Legislature's attorneys say subpoenas for election materials are not valid
Molly BeckMADISON – A Wisconsin lawmaker is pressing officials in two counties to turn over to her committee voting machines, ballots and other materials used during the November election despite the Legislature's own attorneys asserting for a second time she does not have the power to force them to do so.
Attorneys working for the nonpartisan Wisconsin Legislative Council, which provide legal analysis to lawmakers, have said twice this summer that only Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and Assembly Chief Clerk Ted Blazel have the power to issue such subpoenas as Assembly elections committee chairwoman Janel Brandtjen continues to argue her efforts carry the force of law.
The Menomonee Falls Republican last week sent subpoenas to leaders of Brown and Milwaukee counties seeking ballots from the Nov. 3 election and the machines used to cast them, among other materials as part of an effort to review the election outcome, which as repeatedly upheld by state and federal judges in lawsuits brought by supporters of former President Donald Trump.
The subpoenas issued by Brandtjen were nearly identical to a letter issued last month by a Republican lawmaker in Pennsylvania.
Brandtjen insisted in a news release Monday that she had the power to issue the subpoenas on her own after the Legislature's nonpartisan attorneys released a memo on Friday saying state law governing legislative subpoenas requires the signatures of Vos and Blazel.
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"I am not surprised that partisans would rather discuss the authority of the Campaigns and Elections Committee to conduct a thorough investigation of the 2020 election than talk about how to rebuild public trust in our elections," she said.
Brandtjen said she was issuing the subpoenas under a separate state law, but the Legislature's attorneys in a second memo released Tuesday at the request of Rep. Mark Spreitzer, D-Beloit, made clear the law Brandtjen cited did not apply to legislative committees.
Aides to Brandtjen did not respond to questions about the attorneys' analysis.
Officials in Brown and Milwaukee counties are still reviewing the requests from Brandtjen and have not yet said whether they will comply.
When asked whether they should, Gov. Tony Evers said "hell no" on Tuesday after vetoing six Republican-authored bills that would require more paperwork to vote absentee.
“You’ve seen what’s going on in Arizona. It’s a clown show," he said.
In response, Brandtjen, one of four Wisconsin Republican lawmakers who toured the site of the widely criticized audit of Arizona ballots, said "one would think that if Governor Evers is so confident there were no issues, he would be more than willing to show it. What are they hiding?"
There is scant support from lawmakers for Brandtjen's effort to review ballots, voting machines, and other materials. Her counterpart in the state Senate said Tuesday Brandtjen's plan was unnecessary.
“Having another separate investigation ... I don’t think would be fruitful,” Senate elections committee chairwoman Kathy Bernier, R-Hallie Lake, told CBS58. “Right now, I have full confidence in the forensic audit that the Legislative Audit Bureau is doing.”
The nonpartisan audit bureau is performing a review of the fall election in addition to an investigation Assembly Speaker Robin Vos began this summer when he hired former state Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman at taxpayer expense to review the election. Brandtjen is seeking a third review.
“I don't know why Janel is not holding off a bit until we get the Legislative Audit Bureau. Maybe she doesn't have as much confidence in them as I do,” Bernier said.
Issue divides Republicans
But there is growing public support from conservatives for Brandtjen's effort, which is dividing Republicans over how to litigate the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.
Former Milwaukee County Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr. is bolstering Brandtjen's effort by using his considerable platform to call on Wisconsinites to get behind it through a new organization he leads called Rise Up Wisconsin, for which Clarke is seeking donations.
"Things are heating up in Wisconsin as RISE UP WISCONSIN keeps the pressure on for a Maricopa Co AZ type FULL CYBER FORENSIC AUDIT of our Nov 2020 election. This will cost money. I NEED your help," he tweeted Tuesday.
Hundreds of people attended a rally last week to support a review of the election.
Contact Molly Beck at molly.beck@jrn.com. Follow her on Twitter at @MollyBeck.