State elections officer doubts vote to fire her will restore trust in elections

 

MADISON, Wis. (CBS 58) -- The state's top election official expressed doubts new leadership at the agency in charge of nearly 2,000 municipal and county clerks would restore trust in elections after Republicans voted to fire her.

Senate Republicans voted Thursday to fire Wisconsin's Elections Administrator Meagan Wolfe in wake of mounting criticism by Republicans and Donald Trump supporters who blame her and the state's voting policies during the pandemic for the former president's loss in 2020.

Wolfe argues that even if she left her position, the narrative about her and the commission wouldn't change.

"I think If I were actually to do that [and leave], I think the folks who are skeptical about elections will just move on to the next election official and try and bully and harass them into compliance," Wolfe said in an interview with CBS 58.

When asked why she wants to remain in the role, Wolfe said, "because we need to have folks running elections who are willing to stay above the political fray and not bend to political pressure."

Wolfe plans to stay in her position regardless of Thursday's vote, after Attorney General Josh Kaul filed a lawsuit claiming the move was a "blatant disregard of the law."

Republicans have argued decisions the bipartisan elections commission enacted such as installing absentee ballot drop boxes, allowing clerks to fill in missing information on absentee ballots and preventing election deputies from entering nursing homes during the 2020 election is why voters have lost faith in the agency.

Some of those policies have been overturned through lawsuits and are no longer in effect.