- On the matter of grant funding in elections, the Wisconsin Elections Commission Administrator provided written and in-person testimony on this topic to the Wisconsin Assembly Committee on Campaigns and Elections on March 31, 2021.
- WEC also complied with a Committee request to produce all emails and documents related to this matter prior to the hearing. The written testimony and an initial letter sent to the Committee Chair are attached below.
- Video of the testimony can be found here: https://wiseye.org/2021/03/31/assembly-committee-on-campaigns-and-elections-14/
- In brief, the Commission Administrator testified that the agency was not involved in municipalities applying for or receiving private grant funds. WEC did not inform clerks about the private grants and did not promote them. Acceptance of grant funds by a municipality is a municipal decision that is subject to a municipality’s approval structure, be it by the clerk’s supervisor, mayor, City Council, or Town or Village Board. Whether statutes should regulate private election grants in the future is up to the Legislature to decide.
- Further, the matter of private grant funding has been considered before a court and dismissed, Wisconsin Voters Alliance v. WEC (Appeal Number 2020AP1930-OA)
- Complaints discussing private grant funding in elections are also currently pending a decision. Commission staff have recused themselves from this complaint process, and outside counsel has been engaged to assist the Commission. The complaint documents and replies are publicly available here: https://elections.wi.gov/publications/complaints.
For additional information on this topic, please see the full overview and attachments posted below.