Swansenreport

FBI Contacts Milwaukee Election Officials Over 2020 Election — Evers Vows to Fight Any Ballot Seizure

Federal investigators have contacted multiple Milwaukee election officials in connection with a widening FBI probe into the 2020 presidential election, extending an investigation that has already reached Georgia, Arizona, and Michigan to Wisconsin’s largest city — and setting up a potential confrontation with Gov. Tony Evers, who is vowing to resist any effort to seize ballots or voter data.

An FBI agent visited the private home of Milwaukee County Elections Director Michelle Hawley last week and left a business card seeking an interview. County Clerk George Christenson said in a statement that it was “unfortunate” the FBI chose to visit her private residence rather than contact the Election Commission’s office directly. The Milwaukee County Clerk’s Office added that “the 2020 Presidential Election was fair and transparent, and its results are accurate.” The Gateway Pundit

Votebeat Wisconsin, which confirmed the contacts through multiple current and former election officials, reported that the exact nature and scope of the investigation remains unclear. The agency has not responded to questions about its purpose. Legal experts said it will not be easy for the federal government to convince a court to hand over ballots, even if it tries. Just The News

The Wisconsin probe follows a pattern. In January, the FBI raided a Fulton County, Georgia election office. In February and March, the agency subpoenaed records from Maricopa County, Arizona, and demanded that a Michigan county hand over all ballots from the 2020 election. In each case, the targeted jurisdictions were large, heavily Democratic-voting counties that have been the subject of persistent — and repeatedly investigated and debunked — election fraud theories. Yahoo!

Evers said he has not been made aware of any “widespread” FBI investigation in Wisconsin but is prepared to respond if one develops. “We are adequately prepared and I won’t tell you what pieces are in place but we’re prepared to make sure that our elections happen safely,” he said. In an earlier statement, Evers had been blunter: “The idea that the state should somehow turn over sensitive voter information and documents that could enable the federal government to know how Wisconsinites voted and who they voted for is wrong, and we’ll continue fighting to protect Wisconsinites’ right to vote by secret ballot.” LifeZetteThe Daily Beast

A Wisconsin-specific complication: if the FBI were to seize Milwaukee’s absentee ballots from 2020, a quirk of Wisconsin law — which requires absentee ballots counted at a central facility to include poll list numbers — means the ballots could potentially be cross-referenced with poll books to identify how individual voters cast their ballots. Milwaukee’s 2020 ballots still exist because of an ongoing lawsuit filed against the city, rather than having been destroyed on the normal schedule. The Daily Beast

Former longtime Wisconsin Elections Director Kevin Kennedy offered a measured assessment: “What’s really disconcerting is the fact that there is a clear pattern here to try and continue to stir up issues that were resolved in every single opportunity there was to review them, whether it was a court case, an independent audit, or the actual certification and review process that exists.” Just The News

The investigation will be one to watch closely as Wisconsin heads into a critical midterm election cycle.

Sources: NBC News | Votebeat Wisconsin | Wisconsin Examiner | Wisconsin Law Journal