Democratic Elections Committee Members: Republicans Revisit Debunked Conspiracy Theories

MADISON - Today, Democratic members of the Assembly Committee on Campaigns & Elections released the following statement on the latest Republican attempt to undermine the 2020 election:

“Today’s hearing was yet another rehash of a failed court case around the 2020 elections that Republicans already lost. Once again, the Assembly Committee on Campaigns & Elections has played host to conspiracies and falsehoods. This hearing focused on grant funding awarded to Wisconsin cities to improve their elections, and Republicans continued to demonstrate they are uninterested in ensuring that local municipalities have the resources they need to run elections. This discussion is not a new one, and it follows the same pattern from the last hearing on the 2020 election: wild accusations, no evidence of wrongdoing, and implications of impropriety that run far ahead of the facts.

“Today’s first Republican witness lost a lawsuit over these grants before the November 2020 election even took place. Erick Kaardal, a former Republican Party official who is being investigated for filing frivolous lawsuits trying to overturn the 2020 election, came before this Committee in December to peddle conspiracy theories and he returned today to use innuendo to attack officials who ran an open and fair election. Not a single piece of information he discussed today pointed to any impact to a single vote, and Mr. Kaardal’s track record around the 2020 election is so unreliable that a federal judge has referred Mr. Kaardal for disciplinary action.

“After more than an hour of shifting claims from Mr. Kaardal, Republicans brought out the former Brown County Clerk, two Republican activists, a far-right Trump appointee, and even one of our Republican colleagues. One of those activists deleted multiple pro-Trump tweets and the other deleted their entire Twitter account before testifying today, but thanks to internet archives those tweets can be recovered and they show support for the pro-Trump conspiracy theories that eventually led to the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. None of those speakers presented any information that the election in Green Bay – or any other part of Wisconsin – was anything but a legal, open, and fair election.

“It is extremely disappointing that the Committee chose not to hear from Green Bay Mayor Eric Genrich or any of his staff about their efforts to ensure an open and fair election. The staff of the Wisconsin Elections Commission were not invited to give their insight. In the future, we hope that this Committee will focus on talking to officials who actually administer Wisconsin elections rather than attacking them from afar. It seems Republicans are scared of having an open conversation where it will be clear that their conspiracy theories are just that – innuendo, misunderstandings, and lies.”

State Representative Mark Spreitzer (D - Beloit)
State Representative Lisa Subeck (D - Madison)
State Representative Jodi Emerson (D – Eau Claire)

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