Board Resolution Promotes Election Trust

Returned ballots for the November 2020 election. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

Milwaukee County Supervisor Anne O’Connor is pushing a resolution promoting election integrity in response to the FBI visiting an election worker at the worker’s home to interview them about the 2020 election.

O’Connor’s resolution reaffirms the county’s commitment to secure and fair elections and to poll workers. It also condemns any attempts to intimidate voters or interfere with elections and includes language encouraging voter participation.

“It’s meant to just encourage confidence in our election system, because it does seem like some forces are at work to undermine that confidence, and people should know that elections are transparent and open,” O’Connor told Urban Milwaukee.

The FBI under President Donald Trump has reportedly launched an investigation into the 2020 presidential election. Trump has repeatedly claimed, without evidence, that the results of the election were manipulated and that he won the presidency in 2020. In May, the FBI showed up at the home of Michelle Hawley, Milwaukee County elections director, attempting to interview her. A week later, sources confirmed that the FBI was looking to interview Milwaukee Police Department officers who were on duty during the November 2020 election.

Recently, the president delivered a prime-time address focused on elections, during which he spread doubt about the integrity of voting systems, claimed foreign countries are hacking U.S. election systems and pushed for greater restrictions on voting and voter registration found in the SAVE America Act, which Congress hasn’t passed.

O’Connor told the county board’s Committee on Judiciary, Law Enforcement and General Services that the FBI visit to Hawley’s house seemed like an attempt to intimidate a local election official. She also said it was “shameful and an attack on our democracy” to spread claims there is widespread voting by people ineligible to vote in U.S. elections.

“We as voters should pick our leaders. Our leaders should not pick their voters,” O’Connor said. “Our candidates should make their case and seek our votes, not seek ways to keep us from voting.”

Sup. Juan Miguel Martinez said he thought it was “very crucial” that the board pass O’Connor’s resolution, making a statement promoting trust in elections and voter participation.

“We wouldn’t have to, if, you know, there weren’t people in the White House that are committed to the lie that there was election fraud, but here we are,” he said.

Peg Schrader, with the League of Women Voters, offered support for the resolution and said her organization is concerned about the administration’s attacks on the legitimacy of local election processes. She is concerned that attempts could be made by the administration to remove ballots from polling locations outside established procedures.

“Such actions would break the ballot chain of custody and risk invalidating votes, undermining both the public confidence and the actual integrity of these elections,” Schrader said.

While the president warned about the alleged vulnerability of electronic voting machines, Wisconsin uses paper ballots. In fact, every state except Louisiana uses paper ballots.

Brittany Vulich, with All Voting is Local, expressed support for the measure, as well as greater funding for local election administration.

O’Connor’s resolution has picked up co-sponsorship from 10 of her colleagues on the board. Sup. Patti Logsdon, a conservative supervisor, also expressed support during the committee meeting Tuesday.

“I would love to know why people were visited at their homes. That is something that does bother me, and I agree with you,” Logsdon said. “We as citizens should not be pressured in any way for anything like that, so I agree.”