Justice Department Announces Action Against Wisconsin Elections Commission for Lacking Complaint Procedure Required by Federal Law
WASHINGTON — Today, the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division sent a letter to the Wisconsin Elections Commission regarding its failure to provide a complaint process or hearing for Wisconsin voters, in violation of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA).
Election integrity and compliance with federal elections laws are essential to protect our constitutional republic. Wisconsin’s refusal to give complainants any recourse to report violations they may have observed or experienced while voting is a significant violation of federal law, and a betrayal of the confidence of the American people.
“Courts across the land, including our highest court, have repeatedly defended measures to ensure election integrity,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “We have made it our highest priority to identify jurisdictions that fail to follow our elections laws and vigorously enforce the law by all means available.”
The letter issued today also notifies the U.S. Election Assistance Commission of Wisconsin’s unlawful actions and calls for the withholding of federal funds to Wisconsin for violating HAVA.
NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.
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The letter from the DOJ is absurd.
While the failure to include the “attached letter” about how “Wisconsin has decided to rely on a 2022 state court case” is an oversight, the DOJ’s summary of the federal judge is not helpful: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/67912671/wisconsin-voter-alliance-v-millis/
The judge found that the Wisconsin Voters Alliance didn’t demonstrate that they were harmed and they don’t have standing to sue. Additionally, the WVA is not with “no opportunity or means to appeal”, being “left stranded with their grievances”, as they appealed the dismissal of their federal lawsuit and were filing briefs as recently as last week:https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69919048/wisconsin-voters-alliance-v-don-millis/
Lastly, the final page of the letter is a list of the California Interscholastic Federation commissioners, which might be an oversight, but not one as trivial or excusable as not including an attachment.