MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- The Trump administration on Wednesday said it will move to withhold federal funding from the agency governing elections in Wisconsin.

In a letter from the U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division, federal officials told the Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC) they were moving to have the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) bar WEC from receiving future federal aid from the agency.

In the notice, Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon accused WEC of failing to provide voters with any recourse if they sought to file a complaint alleging a violation of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA).

"Quite surprisingly, we have learned that the Wisconsin Elections Commission has refused to provide any administrative complaint process or hearing regarding HAVA complaints against the Commission," the letter read. "Rather, Wisconsin has decided to rely on a 2022 state court case opining that the Commission cannot police itself."

The letter stated Wisconsin has received a total of $77 million "to date" from the EAC.

"We are hereby notifying the U.S. Election Assistance Commission of Wisconsin's failure to follow federal elections laws," the letter read. "Your actions justify a bar against the Wisconsin Elections Commission receiving any future funding from the U.S. Election Assistance Commission."

Ann Jacobs, chair of the elections commission and one of three Democrats on WEC's six-member governing board, said in a text message Wednesday night that $77 million including money awarded over approximately the last 20 years. 

"We have exhausted all past grants, and this upcoming budget year will be the very last of the use of past grants," Jacobs said.

The 2022 case the DOJ cited appears to be a lawsuit that resulted in the initial ban on the use of dropboxes, which was later reversed when liberals gained control of the Wisconsin Supreme Court in 2023.

Jacobs defended WEC's position it cannot handle claims made against the agency, and she pointed to a section of the 2022 ruling, in which a then-conservative majority banned drop boxes.

"It would be nonsensical to have WEC adjudicate a claim against itself," a portion of the ruling read. 

Jacobs also took a jab at an apparent set of typos in the DOJ's letter as it CC'd five commissioners from the California Interscholastic Federation, which governs school athletics in that state. On May 28, the DOJ sent a letter to the organization related to the issue of students born as males participating on female sports teams.

It's unclear what future funding might be available for the EAC to administer to states as Republicans in Congress continue to work on a spending plan outlined in President Donald Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill."