Wisconsin Republicans 2020 Election-Fraud Narrative a Distraction

Beginning on November 9, 2016, we heard a constant drumbeat from Democrats in Madison, Wis., and Washington, D.C.: “voter fraud,” “stolen election,” “Russian collusion.” Those claims now thoroughly debunked, we now hear a similar beat, only now coming from Republicans regarding November 3, 2020. But we now know more about the 2020 election than any other in history. And we know more than enough to conclude that it is time to move past the wild accusations made about this election using faulty information. Instead of dwelling on defective narratives about the past, we must take the steps warranted by multiple credible and in-depth investigations and set our sights on electing Republicans up and down the ballot in 2022.

To understand why, one must first have proper knowledge of Wisconsin’s election system. Before I was a Wisconsin state legislator, I was elected to multiple terms as the Chippewa County clerk. Wisconsin’s elections system is among the most decentralized in the country, and the county clerk is the highest-ranking elections official in each of the 72 counties. During all twelve of my years in the Wisconsin Assembly and Senate, I have been either vice-chair or chair of my house’s Elections Committee. I currently chair the Wisconsin Senate Committee on Elections, Election Process Reform, Ethics. As chair, I convened my committee for a public hearing on December 11, 2020, to hear the claims brought forward about the 2020 election that had occurred merely five weeks prior. These claims merited discussion and investigation. Following that hearing, I joined others in calling for a full audit of the 2020 election in Wisconsin, to be conducted by the highly regarded, non-partisan, professional Legislative Audit Bureau (LAB).

KB

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Kathy Bernier

Kathy Bernier represents the 23rd district in the Wisconsin State Senate.

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Beginning on November 9, 2016, we heard a constant drumbeat from Democrats in Madison, Wis., and Washington, D.C.: “voter fraud,” “stolen election,” “Russian collusion.” Those claims now thoroughly debunked, we now hear a similar beat, only now coming from Republicans regarding November 3, 2020. But we now know more about the 2020 election than any other in history. And we know more than enough to conclude that it is time to move past the wild accusations made about this election using faulty information. Instead of dwelling on defective narratives about the past, we must take the steps warranted by multiple credible and in-depth investigations and set our sights on electing Republicans up and down the ballot in 2022.

To understand why, one must first have proper knowledge of Wisconsin’s election system. Before I was a Wisconsin state legislator, I was elected to multiple terms as the Chippewa County clerk. Wisconsin’s elections system is among the most decentralized in the country, and the county clerk is the highest-ranking elections official in each of the 72 counties. During all twelve of my years in the Wisconsin Assembly and Senate, I have been either vice-chair or chair of my house’s Elections Committee. I currently chair the Wisconsin Senate Committee on Elections, Election Process Reform, Ethics. As chair, I convened my committee for a public hearing on December 11, 2020, to hear the claims brought forward about the 2020 election that had occurred merely five weeks prior. These claims merited discussion and investigation. Following that hearing, I joined others in calling for a full audit of the 2020 election in Wisconsin, to be conducted by the highly regarded, non-partisan, professional Legislative Audit Bureau (LAB).