Name: 'Nothing Has Changed': Lawmaker Fears Loophole in Wisconsin Elections Will Make Midterms a Rerun of 2020
Uploaded: 2025-01-04T20:40:57.000Z
Description: Wisconsin state Assemblywoman Janel Brandtjen, a Republican, worries that not enough has been done to prevent the upcoming midterm election from becoming a replay of 2020.

NTD Newsroom comprises teams of reporters, editors, and producers assigned to cover breaking news and other stories.


NTD Newsroom

NTD Plus

News

News you can trust from the U.S. and around the world. Critical information and insight. We cover the stories that others don’t. NTD News Today airs Monday–Friday at 11 a.m. ET.

NTD News Today

Pentagon Scraps Deployment of 4,000 Troops to Poland

9/11 Memorial and Museum Adds 7th Moment of Silence

AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon Launch Joint Venture to Tackle Dead Zones

Stefania Cox is an NTD News anchor and national correspondent based at the network's global headquarters in New York City. Stefania anchors "NTD Newsroom," and co-anchors "NTD News Today" weekdays at 10:00 am ET.

Stefania Cox

Trump Committed to US Defense, Prosperity, Amid China Talks: Expert

Jerome Powell Ends Tenure as Fed Chair

US Government Sues Chick-fil-A Over Religious Rights

California Gubernatorial Candidates Make Closing Pitches to Voters 

House Passes 1st Fiscal Year 2027 Appropriations Bill

Jason Blair is a national correspondent for NTD News based in California. 

Jason Blair

Federal Judge Partly Blocks Texas Immigration Law

Trump Announces National Garden of American Heroes Plans

NTD News Today Full Broadcast (May 15)

Paul Greaney is an NTD news anchor and producer. Since joining the company in 2018, he has anchored the station’s flagship Evening News broadcast, launched the NTD Business show, and produced documentary reports on pointed issues. 

The highlight of Paul’s time in the field was his coverage of the Hong Kong pro-democracy protests in 2019.

Paul Greaney

NTD News Today Full Broadcast (May 14)

Kevin Hogan is an NTD News data reporter and national correspondent based at the network's global headquarters in New York City. Kevin covers breaking news, as well as U.S. and global current events. He conveys the news through data visualizations and investigates pressing issues.

Kevin Hogan

NTD News Today Full Broadcast (May 13)

NTD News Today Full Broadcast (May 12)

NTD News Today Full Broadcast (May 11)

NTD News Today Full Broadcast (May 8)

NTD News Today Full Broadcast (May 7)

NTD News Today Full Broadcast (May 6)

NTD News Today Full Broadcast (May 5)

NTD News Today Full Broadcast (May 4)

Fast, compelling, first-hand news from China. China in Focus airs Monday–Friday at 8 p.m. ET.

China in Focus

China Sends Warships to Pacific Drill as Tensions With Japan Rise

Reuters is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages.

Reuters

We present news that is truthful and based on facts, outside of the political fog. Instead of focusing on the negative things happening around us, our mission is to give our viewers a good morning with empathetic and uplifting stories. Our aim is to provide an antidote to negativity by shining a light on the best side of people. We speak to inspiring people who positively impact communities, pursue topics that represent our common human values, and will never miss an opportunity to bring you heartwarming stories.

NTD Good Morning

2 US Embassy Personnel Assigned to Cartel Case Killed in Car Accident

The Associated Press is an American not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. 

The Associated Press

US News

Gunman Kills 8 Children, Including 7 of His Own, in Louisiana Mass Shooting

Flora Hua is a reporter based at NTD's global headquarters in New York City, where she covers China news, U.S.-China relations, and human rights issues. Flora primarily contributes to NTD's "China in Focus."  

Flora Hua

Trump: Seized Iranian Ship May Have ‘A Gift From China’

Joseph Lord is a congressional reporter for The Epoch Times.


Joseph Lord

Aldgra Fredly is a freelance writer covering U.S. and Asia Pacific news for The Epoch Times.

Aldgra Fredly

Former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani Hospitalized in Critical Condition: Spokesman

Wildfires Across Georgia and Florida Have Destroyed Nearly 50 Homes and Are Forcing Evacuations

US Warns of China Hacks via Routers, Smart Devices

Juliet Song is an international correspondent exclusively covering China news for NTD. She primarily contributes to NTD's "China in Focus," covering U.S.-China relations, the Chinese regime's human rights abuses, and domestic unrest inside China.

Juliet Song

2 Americans Among Suspected Communist Rebels Killed in Clashes With Troops, Philippine Officials Say

Ryan Morgan is a reporter for The Epoch Times focusing on military and foreign affairs. He was previously a news writer for NTD. 


Ryan Morgan

Mari Otsu is NTD's White House correspondent based in Washington. 

Mari Otsu

World News

Middle East

Iran

3 US Warships Fend Off Iranian Attacks, Trump Says Ceasefire Still Holds

Health News

3 Dead in Suspected Hantavirus Outbreak on Cruise Ship in Atlantic Ocean: WHO

Wisconsin state Assemblywoman Janel Brandtjen, a Republican, worries that not enough has been done to prevent the upcoming midterm election from becoming a replay of 2020.

“Going into the midterms, a person can still register, get a ballot, and vote before his or her identity and address are verified with the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, as required by law," Brandtjen told The Epoch Times. “I saw this going on in the August primary. Nothing has changed since 2020. There is still no instantaneous identity check for the thousands of people utilizing Wisconsin's same-day registration law.

“There remains continuing opportunity for bad actors to take advantage of this and other security vulnerabilities in the balloting process."

According to law, local clerks have 30 days after a state election and 45 days after a federal election to verify a same-day voter's ID and address.

“What good does that do? By that time, the election is already over, and there is no way to take a potentially illegal vote back or to link the ballot with the unqualified voter who cast it," she said. “This is not the fault of the local election clerks. They have not been provided the equipment they need, nor is there a process in place for an instant identity check for same-day registrants who vote that day.

Wisconsin Assemblywoman Janel Brandtjen. (Photo courtesy of Janel Brandtjen)

“The Wisconsin election system has a poor balancing process and is very bad about removing any names from the voter rolls. Many of these problem names and addresses are likely still on the rolls.”

The Wisconsin Legislative Audit Bureau documented the size of the 2020 problem in a report published in October 2021.

The audit discovered that the identity and address information of more than 46,000 same-day voting registrants didn't match the information in the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (DOT) database.

Brandtjen said some of these may be explainable by things such as spelling errors, but the sheer number discovered is cause for concern.

"It also doesn't change the fact that the errors that were caught were found after the person voted," she said.

According to the audit, in the case of 13,800 people, “no attempt was made to match the information.”

The audit stated that the Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC) offered several technical reasons why it made no attempt to match the identity and address of 13,800 would-be voters with DOT records, explaining that it was, in part, due to some of them being “in the military.”

According to the website Governing: The Future of States and Localities, in September of 2021, Wisconsin had 1,034 people on <a href="https://www.governing.com/now/2021-military-active-duty-personnel-civilians-by-state">active duty</a> in the U.S. military.

The audit revealed that a total of nearly 60,000 would-be voters appeared before municipal election officials, asked to be registered, and received a ballot without their names and addresses being verified with the DOT database until after the election or not at all.

Brandtjen said the WEC ignored her letter about the audit's findings and recommendations.

According to the audit, nearly 960,000 people registered to vote in 2020, either online, in person, or by mail.

Of the 960,000 new registrants, nearly 94 percent of them presented identity and address information that matched the DOT database.

“That is no doubt the case, but the problem is centered on the lack of an in-person, same-day register and vote verification procedure," election integrity watchdog Peter Bernegger told The Epoch Times. "The responsibility lies squarely on WEC, which has done nothing to fix this gaping hole in the security of Wisconsin elections.

“Going into next month’s midterm election, nothing has changed. There is still no system in place to do an instant identity verification like what we see at our airports, party stores, and bars."

Wisconsin election integrity investigator Peter Bernegger. (Photo courtesy of Peter Bernegger)

Bernegger alleged that some unverifiable names and addresses of people who received ballots weren’t discovered until five weeks after the 2020 election.

"By then the damage was already done," he said.

Bernegger said WEC's failure to implement an instantaneous verification system for the names and addresses of same-day registrants serves the political interests of the Democrat Party.

To determine the extent of the alleged abuse, he applied the state’s 90 percent voter turnout rate in the 2020 presidential election to the number of belatedly verified and unverifiable registrants flagged in the audit.

"Through that calculation, we estimate that 53,500 people were likely to have voted without verification of their names and addresses. And it’s possible for them to do it again,” Bernegger said.

Challenger Joe Biden defeated President Donald Trump by less than 21,000 votes in Wisconsin in 2020.

After the August primary, Bernegger filed a formal complaint with the Wisconsin Elections Commission alleging that its director, Meagan Wolfe, and all six commissioners (three Republicans and three Democrats) neglected their sworn duty by not implementing an instant identity check system for same-day registration voting.

WEC officials didn't respond to a request from The Epoch Times for comment.

On Sept. 7, WEC returned Bernegger’s complaint “without consideration or dismissal by the Commission.”

In a letter to Bernegger, WEC recused itself and referred Bernegger to the circuit court, claiming that it would be unethical to adjudicate a complaint against itself.

"As a Wisconsin voter who had to have my identity and address match the DOT database before I voted, I believe my 14th Amendment rights of equal protection and due process have been violated by WEC's willful and selective omission of this requirement in the case of same-day voters," he told The Epoch Times. "I am seeking legal counsel to fight for my rights in court."

<em>From <a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/nothing-has-changed-lawmaker-fears-loophole-in-wisconsin-elections-will-make-midterms-a-rerun-of-2020_4771191.html">The Epoch Times</a></em>

Videos

Politics

04_Top Stories

Latest Clips

midterms

election integrity

2022 Midterm Elections

Steven Kovac reports for The Epoch Times from Michigan. He is a general news reporter who has covered topics related to rising consumer prices to election security issues. He can be reached at steven.kovac@epochtimes.us

Steven Kovac

Latest and breaking news, documentaries, movies, and lifestyle content on NTD+.
 
Empower your knowledge and elevate your spirit with NTD+, your go-to destination for truthful news, insightful documentaries, and captivating lifestyle content that enriches your life.