In the first half 2021, Republican leaders from across the country spent their time trying to rescind the 2020 election. They fabricated conspiracies that the presidency had been stolen and demanded audits to verify the claims. What's happening in Wisconsin right now is a unique effort by one of the most powerful Republicans in the country to undermine faith in elections.This investigation is unlike any other in the country. However, it has a similar goal: to provide semiofficial cover for false and misleading claims about 2020 election fraud to justify severe new voting restrictions.Robin Vos, Wisconsin Assembly Speaker, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on May 26 that he would hire three ex-police officers to investigate bogus claims of voter fraud and other tips about the election. An attorney would supervise them, they would be able to subpoena and would give a report to Vos.Vos, who is chaired by Republicans in the Assemblys Organization Committee voted two days later for him to be given the authority to approve any financial costs and contract arrangements for the hiring of legal counsel and investigators.One month later, no information exists about Voss' three investigators and it is not even clear who one is. If they have them, their meetings are not made public.Vos used the same language as other Republicans to support attempts to relitigate 2020's election. Their investigations were necessary because many people don't believe the last election was valid, and they themselves are spreading the belief that it wasn. The six-member bipartisan Wisconsin elections commission, which also includes Vos's commissioner, found only 27 instances of fraud out of the 3.3 million ballots that were cast in the state in November. Is it smoke, or fire? Vos said that we don't know the answer yet.Vos is clear about what he wants to achieve from his investigation. Vos acknowledges that the election cannot be overturned, while arguing, bizarrely. My job is to frustrate with the result. He wants these investigators produce a report to help him pass restrictive voting legislation, which are currently being vetoed in the state Democratic governor. Vos made this clear to the Journal Sentinel: I want to build support for these electoral reforms.Trump claimed that Trump was trying to hide election fraud. He said Friday that Vos was working hard and asked for Vos' support for an audit similar to the one in Arizona. Vos also called for Vos not to vote for a sideshow audit. A resolution calling for Trump to resign at Saturday's state party annual convention failed. Vos claimed that Trump is misinformed. He noted that Republicans voted to authorize the nonpartisan Legislative Audit Bureau, which would investigate the manner in which the election was conducted. On Saturday, several Republicans began to refer to it as a "forensic audit", mimicking Trump's language.BuzzFeed News repeatedly reached out to Voss' office asking for the names of all investigators, as well as basic facts such as when the investigation began, if there was a budget for taxpayer-funded investigations, and where the investigators are working. His office declined multiple requests for interviews and ignored all questions.The Democrats who sit on the Assemblys Elections and Organizing committees told BuzzFeed News they don't know the identities or activities of all the investigators and that Vos is not required to say this. Voss authority to investigate comes from what's known as a paper ballot. This is a piece that asks legislators to give an aye, or no, on something Vos would like, instead of any public comments or input. The authorization to investigate is only two sentences long and does not include any details or limits.
