Vos wants election official out, but not through impeachment

MADISON — As some Republican lawmakers continue to pursue efforts to oust the state's top election official, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos is urging them to leave the past behind and move forward.

Rep. Chuck Wichgers, R-Muskego, introduced a new impeachment resolution on Tuesday against Meagan Wolfe, the nonpartisan administrator of the Wisconsin Elections Commission. The move came after a previous effort by Wichgers and four other GOP lawmakers failed to gain traction.

"Every legislator has a right to introduce whatever legislation they want. Right? That's our system," Vos told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "(The first impeachment resolution) had five of 99 members on it. That is not even a majority of a committee, much less Republicans as a whole or the Legislature as a whole. So there's nowhere near consensus on that."

Wolfe has served as a target for nearly three years to those in the Republican Party base who believe widespread election misconduct delivered an election loss to former President Donald Trump in 2020, despite court rulings, nonpartisan audits, and recounts paid for by Trump, showing President Joe Biden was elected fairly.

Vos pointed to a number of changes that have been implemented or proposed following the 2020 election, including a state Supreme Court ruling outlawing the use of absentee ballot dropboxes and a bill that would allow clerks to begin processing absentee ballots early, avoiding the appearance of late-night "ballot dumps." Lawmakers also advanced a proposed constitutional amendment that would bar state agencies and local governments from using private grant money to help administer elections. Voters will weigh in on that measure in April.

"The things that people say were the most egregious examples (in 2020), they've all been dealt with in one way or the other. So we had 2022: Ron Johnson won; so did Tony Evers. John Leiber won; so did Josh Kaul. Nobody really complained about 2022, and that's under the newer system," Vos said. "Let's focus on the future and say, we've made progress and maybe there's further to go, as opposed to being obsessed with the past, where it does nobody any good."

But that doesn't mean the Assembly leader doesn't want Wolfe out of her job.

Vos said he "absolutely" thinks there are people in Wisconsin who could do a better job than Wolfe running elections.

"I wish for the good of our state, she would leave and we would have the ability to have a different person be the consensus candidate," he said.

A Dane County judge issued an order in October temporarily blocking Republican lawmakers from removing or replacing Wolfe as a legal dispute over her appointment continues.

Jessie Opoien can be reached at jessie.opoien@jrn.com.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Robin Vos wants Meagan Wolfe replaced, but not through impeachment