Thomsen Calls on Wisconsin Senate to Confirm Haas

MADISON, WI – Mark Thomsen, chair of the Wisconsin Elections Commission, issued a statement today calling on the Wisconsin Senate to confirm Michael Haas as administrator:

• To date, eight members of the Elections Commission – five Republicans and three Democrats – have voted to hire or affirm the hiring of Michael Haas as Administrator because of his excellent qualifications and strong performance. The current commissioners unanimously support his confirmation. The Commission is also unanimous in its request for a hearing.
• The Elections Commission is already under-staffed because the Governor vetoed five critical staff positions at a time when the Commission is facing online security threats from foreign governments and non-state hackers.
• Now, in an election year with four important statewide elections, some Senators want to get rid of Mr. Haas, a nationally-recognized expert in elections and cyber security and the Commission’s only staff member with a security clearance from the Department of Homeland Security. This took several months to obtain and that process would be delayed again for any new administrator.
• The only person with the competence, qualifications and security clearance to be Wisconsin’s chief elections official at this time is Michael Haas. There is no real question that the Senate should confirm him tomorrow.
• In Wisconsin, when you do your job well and have the support of your bosses and customers, you deserve job security, not to be sacrificed for what appears to be simple political gain. The Senate should not take lightly the impact if its decision on elections administration in Wisconsin, not to mention its impact on Mr. Haas and his family.