One of Wisconsin’s Republican state senators is questioning why the state’s attorney general is getting involved in the back-and-forth over Wausau’s ballot drop box.
Sen. Cory Tomczyk, R-Mosinee, on Thursday said the ballot drop box is back in front of city hall, and the issue over how Wausau’s mayor removed the drop box is largely settled.
“Give me a break!,” Tomczyk said. “Mayor [Doug] Diny removed a ballot drop box that was unsecured and moved it to a secure location. The City Clerk put the box back where it was and had it secured it to the ground. Both sides had made their point and were willing to move on.”
Diny said he moved the drop box into city hall two weeks ago to protect election integrity in Wausau.
Wausau City Clerk Kaitlyn Bernarde had the drop box reinstalled, and then pronounced it open for business.
Tomczyk accused Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul of playing politics with his investigation into Wausau and its mayor.
“Of all the issues that AG Josh Kaul and his investigators at the Department of Criminal Investigation (DOC) could spend their time and taxpayer dollars on, they choose to investigate Mayor Diny for trying to protect the ballots of the residents of the City of Wausau,” Tomczyk added.
Kaul’s office confirmed its investigation into Diny, the ballot drop box, and potential criminal activity on Thursday. Last week, Marathon County’s district attorney confirmed their own investigation into the same questions.
On Wednesday, a handful of Wausau voters wrote to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in western Wisconsin, asking for a federal investigation as well.
“We, citizens of Wausau, Wisconsin, and SEIU Wisconsin, on behalf of workers we represent who live in and around Wausau, write to request that your office initiate an investigation into the conduct of Mayor Doug Diny, including but not limited to his removal of a legally installed drop box outside City Hall in Wausau, Wisconsin,” the voters wrote in a letter to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. “We believe that Mr. Diny may have broken federal law by using his official position to interfere with citizens’ right to vote.”
It’s unclear what, if any, Wisconsin laws Diny may have broken.
The Wisconsin Supreme Court earlier this year ordered that ballot drop be allowed in the November election. But the justices didn’t set any other rules for ballot drop box use, or their potential removal.
Wausau may adopt some rules for its ballot drop box next week. The city council is set to consider a “Resolution Regarding City’s Use of Absentee Drop Boxes” at its meeting next Tuesday.
Interested in the content of this Article?
Reach out to the MacIver Institute to aquire more information