Wisconsin’s top Republican on Capitol Hill this week indicated support for a new proposal to dissolve the state’s bipartisan elections commission and give its powers to the secretary of state’s office with oversight from the GOP-controlled legislature.
But others in his party have been skeptical of the plan to abolish the Wisconsin Elections Commission, and Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Wednesday he did not support it, casting doubt on the effort’s prospects.
“I’ve been consistent since the 2020 election saying I think the state legislature needs to reclaim its constitutional authority over federal elections,” U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, Wisconsin’s highest-ranking Republican, said in a brief interview Tuesday. “How they do that, I’ll leave it up to them. But I think WEC is out of control.”
The proposal, released Monday by Senate elections committee chairman Dan Knodl and 10 other Assembly Republicans, would require Democratic Secretary of State Sarah Godlewski to take over the elections commission’s administration duties by June 30 — about five months before the 2024 presidential election. Under the measure, Godlewski’s actions would require the approval of the Republican-controlled legislative committees on elections.
It is the latest attempt from Republicans to overhaul how Wisconsin runs its elections ahead of the 2024 election. And it comes as the Wisconsin Elections Commission has faced continued criticism fueled by false claims by former President Donald Trump about Wisconsin’s system of elections and for policies election commissioners approved to navigate hurdles presented by the coronavirus pandemic….