Wisconsin GOP finally forced to accept results of 2020 election following lawsuit
But one of the fake electors continues to serve on the state's Election Commission.
WHAT YOU MISSED
One of the fake electors who organized in Wisconsin to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential race could still oversee the upcoming 2024 election. On Wednesday, the 10 fake electors and the Republican Party of Wisconsin finally conceded in a statement that “Joseph R. Biden, Jr. won the 2020 presidential election and that we were not the duly elected presidential electors for the State of Wisconsin for the 2020 presidential election.”
The “Wisconsin 10,” if you will, also stated they would not serve as electors in 2024 or any other elections involving Trump. This concession was part of a legal settlement that the state GOP entered into to avoid costing the party $2.4 million in damages.
“The agreement includes a public acknowledgment from the Elector Defendants that their votes, cast at the behest of the Trump Campaign and the Republican Party of Wisconsin, were part of an effort to overturn the results of the 2020 election and disrupt the peaceful transition of presidential power,” Law Forward, the firm that sued the Wisconsin GOP explained following the settlement.
But this promise seems insincere at best — and illegal at worst. Robert Spindell, a Republican operative working out of Milwaukee County who tried to subvert Biden’s win, continues to serve on the Wisconsin Election Commission due to an appointment by Wisconsin State Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu (R-Oostburg).
“We believe strongly that it is unacceptable and it's inappropriate for someone who admitted they tried to improperly overturn a presidential election to have any role of public trust administering elections in the state of Wisconsin going forward," Mike Browne, a member of the liberal advocacy group A Better Wisconsin Together, said yesterday in a radio interview with Milwaukee’s National Public Radio affiliate.
Spindell’s appointment, which occurred prior to the suit in question, seemed like a strategic one on the part of LeMahieu, who is trying to extend Spindell’s tenure into 2024. And it’s clearly not just about potentially reelecting Trump: In November of last year, Spindell spoke fondly about the reduction in voter participation amongst communities of color in Milwaukee.
“In the City of Milwaukee, with the 4th Congressional District Republican Party working very closely with the RPW, RNC, Republican Assembly & Senate Campaign Committees, Statewide Campaigns and RPMC in the Black and Hispanic areas, we can be especially proud of the City of Milwaukee casting 37,000 less votes than cast in the 2018 election with the major reduction happening in the overwhelming Black and Hispanic areas,” Spindell said in an email following the results of the Wisconsin midterms.
With the Wisconsin 10 settlement in the books, it remains to be seen whether more legal action will be taken against Spindell specifically, should he continue to serve on the Wisconsin Election Commission.