(The Center Square) – Wisconsin’s secretary of state wants one of the state’s Republican elections commissioners to be fired after he settled a lawsuit over Wisconsin’s 2020 Trump electors.
Secretary of State Sarah Godlewski asked the Wisconsin Senate to remove Republican Commissioner Bob Spindell.
“Wisconsin Election Commissioner Robert Spindell Jr. admitted that he was not a qualified 2020 presidential elector and co-signed a fraudulent Certificate of Votes and submitted them to my office. That unlawful certificate was used as part of a larger scheme to overturn the election,” Godlewski said.
Spindell is one of 10 Republicans who last week settled a lawsuit over their roles as fake electors in 2020.
Spindell and the others admitted their strategy of signing up as Trump electors was used to try and challenge the 2020 election, but the Republicans themselves didn’t admit to any wrongdoing in the settlement.
Godlewski said voters in Wisconsin need to have faith in the people who are overseeing elections in the state.
“The people of Wisconsin cannot trust the integrity and moral compass of Commissioner Spindell to administer our elections. Sen. LeMahieu should immediately remove him from Wisconsin’s Election Commission,” she said.
Godlewski was not the only one who called for Spindell to resign.
Sen. Mark Spreitzer, D-Beloit, and Sen. Jeff Smith, D-Eau Claire, issued a statement that also said Spindell should no longer serve on the commission.
“We understand the Wisconsin Elections Commission is made up of partisan appointees, but surely Sen. LeMahieu can find a different Republican who didn’t attempt to illegally overturn a presidential election,” the two said.
LeMahieu rejected the Democrats’ calls.
“The civil settlement explicitly states that the plaintiffs acknowledge that the defendants, including Commissioner Spindell, admit no guilt or culpability,” LeMahieu said in a statement. “Liberal groups sought millions of dollars in court, and instead walked away with nothing. The Trump electors’ actions were an effort to support an ultimately failed legal strategy. Not a sinister plot to overturn an election.”
