Republicans Relent on Milwaukee Election Observer Lawsuit

City of Milwaukee election worker Brenda Wood interacts with election observers at Central Count, Nov. 5. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

Less than 24 hours after announcing a lawsuit against the City of Milwaukee, the Republican National Committee (RNC) conceded the alleged issue isn’t one.

“There seems to be no issues,” said RNC attorney Kevin Scott in a hearing Tuesday morning, first reported on by Chris Ramirez. “The issues we believed were present are not present anymore.”

On Monday, the RNC filed a complaint in Milwaukee County Circuit Court that sought to bar the Milwaukee Election Commission from imposing limits on the number of observers at any polling site.

“Milwaukee Elections Commission [sic] has been arbitrarily limiting and prohibiting members of the public from observing all aspects of the voting process at polling locations in the City of Milwaukee,” says the complaint, filed in Milwaukee County Circuit Court. The complaint says that at the Serb Hall, Good Hope Library and Capitol Drive early voting sites, the city “arbitrarily limited” observer access to two or four observers. A press release issued with the complaint says the city intends to do the same on election day.

In a press conference before the suit was announced, MEC Executive Director Paulina Gutiérrez said there are no standing limits. “We don’t put a number on it,” said Gutiérrez during the pre-scheduled Monday morning media briefing. “We don’t have any kind of limit. We welcome observers. We want them there.”

Gutiérrez, during the press conference, said the election commission and inspectors had the authority to ensure a “smooth operation” of the election process. “Our number one priority is to ensure that democracy happens,” she said. Wisconsin Elections Commission guidance allows for clerks to fairly limit access to observers if their presence is interfering with voting or causing congestion.

After the filing was announced, city officials accused the RNC of operating in bad faith. “The City of Milwaukee favors the greatest possible transparency during elections. That includes accommodating all observers at election locations,” said the city in a statement. “The Milwaukee Election Commission refutes the claims made by the RNC. Despite the MEC maintaining open communications with the RNC, including meeting as recently as [Sunday] night, it seems that filing a lawsuit was their goal all along. The MEC denies the allegation that observers will be arbitrarily limited. However, observers may be subject to reasonable limitations, a power given to chief inspectors under Wisconsin law. At no point was the Republican Party denied the presence of an observer during the in-person absentee voting period, nor will they be denied that presence on Election Day.”

Scott told Judge Michael Hanrahan that the RNC was able to observe the setup for the central count absentee ballot processing facility on Monday evening.

Central count, a temporary setup, covers approximately half of the exhibition hall on the third floor of the Baird Center and is open to the public. On Tuesday morning dozens of observers could be seen questioning the hundreds of poll workers processing more than 106,000 absentee ballots. Among those observing the work were Jefferson Davis, who has espoused 2020 election conspiracy theories and previously served as Menomonee Falls village president. Also present was Wisconsin Elections Commission chair Ann Jacobs, a Democrat.

Observers, who don’t sport a visible party affiliation, could be seen at several polling places Tuesday.

Hanrahan, according to court records, did not issue a formal ruling on the case. A status conference, should the RNC wish to proceed, is scheduled for Nov. 15. The Democratic National Committee filed to serve as an intervening party in the case. Deputy city attorney Robin A. Pederson appeared on behalf of the city.

Scott has represented several plaintiffs, including former Rep. Janel Brandtjen and former judge Michael Gableman, in claims related to denying the 2020 election results and subsequent investigations. According to court records, Scott’s co-counsel Kurt Goehre did not appear Tuesday.