A vote by the Republican-controlled Wisconsin Senate last month to fire the state’s nonpartisan top elections official had no legal effect, and lawmakers are barred from ousting her while a lawsuit plays out, a Dane County judge ruled on Friday.
Administrator Meagan Wolfe will continue serving as head of the Wisconsin Elections Commission pending a decision on whether elections commissioners are legally required to appoint someone for the Senate to confirm, Judge Ann Peacock said.
Senate Republicans voted in September to fire Wolfe, despite objections from Democrats and the Legislature’s own nonpartisan attorneys, who said the Senate didn’t have the authority to vote at that time.