission

Republican representatives on the Assembly Committee on Government Accountability and Oversight voted in a 5-3 party line vote on Wednesday to move the Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC) offices from Madison to Wausau.

The WEC has been the focus of partisan attacks in the wake of Republicans’ discredited attacks on the integrity of last year’s presidential election.

Even though the commission was created by Republican Gov. Scott Walker in 2016, Republicans have recently expressed a desire to disband the commission and move control of state elections to the Legislature. Walker’s Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch has endorsed the idea of moving control of elections to the Legislature, including the proposal in a list of policies released by the 1848 Project — a nonprofit she ran to kickstart her campaign for governor.

The WEC was preceded by the nonpartisan Government Accountability Board, which Walker got rid of after it opened investigations into potential campaign finance violations by Republicans in their effort to elect him in 2010.

The WEC consists of six members, three appointed by Republicans and three by Democrats. The commission’s staff of election experts and lawyers works out of offices in Madison.

Oversight committee Republicans vote to move elections commission to Wausau was originally published by the Wisconsin Examiner.