MAJOR WIN FOR ELECTION INTEGRITY: Judge Orders Citizenship Checks Of All Registered Wisconsin Voters | WLT Report Skip to main content
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MAJOR WIN FOR ELECTION INTEGRITY: Judge Orders Citizenship Checks Of All Registered Wisconsin Voters


Wisconsin might not be a swing state after this!

A Wisconsin judge has ordered a review for the citizenship status for all Wisconsin voters.

Waukesha County Judge Michael Maxwell has called for the Wisconsin Elections Commission to use the Wisconsin Department of Transportation’s citizenship records to clean up voter rolls from containing non-citizens.

WPR provided further context on the Judge’s ruling:

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A Waukesha County judge who ordered a review of the citizenship status of millions of Wisconsin voters has stayed part of his ruling while the case is appealed, though much of his decision remains in effect.

The Friday decision from Waukesha County Judge Michael Maxwell directs the Wisconsin Elections Commission to cross-reference the state’s voter registration list against Department of Transportation records, which include a person’s citizenship status when they applied for a driver’s license or identification card. In a follow-up order issued Monday, Maxwell left that portion of his ruling intact.

His Friday ruling also initially barred the commission and local clerks across Wisconsin from registering any new voters without proof of citizenship. Maxwell stayed that part of the order Monday, meaning he put it on hold.

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The Wisconsin Department of Justice, which is representing the Wisconsin Elections Commission and Department of Transportation, is appealing the initial decision. A hearing is set for Oct. 31.

The ruling comes as President Donald Trump’s administration is suing multiple states, including Minnesota, for voter registration data in an effort to ensure voter rolls are “clean.”

The Wisconsin Examiner reported why the Wisconsin Elections Commission is cross-referencing the state’s voter registration list its Department of Transportation records:

Currently, applicants for voter registration in Wisconsin and most other states must attest, under penalty of perjury, that they are U.S. citizens who are eligible to vote, but they are not required to present proof of citizenship.

The issue of noncitizen voting has been hotly debated in recent years, though no widespread instances have been found. Republicans have used the concern to call for citizenship proof checks of all voters, even as data shows that such measures risk disenfranchising some U.S. citizens.

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Republicans praised the decision, with state Rep. Amanda Nedweski calling it a “great win for election integrity.”

Democrats and the respondents in the case were largely mum.

Election commission spokesperson Emilee Miklas didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Riley Vetterkind, a spokesperson for the Wisconsin Department of Justice, which represents the commission and Department of Transportation, declined to say whether the agencies would appeal the decision.



 

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