From Barry Burden and Trey Grayson:
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, State Rep. Janel Brandtjen and former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman, all Republicans, have created an embarrassing, chaotic mess as they subject the state to a dangerous disinformation campaign that undermines the work of trusted election officials, is costing taxpayers at least $680,000, and casts doubt on the state’s history of free, fair and secure elections.
Just as we — along with other leaders — have warned, Wisconsin is at risk of turning into a Cyber Ninjas-style mess.
We’ve taken a close look at the trend of so-called 2020 election reviews popping up across the country. Make no mistake: They are a waste of time, energy and taxpayer money. And they leave our elections less secure and the public less rather than more confident in the election system. There’s a reason bipartisan leaders and election experts alike have called out the dangers of this sort of “investigation.”…
State and local officials in Wisconsin should take pride in the fact the state has one of the most secure and advanced voting and election systems in the nation. Badger State voters are well-educated on the process and trust and respect the system and those elected to administer it. In fact, one of us authored a report that details just how successful the 2020 presidential election was in the state, according to the clerks who administered it.
Audits have already been conducted across the state and full recounts were undertaken in Dane and Milwaukee counties, all of which affirmed the validity of the election. Multiple lawsuits filed after Election Day were dismissed by judges of different political persuasions.
The bottom line: The 2020 election was free, fair, secure and accurate. Voters know and wholeheartedly believe this.
As a former Republican secretary of state who cares deeply about election security and the future of the Republican Party, and as an elections expert based in Wisconsin, we have and will continue to strongly advise against anyone trying to recreate or spin up election reviews based on mistruths and misunderstandings.