Elections Commission Rejects Luna Residency Challenge
After losing primary election, State Rep. Ortiz-Velez challenged opponent's residency in district.
Ismael Luna (left) and Sylvia Ortiz-Velez (right).
The Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC) has dismissed a residency challenge filed against Ismael Luna, winner of the Democratic primary in Wisconsin Assembly District 8 on the south side of Milwaukee.
After losing the primary to Luna in August, state Rep. Sylvia Ortiz-Velez filed a complaint challenging his residency in District 8. On Oct. 2, WEC released a notice announcing the commission found nothing in Ortiz-Velez’s complaint that rose to the level of reasonable suspicion Luna did not live in the district.
Before WEC released its decision, Luna repeatedly denied Ortiz-Velez’s accusation, saying her complaint was filled with “haphazard allegations.”
To support her complaint, Ortiz-Velez pointed to real estate records showing Luna owns property outside the district. She suggested he actually lived at one of these two properties and that he committed voter fraud when he registered to vote in District 8 and registered his campaign. Luna co-owns the properties with an ex-partner, he told the WEC in a legal filing. He has not lived in one since 2023 and never lived in the other, he told the commission.
Luna also said he faced harassment as a result of the public campaign challenging his residency and is moving to a new residence in the district.
In a statement to Urban Milwaukee, Ortiz-Velez said WEC’s decision not to issue a criminal referral in response to her challenge of Luna’s residency was “not just disappointing — it is a grave disservice to the integrity of our democracy.”
Ortiz-Velez’s challenge to Luna’s residency was the latest controversy involving the embattled state representative after a year of conflict with members of her own party.
A moderate Democrat with a history of crossing party lines, Ortiz-Velez found herself alienated and in open conflict with members of the Assembly Democratic Caucus at the end of the last legislative session. A personal conflict over a Hispanic Heritage Month resolution led her to allegedly threaten her colleagues, resulting in a criminal disorderly conduct charge. She pleaded no contest to the charge in March, but continues to dispute the underlying allegations.
Luna’s challenge to Ortiz-Velez drew strong support from Democrats seeking to oust Ortiz-Velez. The Assembly Democratic Campaign Committee (ADCC) provided his campaign more than $110,000 in campaign cash and in-kind contributions. The Milwaukee County Democratic Party even attempted to secure a state party endorsement for Luna, but the move backfired and the fallout caused a majority of the executive board to resign.
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