As audits of the 2020 general election in Arizona and Georgia continue to show irregularities that may have impacted the race for president between Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Joe Biden, one Wisconsin lawmaker is calling for an in-depth audit of the Badger State’s November 3, 2020 election.
Trump lost Wisconsin by less than 21,000 votes in 2020 after narrowly carrying the state in 2016. The state is currently in the midst of an audit being led by former state Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman with the assistance of retired police officers and the state’s Legislative Audit Bureau. This effort is being overseen by the Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Burlington).
Another election audit is being done by the State Assembly’s elections committee.
But according to Representative Timothy Ramthun (R-Kewaskum), the current efforts are insufficient to find the type of irregularities currently being uncovered in Arizona and Georgia. Ramthun believes that the audit being conducted by Gableman should be enhanced to search for irregularities similar to the ones uncovered in Arizona and Georgia.
“After reviewing the information released by both the Fulton County audit in Georgia and today’s Arizona Senate hearing on the Maricopa County audit, I am formally requesting a more comprehensive audit from former Justice Michael J. Gableman and the Legislative Audit Bureau into the 2020 presidential election in Wisconsin,” Ramthun said in a statement.
Ramthun is understandably concerned about the increasing evidence of possible election fraud being uncovered in Arizona and Georgia and wonders if those types of irregularities occurred in Wisconsin as well.
“It is vital to our democratic process that the Wisconsin Legislature acknowledges the alarming information that threatens the very fabric of our society,” Ramthun said.
Ramthun wants the upgraded and more intensive audit to focus on the so-called Wisconsin 5, which are a group of counties that received high levels of private funding to assist with the election process. These counties include Milwaukee County, Dane County — which includes the City of Madison — Racine County, Kenosha County, and Brown County — which includes the City of Green Bay.
Among the areas of increased scrutiny that Ramthun is calling for are “signs of machine-folded ballots that are perfectly creased, or not creased at all; signs of pen puncture or indentation by a person vs. printed full in circles on vote indicators; paper quality matches that of official use ballots. If they are heavier, lighter or different in any way, they should be further examined; signs of ballots not being printed squarely, or with lighter or heavier ink, or any other irregularities in any printing aspects; [and] any questionable or missing chain of custody [of ballots].”
Ramthun is also requesting a forensic review of the digital files to ensure that ballots were not scanned multiple times, as was found in Fulton County. He would also like to see a thorough review of the “cybersecurity aspects” of the election, including “routers and internet access, logins, protection software updates, and the handling of data,” so that the type of issues currently being uncovered in Maricopa County can be ruled out.
Some state Democrats have accused Republicans concerned about the validity of the 2020 election of attempting to undermine confidence in the election system.
“Republicans seem to be making a concerted effort … to undermine the public’s confidence and trust,” Wisconsin Assembly Minority Leader Gordon Hintz said earlier this year.
Other Democrats believe that the state election audits are focusing on the wrong things.
“I think it’s unfortunate that the Legislature is using its resources to investigate what has already been thoroughly investigated and it is my hope that instead they could work toward expanding opportunities and ease of voting for Wisconsin voters,” said Ann Jacobs, a Democrat who heads the Wisconsin Election Commission.
Ramthun responded to critics of his call for an in-depth forensic audit in a Facebook post: “I was chosen by the people to serve THEM! When the majority of those people feel they want to see a more comprehensive audit in WI, and none of them are feeling their voices have been heard, I wouldn’t be fulfilling my duty to serve THEM if I didn’t stand up. It’s time we settle fact vs fiction.”
Democrats in Wisconsin — as well as in other battleground states — seem to be exhibiting a palpable fear of forensic audits of the 2020 election, even after calling for audits after the 2016 election. When audits are merely mentioned now, their hackles are immediately raised and choirs singing “voter suppression” and “racism” immediately rise up.
They doth protest too much. Federal law requires that election offices retain ballots for at least 22 months for exactly this reason. If there are questions and concerns about an election, the ballots can be examined and scrutinized. And the 2020 election — especially with all the mail-in voting and other questionable voting methods allowed during the pandemic — definitely deserves a thorough review.
