Officials in an eastern Wisconsin capital are accused of campaigning, and they claim to have removed copies of two ballot-related constitutional amendments from voting booths.
Election legislation experts hail it as a victory for election integrity but also a flagrant illustration of the “maternalistic pride of a secretary,” who believes it is her responsibility to discuss voter behavior to voters.  ,
It’s Never Your Job to Explain, Is It?
After receiving numerous reports about the news article being positioned within each voting booth, the Milwaukee-based Wisconsin Institute for Law &, Liberty ( WILL ) on Wednesday sent a warning letter to Neenah City Clerk Char Nagel.  ,
Wisconsin citizens are currently casting first ballots in preparation for the state’s primary elections on Tuesday. The government should not have a wide discretion over how much of the state’s budgetary funds are spent, as the state law does prohibit the state legislature from ceding its” ultimate power to determine how moneys may be appropriated” and prohibit the governor from having large discretion on this matter. When communist Governor was elected, the matter emerged. Tony Evers made unilateral saving decisions regarding the funding of numerous progressive, big government initiatives in the name of federal pandemic relief worth billions of dollars. Even though he was accused of essentially buying seats with federal taxpayer money, nothing in the law prevented him from doing so.  ,
The post, according to WILL,” characterizes the problem as political, pitting Republican and ‘ traditional groups’ against the Governor, Democrats,’ and democratic groups.'”
While activist organizations, particularly on the left, have dumped a mountain of cash into advertising campaigns attempting to sway voting sentiment, the vote questions are ultimately democratic. When a Republican occupies the governor’s office, Wisconsin liberals may be happy to have the executive branch under control.  ,
Regardless, it is not the organization of local election clerks to “educate” citizens on who supports vote activities and why. That is quite explicit in state laws.  ,
Some Neenah poll workers were urging voters to “read it cautiously,” according to the warning letter from WILL. One voter who accused the city clerk’s office of “unlawful electioneering” was told that “voters do n’t understand” what the ballot questions mean so elections officials “have to explain” them, according to WILL.
” It is not your career to’ clarify’ referendum questions to citizens”, Rick Esenberg, WILL’s president and general counsel, and deputy counsel Dan Lennington scolded the secretary in the email. It is certainly not your job to make the case that this is a partisan issue pitting Republicans and conservatives against Democrats. You are responsible for conducting elections in accordance with the law.
” Cease and Desist”
Such interference by election officials is prohibited by state law. It’s called electioneering, and it relates to any activity “intended to influence voting at an election”, the attorneys explained.  ,
” Wisconsin state law also prohibits posting and distribution of election-related materials’ at the polling place, at locations where absentee ballots may be cast, or near the entrance of such locations,'” the letter noted.  ,
A Yahoo.com news article that makes an opinion on a ballot question’s partisan nature most definitely qualifies as electioneering, WILL warn. Violators may face up to six months in jail or a$ 1, 000 fine — or both.  ,
We ask that you immediately stop and stop engaging in unlawful behavior. The demand letter states that if you do not notify the appropriate authorities that you have stopped this unlawful behavior by noon on August 8.  ,
It definitely got the city’s attention. Albeit begrudgingly, the clerk was ordered to take down the news article.  ,
The subject matter was immediately removed at the citizen’s request and will not be permitted to be re-posted, wrote city attorney David Rashid in a letter dated August 8.” While we respectfully disagree with your appraisal of both the facts and the applicable law as may relate thereto, in the interest of maintaining election integrity and avoiding even the appearance of impropriety, we respectfully disagree with your assessment of both the facts and the applicable law as may relate thereto,” wrote city attorney David Rashid. The clerk and the city’s mayor were copied.  ,
” Moreover, nothing other than ballots and marking instruments will be present in our voting booths”, the attorney concluded.  ,
Lennington claimed that some harm has already been done. Last week, absentee in-person voting began.  ,
” We are very concerned it’s already impacted voter decisions”, the attorney told me.  ,
Not satisfied with breaking the law?
Lennington claimed that the Neenah incident is just the most recent instance of election officials going beyond the law to hold elections as they please.  ,
He said,” We’re moving to a place where one side is just not satisfied with upholding the law.” According to” Progressives and liberals, they believe they should take legal actions to ensure that their opinion of democracy is respected.” The list goes on and on, with the exception of the illegal drop boxes and voting vans that were installed in left-leaning communities, unconstitutional universal mail-in voting, and the creation of Democrat get-out-the-vote machines at federal agencies.  ,
The narrative that “voters are too stupid to take care of themselves so we have to go outside the law so that they vote the way we want to,” which includes ballot collecting or putting electioneering materials in voting booths, is a part of that general trend, Lennington said.  ,
The shenanigans and law-breaking in critical swing state Wisconsin, expected to again play an outsized role in November’s presidential election, never end.  ,
Celestine Jeffreys, a polarizing Green Bay City clerk, admitted to not understanding election law regarding the voter rolls, as The Federalist reported in May. According to Jeffreys, the Public Interest Legal Foundation” concerns that she has not been strictly adhering to the statutory requirements in Wisconsin Statutes,” but the failure was unintended and due to a lack of awareness of the statutory requirements.
After Brown County District Attorney David Lasee informed them that election bribery is still prohibited in Wisconsin, Green Bay leftist groups were forced to cancel a get-out-the-vote drive with significant cash prizes in April. The top five social media influencers received cash prizes as well as free food and beverages and a “FREE Open Bar” from United Front for Change.
Neenah, a city of some 27, 000 residents located about 40 miles south of Green Bay, is part of the crucial Fox Cities area. The vote-rich region includes the cities of Appleton, Kaukauna, Menasha, and several villages along the Fox River. The Fox Valley has traditionally leaned conservative, but it has proved to swing bluer, particularly in Winnebago County, home to Neenah. The so-called BOW counties — Brown, Outagamie, and Winnebago — have played a key role in deciding Wisconsin elections.  ,
The Federalist’s senior elections correspondent, Matt Kittle, is. An award-winning investigative reporter and 30-year veteran of print, broadcast, and online journalism, Kittle previously served as the executive director of Empower Wisconsin.
