Politics

Wisconsin Legislators Join Suit to Overturn Election

By Will Kenneally

December 23, 2020

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Voting machine

A poll worker feeds absentee ballots into a tally machine in Dane County Nov. 3, 2020.


Two Wisconsin state representatives are joining a lawsuit seeking to overturn the presidential election results.

Rep. Jeff Mursau, R-Crivitz, and Rep. David Steffen, R-Green Bay, joined the Wisconsin Voter Alliance and plaintiffs from other key swing states in asking a federal court in Washington, DC, to prevent Congress from certifying the states’ electoral college results.

The plaintiffs are asking the courts to grant state legislatures final approval over the states’ election results, ahead of Jan. 6 when Congress certifies the election results.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs argued that approving the election results without legislatures’ approval “operates contrary to the Constitution by inviting ‘cabal, intrigue and corruption’ rather than operating to prevent the same.”

This is the first lawsuit that involves Wisconsin state legislators seeking to overturn the results of the election.

“All my constituents are just screaming about having someone do something about this,” Mursau told WisPolitics.com.

Previous attempts in both state and federal court have either been spearheaded by voters or the Trump campaign—all of which have failed so far. The Trump campaign has appealed a federal court ruling on Wisconsin’s election to the 7th Circuit Court in Chicago.

This also comes after a high-profile criticism by the president of Supreme Court Justice Brian Hagedorn, the court’s swing vote who has sided with liberals in recent decisions over the state’s election results.

Hagedorn joined liberals in throwing out an earlier suit brought by the Wisconsin Voter Alliance with strong words, saying to accept the plaintiffs proposed remedy “would do indelible damage to every future election.”

“WOW, he just voted against me in a Big Court Decision on voter fraud,” President Donald Trump wrote of Hagedorn on Twitter Monday. “Republicans in Wisconsin should take these 3 strong decisions [from dissenting conservative justices] to their State Legislators and overturn this ridiculous State Election. We won in a LANDSLIDE!”

Republican legislative leadership has not taken any action to change the state’s election results. The Assembly majority leader said of voter fraud “we know most of that stuff is nonsense,” and the Legislature’s lawyers made clear that it could not convene to contest the results—having already delegated the authority of choosing the president to voters.

The election results will be certified Jan. 6 during a joint session of Congress, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has asked Senate Republicans to not challenge the results.

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