Republicans Raise Questions About Proposed Election Observer Rules
GOP lawmakers want punishments for poll workers who deny close access to voters.
A voter checks in before receiving a ballot Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in New Berlin, Wis. Angela Major/WPR
Republican state lawmakers raised questions Tuesday about a 12-page rule proposal aimed at clarifying what Wisconsin election observers can and can’t do at polling places.
The Wisconsin Elections Commission, which drafted the rule, says the package is needed because state law is vague on questions ranging from how close observers can stand to what documents they can look at.
Election observers are individuals who oversee voters and local officials during the election process at polling places and central count locations in large cities where absentee ballots are processed.
While conservatives at the state and national level have called for more access since President Donald Trump’s 2020 loss, liberals and some local election officials have raised concerns about potential voter intimidation.
During a public hearing Tuesday, the Republican-controlled state Assembly Committee on Campaigns and Elections got a rundown on new rules for election observers and local election workers from Wisconsin Elections Commission Chair Ann Jacobs, a Democrat, and Commissioner Don Millis, a Republican.
The proposal has been in the works since August 2022 and received input from members of the Republican and Democratic Parties along with members of voting access and election integrity advocacy groups.
The new rules would allow observers to be between three and eight feet from tables where voters identify themselves and show identification. That’s the same distance outlined in existing state law. It would also allow observers to move between tables in a polling place and review voter information in poll books that isn’t confidential.
In response to complaints that some local clerks prohibited observers from using chairs and restrooms in polling places, the WEC rule package specifies that election officials cannot prohibit their use.
“This rule does an excellent job of ensuring that voters can vote without harassment or intimidation,” Jacobs told the committee. “And, I want to bring to our attention the very first clause of this proposed rule, nothing in this chapter shall be construed to distract, disrupt, obstruct, slow or prevent a qualified voter from casting a lawful ballot or registering to vote.”
State Rep. Paul Tittl, R-Manitowoc, asked Jacobs and Millis about repercussions for election officials, like a polling place’s chief election inspector, who violate state law or the proposed WEC rules. He said his office has heard complaints about election officials making observers stand “literally 50 feet away” from where voters got their ballots.
“I would just like to see some type of, even a threat of punishment,” Tittl said. “There is really no threat of punishment right now. You can file a complaint all you want. That doesn’t cure that day. That’s the problem.”
Millis told Tittl he agrees with the concern, but state agencies cannot create punishments via rule. He said it would have to be done through legislation.
Last year, Tittl introduced a bill that would have barred local election officials from placing observers more than 3 feet away from residents to give their name or register to vote. It also would have made it a crime for election officials to deny access to observers, punishable by up to 90 days in jail or $1,000 in fines.
Tittl’s bill passed the Republican-controlled state Legislature but was vetoed by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers.
Following Jacobs and Millis, the committee also heard testimony from people critical of the state’s election system who argued the rules don’t amount to anything because they don’t carry the weight of law.
Former Republican State Rep. Janel Brandtjen, a vocal 2020 election denier who lost an August primary election and now works as a staffer for Rep. Chuck Wichgers, R-Muskego, said the proposed rules give local election officials 60 days to respond to complaints lodged by observers, which she called “silly.”
“This is a great opportunity for lawmakers, of Republicans and Democrats to step forward, because this whole exercise doesn’t mean anything,” Brandtjen said. “And I’m really sorry to say, that for many of the people involved, this is not law. This is rules. If the clerks follow them or don’t follow it doesn’t matter. Nothing happens to them.”
Going forward, the Assembly elections committee can either request changes to the proposed election observer rules or pass them on to the Republican-controlled Joint Committee for Review of Administrative Rules, or JCRAR. That committee can then adopt the WEC proposal as-is, accept any potential changes from the agency or suspend the rule.
Republicans raise questions about proposed election observer rules was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.
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Janel Brandtjen is free to work as a poll worker to find out just how rule-abiding we are. We don’t need the threat of fines to do our jobs. We are proud to assist our fellow Wisconsinites in exercising their voting rights.
1. How long before Vos the Boss and his Cavalcade of Clowns want to bring this issue to a statewide referendum for Wisconsin voters to decide its fate?
B. Who TF cares what Janel Brandtjen thinks about this, or anything else? She lost her election and now is just a staffer for some other reTrumplican stooge. Even Frump would label her a loser.
3. My suggestion would be that a reTrumpilican election observer be assigned to each voter on election day, and must accompany and participate in every aspect of his or her assigned voter’s life, staying within 3 feet of their “assignment” at all times. This would include, but not be limited to: showering, breakfast, workout, grocery store run, toilet breaks, lunch, nap, meal prep, dinner, checking emails, a little TV, then off to bed for the night.
Actual voting could be wedged in anywhere during the day. The observer would be required to live stream the entire day to a centralized reTrumplican monitoring facility where MAGA referees would be available to intercede on any behavior deemed questionable by the observer.
Give me a break. Poll workers work FOR somebody. If a worker doesn’t follow a rule, it’s either a mistake and the boss corrects them OR it’s an obstinate attempt at disruption and the boss simply gets rid of the person. What more do the republicans want – a damn firing squad?
Paul Tittl seems to want, or even need some kind of consequence for any mistake.
“I would just like to see some type of, even a threat of punishment,” Tittl said. “There is really no threat of punishment right now.”
I wonder if the punishment he wants would apply equally to observers that miss a mistake made in the voting process. Or if the punishment he wants would apply to a reTrumplican poll worker that committed a poll worker “crime”.
As a multi-year poll worker, I’ve witnessed a handful of observers. Most are pretty passive, but a few get more than a little zealous. The chief inspectors have a difficult job and it’s only complicated by the OZ observers. The peculiar thing, though, is that as soon as the polls close they are out! And that’s not when the job is done. If you want to observe…stay the whole time. Until all the ballots are accounted for, the books reconciled, the paperwork done and prepped to ship. Otherwise, you are there simply to intimidate. Intimidate the workers and voters.
Steven Midthun:
Intimidation is the primary goal of this reTrumplican charade. You have seen the nail and hit it right on the head.