(The Center Square) – Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos says he is happy to finally have some justice in the failed effort to boot him from office.
The Wisconsin Elections Commission last week recommended charges against 13 people involved in the failed 2024 recall effort against Vos.
Vos asked the Elections Commission for an investigation after he said a signature check showed that the recall’s hired signature collectors allegedly “unlawfully listed fake addresses, and others fraudulently listed names of circulators who signed affidavits stating they never signed the petition.”
A number of voters in Racine County launched the recall effort because they were unhappy that Vos didn’t disband the elections commission or take other steps after President Donald Trump lost the 2020 election in Wisconsin.
“While it’s disappointing that this referral took so long to make, I am glad that the Commission agreed that there were likely laws broken during these ridiculous recall attempts in 2024,” Vos said in a statement. “I hope the Racine County DA moves quickly to prosecute these individuals. These prosecutions should be a high priority for everyone who cares about election security.”
Vos added that the decision to recommend charges is a victory for election integrity in the state.
But the recommendation for charges in Vos’ case is a stark contrast from the last WEC investigation.
Last summer, the commission found that Madison’s former clerk broke several laws when she did not count nearly 200 absentee ballots.
WEC chairwoman Ann Jacobs said the clerk showed “rather shocking dereliction of just ordinary responsibility,” but Jacobs said there was no need to ask for charges.
That former clerk, Maribeth Witzel-Behl, ultimately resigned from the clerk’s office. Madison, however, continues to fight WEC’s recommendations that Jacobs says will prevent ballots from going un-counted again in the future.
