Elections Commission Issues Fines for ‘Frivolous Complaints’
Peter Bernegger, who previously testified at Assembly committee, fined $2,400.
Voters wait in line to vote early at the Zeidler Municipal Building. File photo by Jeramey Jannene.
Earlier this year, Peter Bernegger, a resident of New London, was invited by Republicans to a state Assembly committee to give testimony on voter fraud. Now, he’s been fined more than $2,400 by the Wisconsin Elections Commission for making frivolous complaints.
The Republican-led Assembly Committee on Campaigns and Elections invited Bernegger to speak in February. He offered testimony on his own investigation of the 2020 election. But he rebuffed requests for evidence to back up his claims of “fake voters” casting ballots.
Last month, the special counsel hired by state Republicans and headed by former state Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman called for decertifying the election, but that assertion has gathered very little support, even from Republicans.
According to records obtained by Wisconsin Public Radio, Bernegger filed complaints with the bipartisan Wisconsin Elections Commission on Jan. 28 and Feb. 17, 21 and 24. The commission, which consists of three Democrats and three Republicans, unanimously dismissed the complaints at a closed session meeting Feb. 28.
The exact nature of the complaints isn’t clear, but a document sent by email from the Elections Commission to Bernegger on March 10 discusses the results. One complaint included allegations against 2,352 voters, and another contained a further 253 allegations.
It split on fining Bernegger for the claims. The Elections Commission voted 5-1 to classify the 2,352 allegations of one complaint as frivolous. It voted 4-2 to classify another 51 allegations as frivolous. Those motions ordered him to pay a dollar for each allegation he made, with the penalties adding up to $2,403.
The Elections Commission dismissed two more complaints made against Commission Administrator Meagan Wolfe and others within the agency without considering them.
“The Commission directs staff to inform Mr. Bernegger that the Commission cannot review or decide upon a case naming the Commissioners as respondents,” the letter to Bernegger reads.
Bernegger was found guilty of mail fraud and bank fraud in Mississippi in 2009.
Listen to the WPR report here.
Man who gave testimony to Assembly committee on 2020 election fined by Elections Commission for frivolous claims was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.
More about the 2020 General Election
- Senator Agard Statement on Senator Knodl’s Continued Relitigation of the 2020 Presidential Election - State Sen. Melissa Agard, Senate Democratic Leader - Aug 29th, 2023
- Report Calls For Criminally Charging State’s Fake Electors - Henry Redman - Dec 19th, 2022
- Vos Withdraws Subpoenas, Ends Gableman Probe - Henry Redman - Aug 30th, 2022
- Judge Blasts Gableman Probe, Deleted Records - Henry Redman - Aug 17th, 2022
- Vos Fires Gableman, Ends Election Probe - Shawn Johnson - Aug 14th, 2022
- Judge Orders Gableman To Pay $163,000 In Legal Fees - Rich Kremer - Aug 2nd, 2022
- Prosecute 2020 Fake Electors, Advocates Demand - Erik Gunn - Aug 1st, 2022
- Trump Calls For Nullification of Wisconsin’s 2020 Election - Henry Redman - Jul 12th, 2022
- Legal Fight Over Gableman Probe Keeps Growing - Shawn Johnson - Jun 30th, 2022
- Back In the News: Fake Elector Scheme Dogs Ron Johnson - Bruce Murphy - Jun 28th, 2022
Read more about 2020 General Election here
So when do we fine Gableman. Oh that is right he knows he has lying about the fraud so he won’t put anything on paper.
too much junk in this article that has nothing at all to do with the complaints, the dismissal, and the fines that were assessed.
the statutes allow a maximum fine of $500, and this will likely turn into a bigger issue relating to the manner of how they justified the fine for $2352.
disappointing that thee author of this piece doesn’t bother to get into any of these details.
I’ll always be critical when journalists fail to provide a link to the actual legal statutes when they’re writing these op-ed pieces.
below is the link to the section of WI Statutes 5.05 that covers some of our rights as citizens of WI, along with the Commission’s legal obligations when a citizen files an election complaint.
https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/statutes/statutes/5/i/05/2m/c/2