Wisconsin State Representative Orders Thorough Cyber-Forensic Examination of 2020 Election
A Wisconsin legislator is ordering a more thorough examination of the 2020 election results in the state.
In a news release on Monday, state Rep. Janel Brandtjen, a Republican serving as chairwoman of the Assembly’s Campaigns and Elections Committee, described what materials the panel will be asked for in the following days so that a more meticulous examination of the November election can take place.
Wisconsin law allows investigations for election irregularities up to 22 months after the election in question occurred, according to the release. Brandtjen said in the release that there were plenty of irregularities in the 2020 election.
“The people of Wisconsin deserve to know the truth about the 2020 election,” she said.
Brandtjen said that while she is grateful for the legislature’s efforts to restore election confidence as well as its support for the investigations of localized concerns already underway, it is clear that the Campaigns and Elections Committee needs to do more to look into broader issues that have been brought up.
“The amount of absentee voting taking place has exposed issues surrounding ballot curing, ‘indefinitely confined’ electors, ballot harvesting and how our tabulators actually work,” the release said.
Brandtjen made it clear that she has heard the concerns straight from Wisconsin voters.
“As I’ve traveled around our state as Chair of the Campaigns and Elections committee, voters have made it clear that they want a thorough, cyber-forensic examination of tabulators, ballot marking devices and other election equipment, which I will be helping facilitate on behalf of the committee as the chair,” she said in the release.
The Republican legislator said the panel’s oversight hasn’t kept up with modern election technology and there are “legitimate concerns” regarding the election.
Brandtjen then described what those legitimate concerns are: “The questionable dissemination and application of guidance by the Wisconsin Elections Commission, the repeated failure to follow state elections law by liberal partisan clerks, and the recent revelation of the tens of thousands of new registrations and votes cast by individuals whose driver’s license number, name, and date of birth did not match and were subsequently removed from the state system after their votes were recorded, are simply outrageous.”
About the investigative process, she said that cyberaudit technicians will rigorously inspect the chain of custody on ballots, audit trail logs and IP addresses so that voters in past and future elections will have confidence in the integrity of the vote.
Brandtjen added that it is also imperative that the Wisconsin legislature completely understand the extent of the shortcomings in election oversight.
“While Wisconsin is in the process of an election audit, I will be working to ensure that it is augmented with the expertise and resources to ensure a comprehensive, forensic examination,” she said in the release.
Even though there are people who oppose looking closer at materials from the election and would rather move past it, she said the state must stay up to date with the technology and perform a complete, transparent, forensic audit in order to retain a credible system of elections.
“It is incumbent upon myself and the Campaigns and Elections committee to ensure the records essential to the most rigorous and intensive review are made available to the professionals with the greatest capability to conduct it, and increase election process transparency, in order for the public’s confidence to be assured, and that is exactly what I will do,” Brandtjen said in the release.
Ultimately, there is no harm in doing an audit of the election and Wisconsin’s voting processes, especially when so many voters are genuinely concerned about the integrity of the election.
Despite all the exasperation from Democrats, if there is even a hint of fraud regarding our elections, shouldn’t it be investigated? Isn’t it worth putting the American people at ease knowing they can trust in our system of electing public officials?
If fraud is found, people of every political persuasion should desire a solution so that it doesn’t occur again. No matter how politicized the world is nowadays, we should not want “our people” to win through dishonest means. It is just wrong.
I would like to think that if fraud is found, voters on both sides would desire for their elected officials to rectify the issues. If evidence of fraud brings about change to maintain election integrity, that is a win for everybody.
If fraud is not discovered but election workers are found to be negligent, that is a win as well. State and local officials could terminate or prosecute those responsible and work to ensure that all election officials are held to stricter standards.
If no fraud whatsoever is found, that is most certainly a win. It would show voters that their election was fair and honest and they can trust in the process. That is what most voters in this country want.
There are no bad results of an electoral audit.
Public officials owe transparency to the American people, and they should want voters to trust in the system that helps get them elected. Nobody should be against double-checking all of the processes involved in an election to ensure that it was conducted in a fair and honest way.
When any citizens are concerned about the electoral process, they deserve to be heard — regardless of what party or candidates they voted for.
If conducting audits is the only way to restore voter confidence, then it is something that should be done. American voters are owed that much — even the ones with whom we may disagree.
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