I want to commend Sheriff Christopher Schmaling, Racine County Sergeant Michael Luell and the Racine County Sheriff’s Department for their thorough work investigating the apparent fraud and violations of elections law by the Wisconsin Elections Commission and Ridgewood Care Center.
 
“Whether it was seen in the Legislative Audit Bureau Audit released on Friday, or through today’s presentation by Sheriff Schmaling, it is clear that the staff and commissioners at the Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC) are consciously deciding to ignore the law. That cannot happen. When the people who are in charge of enforcing the law actively choose to ignore it, they lose ALL credibility. I do not, and I do not know how any person in good faith can claim they have confidence that WEC will follow or enforce the election law when they so blatantly ignore it – repeatedly. There needs to be mass resignations at WEC and prosecutions where appropriate. WEC’s reputation is damaged beyond repair.
 
Vulnerable people were taken advantage of and manipulated. Attorney General Josh Kaul and his office’s refusal to even be briefed on this matter is beyond disappointing. It shows that Kaul is more interested in partisan politics than enforcing the law and protecting the vulnerable.
 
And to make matters worse, when Legislators passed a law this spring to prevent this behavior in the future, Governor Evers vetoed it and every Democrat voted to continue this felonious behavior. (2021 Senate Bill 205)
 
If the Attorney General refuses to prosecute, local district attorneys must. Whether it be Patricia Hanson in Racine, Ishmael Ozanne in Dane County, where the GAB is housed, or elsewhere, there must be consequences - legally and/or electorally. Abraham Lincoln once said “Laws without enforcement are merely good advice.” He was right.
 
This should not have happened last year, and cannot happen in the future. And everyone who isn’t blinded by partisanship knows this.

Watch Press Conference by Racine Sheriff's Department

Election Integrity Presentation

Timeline of Voting Fraud
 

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As you know, last week, the Legislative Audit Bureau released its long-awaited audit into the 2020 election. You can read the full audit here, or my summary from last week here.

So what comes next? I can tell you, the audit won’t be “sitting on a shelf.”

• The Senate Committee on Elections, Election Process Reform and Ethics, chaired by Senator Kathy Bernier will be conducting a review of compliance, or lack thereof, with the audit, and obtaining the documents the audit bureau was not given access to from Madison and Milwaukee.

 

• The Legislative Audit Committee, co-chaired by Rep. Samantha Kerkman and Senator Rob Cowles, will be conducting a hearing on the audit in mid-late November, when schedules allow. At this hearing, both the Audit Bureau and likely the Elections Commission will testify.

 

• Senators are making a coordinated effort to draft legislation that fixes the problems in the audit. Some of these bills may be re-drafts of bills already vetoed by Governor Evers. We hope with the Audit Bureau behind us highlighting these issues, that Governor Evers will sign the bills.

This week, the Senate passed several bills designed to improve Wisconsin’s hunting and fishing. Among the bills passed:

• SB 609 – Increasing the stocking of pheasants for hunting across the state
• SB 610 – Making it easier to hunt turkeys.
• SB 611 – Allowing mentors hunts to replace “field testing” for a hunting license
• SB 612 – Increasing the stocking of brook trout in Lake Michigan
• SB 613 – Streamlining hunting, fishing and trapping approval at DNR
• SB 614 – Creating a statewide habitat work plan
• SB 615 – Requiring DNR to issue a map and report about publicly accessible state land
• SB 616 – Requiring DNR to electronically issue Dog Training licenses
• SB 617 – Requiring DNR to study partnering with the private aquaculture industry

It is anticipated that the Assembly will vote on these bills in the spring.

 A new intern, Anna Carroll, has recently joined my office. Anna graduated from Wilmot High School in 2020. Anna is beginning her first year of study at the University of Wisconsin – Madison, and although her official major is undecided, she plans to double major in Economics and History. She wishes to follow in the footsteps of her cinematic role model, Elle Woods, and become a lawyer. In particular, she would like to specialize in corporate or patent cases to blend her love of math with her passion for helping others. She cannot wait to explore this incredible city and is extremely excited for this new position. Welcome Anna!

On Wednesday, October 27th AP Government and Business and Personal Law students from Westosha Central High School in Salem toured the Capitol and listened to arguments before the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

The Wisconsin Blue Book has been published annually since 1853. It was initially an Assembly pocket manual to easily access information about state government. Over the years, the Blue Book has changed size, color, scope and purpose. Originally, the book was under 100 pages but in 2015 it ballooned to almost 1,000 pages. The 2021-22 edition has 743 pages and includes information about current elected officials, legislative committees, units of state government and more.

I am happy to provide a free Wisconsin Blue Book to residents of the 21st Senate District. If you would like a free copy, please send an email to: Sen.Wanggaard@legis.wi.gov providing your name and mailing address. Please note, the Blue Book can not be sent to P.O. Boxes.

Electronic copies of the 2021-22 Blue Book can be found here: Click.