Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul warned that efforts akin to the Republican false elector scheme of 2020 would be subject to Department of Justice scrutiny and those behind such efforts would be held accountable.
“The results reflect the will of the voters, and people can rely on the results,” Kaul told WisPolitics-WisconsinEye in an interview at the Wisconsin delegation breakfast at the DNC in Chicago on Monday. “I think we’re going to see that again in 2024, but we also are clear that if there are efforts to intimidate voters or to illegally threaten election officials, people need to expect to be held accountable. And if there are efforts to overturn the results, we are prepared to defend them, as my administration did in 2020. And if people commit crimes in trying to do that, they need to expect to be held accountable as well.”
Kaul also said he has “absolute confidence” in the Wisconsin Elections Commission.
“Obviously, like anybody else, their work needs to be reviewed and should be assessed and considered,” Kaul said. “They’ve done a fantastic job running elections in, first of all, in a state where we have close election after close election, and secondly, in an environment that is filled with disinformation, with false claims about our elections.”
Kaul’s DOJ filed criminal charges against three people alleged to have been involved in the false elector scheme, adding in the interview that it’s an “ongoing investigation.”
And he went to court to block the state GOP Senate’s attempt to remove Wisconsin Elections Commission Administrator Meagan Wolfe tied. He tied that to the Republican criticism of the WEC and the Douglas County Clerk, who failed to move the town of Summit into the correct Assembly districts under the new legislative lines. She failed to catch the mistake until voters were headed to the polls, though her error didn’t affect the outcome of the primary races.
State Sen. Cory Tomczyk, R-Mosinee, sought to blame the Elections Commission for failing to catch the error. But according to the Wisconsin County Clerks Association, while clerks send sample ballots to the Elections Commission to review the forms, the state agency doesn’t check offices or spellings. That’s the clerk’s responsibility.
“So to see a senator claim that that’s the Elections Commission’s fault, it just shows that they’re not being straightforward about the attacks they’re making,” Kaul said. “They’re just trying to throw mud at the wall and hoping that something sticks, and that’s not the way we should be conducting our elections.”
Kaul added it’s only when Donald Trump is on the ballot that Republicans begin amplifying false election claims.
“And it’s got to stop, because it’s corrosive to our system, and hopefully in the 2024 election, we’ll see a shift on that,” Kaul said. “But we’re going to keep speaking out about what’s really happening, which is that our system works, it’s secure, and our Elections Commission is doing a good job.”
Kaul also talks about Kamala Harris’ record as California AG, the Wisconsin abortion case and more.
See the video at WisconsinEye.
