Trump administration accuses Wisconsin of violating federal election law
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Trump administration has accused the Wisconsin Elections Commission of failing to provide a state-based complaint process for voters bringing allegations against the commission itself, calling that a violation of federal law and threatening to withhold all federal funding.
But the commission’s Democratic chairwoman said Thursday there is no federal funding to cut and she disputed accusations raised in a Department of Justice letter a day earlier, saying it would be nonsensical for the commission to determine whether complaints against it were valid.
“What they’re asking is, if someone files a complaint against us, we’re supposed to hold a hearing to determine if we messed up,” Ann Jacobs said. “That is not functional.” It marks the second time in a week that the Trump administration has targeted election leaders in battleground states.
Last week, the Justice Department accused North Carolina’s election board of violating federal law by failing to ensure voter registration records of some applicants contained identifying numbers. The latest letter from the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division accused Wisconsin of violating the Help America Vote Act for not having a state-based administrative complaint procedure to address alleged violations by the state elections commission of the 2002 federal law.
https://apnews.com/article/wisconsin-trump-voter-complaints-f6ee89c2416a57fdee917f358d143704