The Legal Contest Over Wisconsin's Top Elections Official

Frederica Freyberg:
The Wisconsin Elections Commission is wrapping up the final details of the 2024 election. And as we head into next year, one large question hovers over the commission. Will its administrator, Meagan Wolfe, be allowed to remain in her position? The answer will be provided by the Wisconsin Supreme Court, which heard oral arguments this week on a lawsuit that seeks to force her out. “Here & Now” senior political reporter Zac Schultz explains the twists and turns of the situation.

Zac Schultz:
Meagan Wolfe’s original four-year appointment as administrator of the Wisconsin Elections Commission ended in June of 2023. Her appointment to another four-year term would require Senate approval. At the time, the Republican majority in the Senate were still playing up Donald Trump’s 2020 election conspiracies and wanted the six member Wisconsin Elections Commission to nominate her again so they could reject her, essentially firing Wolfe and forcing the commission to nominate a new administrator. While the three Republican appointees to the commission voted to advance Wolfe’s nomination, the three Democrats did not vote, saying without a majority, Wolfe’s nomination was not officially sent to the Senate and therefore she could not be rejected. After a lawsuit, Wolfe was allowed to keep her job as a legal holdover thanks to a recent decision when the Supreme Court was controlled by conservatives and they ruled Fred Prehn, nominated to the DNR board by former Republican Governor Scott Walker, could stay on the board past the end of his six year term as long as the Senate refused to approve his successor, who was nominated by Democratic Governor Tony Evers.

Capitol Police Officer:
All rise.

Zac Schultz:
Before the Supreme Court, lawyers for Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul argued, because a majority of the commission could remove the administrator at any time, there was no requirement to renominate after the four-year term is up. While lawyers for the Republican Legislature argued that could mean the administrator stays on indefinitely.

Jill Karofsky:
Six of the seven of us sat in this courtroom two years ago when your client, your client, insisted that Fred Prehn should be able to retain his position on the DNR board, even though his six-year term had expired and your client won. This is a case of careful what you wish for, isn’t it?

Misha Tseytlin:
If Meagan Wolfe was nominated, was appointed by the, by the commission, and sent over to the Senate and the Senate acted the same way they did with Prehn, which is not hold hearings. Then Meagan Wolfe would stay as a holdover exactly like Prehn did.

Zac Schultz:
Meagan Wolfe and WEC issued a statement this week saying she serves at the will of the commissioners, who voiced unanimous support for her in their vote last June. Reporting from Madison, I’m Zac Schultz for “Here & Now.”