The New York Times reported that Republican officials in Wisconsin want to eliminate the bipartisan Wisconsin Elections Commission and charge five of its officials with felonies or misdemeanors related to the guidance they gave municipal clerks ahead of the 2020 election.
The Times reported that Rebecca Kleefisch, the top Republican challenger to Tony Evers, incorporated the end of the state election commission into her platform. She filed a lawsuit against the commission, which was created by Republicans, asking the Wisconsin Supreme Court to declare that its guidance was in violation of state law.
The commission's six members were recommended for felony and misdemeanor charges in early November because they advised clerks not to send trained poll workers to nursing homes during the start of the Pandemic.
Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul called Schmaling's request for a statewide investigation a "publicity stunt" and a "transparently political effort and an abuse of authority", according to the report.
According to The New York Times, Wisconsin Republicans claimed that fraudulent votes were cast from nursing homes across the state after Joe Biden was declared the winner of the 2020 election.
The New York Times reported that the commission voted to remove the requirement for special voting deputies to visit nursing homes twice before issuing residents Absentee Ballots because facilities were not allowing visitors. There were no challenges to the guidance at the time of the vote.
Robin Vos, the speaker of the state Assembly, called the commission lawless and said its members should face felony charges. In October, members of the commission released a statement saying they had not broken any laws and that they may have missed the deadline to collect votes from individuals in nursing homes if they did not lift the rule.
