MADISON, Wis. — After recent testimony raised many questions, the Assembly Committee on Campaigns and Elections continued its deep dive into how the state's elections database works.
Last week, a New London man named Peter Bernegger told lawmakers he believes thousands of fake voters had cast ballots across Wisconsin largely because of the state's database.
The Wisconsin Elections Commission had its turn Wednesday to refute those claims.
Elections commission staff cleared the air for lawmakers about how seriously they take claims of wrongdoing.
“Nearly every member of our modest staff has at some point researched allegations of wrongdoing,” Robert Kehoe, technology director for the agency, said.
Kehoe talked about what the state's WisVote system is and what it is not and explained how the database, which includes both active and inactive records, isn't the same as voter rolls.
“It's to safeguard against fraud,” Kehoe said. “The retention of voter history doesn't make it any easier to commit elections fraud. It is no more difficult or easy to change a voter record than it is to create one from scratch.”
Staff from the elections commission also called claims like those made by Bernegger last week “sensational.”
“They ask rhetorical questions on social media or in hearings like this one, but they don't bother to ask the Wisconsin Elections Commission or any Wisconsin Elections officials,” Kehoe said. “Sometimes they provide snippets of data that fail even the most basic scrutiny. We can only examine and respond to information that we are provided.”
Republicans on the committee want the elections commission to be more proactive when it comes to investigations, instead of waiting for information to be brought to them.
“And that's what we need to hear because each one of these allegations, you know, for the most part, would be pretty terrible if they were true,” State Rep. Ron Tusler, R-Harrison, said.
Democrats, on the other hand, feel expecting the agency to take such initiative isn't realistic.
“There are people out there making, and I will use the word, fantastical claims about our elections,” State Rep. Jodi Emerson, D-Eau Claire, said. “But they have to bring these things to you guys to investigate them and I don't think it's fair to say 'Why aren't you getting out there?'”
It's unclear what will come next from the Assembly Committee on Campaigns and Elections following the testimony. However, more scrutiny over the electoral process seems to be in the cards.
Wednesday afternoon, committee chair State Rep. Janel Brandtjen, R-Menomonee Falls, released a statement that said several election reform bills won't be going through her committee and were instead assigned to a different one.
“It is no secret that the Speaker of the Assembly, Robin Vos, and State Senator Kathy Bernier have been severely downplaying the significance of the voter fraud that the elections committee, the special counsel, and numerous independent groups have uncovered,” Brandtjen said in a statement. “Even in the face of growing outrage from an overwhelming number of Wisconsinites across the state, they continue to play political games with the future of our elections and our state.
Brandtjen raised concerns about the amount of scrutiny the bills would receive without going through her committee and called the decision “unconscionable and irresponsible.”