MADISON, Wis. — The Republican-controlled Wisconsin Senate on Thursday voted 22-11 to fire the battleground state’s top elections official, a move that will likely draw a legal battle.

It comes after election skeptics falsely claimed Wisconsin Elections Commission Administrator Meagan Wolfe was part of a plan to rig the 2020 vote in Wisconsin.

Republicans had vowed to oust Wolfe before the 2024 presidential election.

“Wisconsinites have expressed concerns with the administration of elections both here in Wisconsin and nationally," said Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu. “We need to rebuild faith in Wisconsin's elections.”

Democratic Gov. Tony Evers slammed the effort. 

“Wisconsin Republicans’ attempt to illegally fire Wisconsin’s elections administrator without cause today shows they are continuing to escalate efforts to sow distrust and disinformation about our elections, denigrate our clerks, poll workers, and election administrators, and undermine basic tenets of our democracy, including the peaceful transfer of power," Evers said in a statement. 

In reaction to the vote, Evers also requested the Wisconsin Department of Justice provide immediate representation to help defend Wolfe so she can remain in her role.

Attorney General Josh Kaul later on Thursday announced the filing of a lawsuit, which seeks to declare Wolfe is "lawfully holding over in her current position and the Senate has no power to reject her."

“The story today is not what the senate has purported to do with its vote. It’s that the senate has blatantly disregarded state law in order to put its full stamp of approval on the ongoing baseless attacks on our democracy,” Kaul said in a statement. “We are going to court to minimize the confusion resulting from today’s stunt and to protect a pillar of our democracy—the fair administration of elections.”

Earlier this week, a Republican-controlled committee recommended firing Wolfe, rather than reappointing her. The Senate elections committee voted 3-1, with one Democrat abstaining.

Democrats called the recommendations “illegitimate.”

The elections commission deadlocked in June on a vote to nominate Wolfe for a second four-year term. In that vote, three Republicans voted to nominate her and three Democrats abstained. They said they had hoped by abstaining, it would prevent Wolfe’s nomination from going all the way to the Senate for confirmation.

Senate rejection would normally carry the effect of firing her, but without a four-vote majority nominating Wolfe, a recent state Supreme Court ruling appears to allow her to stay in office indefinitely as a holdover.

“This will go into the legal system, and I’m confident that we will prevail,” Senate Minority Leader Melissa Agard said ahead of Thursday’s vote.

Wolfe decided not to attend a Senate committee hearing on her reappointment last month.

Election observers have voiced concerns on the replacement of Wolfe with someone less experienced. They have also expressed concern over continuing to dispute her position.

Many said it could create “greater instability in a high-stakes presidential race,” where election workers already expect to face harassment and threats.

Wolfe has worked at WEC and the accountability board for more than 10 years. She became head of the commission in 2018. It came after Senate Republicans rejected Michael Haas, her predecessor, for working for the Government Accountability Board.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.