Wisconsin’s Voter-Roll Purge

Wisconsin has been at the front line of attempts to remove hundreds of thousands of names from registered voter rolls. American Oversight is fighting for transparency regarding the effort by state officials to purge more than 200,000 names from the rolls before the 2020 election.

In October 2019, the Wisconsin Election Commission sent a letter to about 230,000 voters who might have moved, asking them to update their addresses before the spring of 2021. But a lawsuit from the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty (WILL), a conservative litigation group, has threatened to kick those voters off the rolls much sooner.

In December, a county judge ordered the state to remove more than 200,000 of those voters from the rolls. Wisconsin election officials appealed the ruling, and in February a state appeals court struck down the county judge’s ruling, and blocked the purge. But the president of WILL has said that the organization intends to take its case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

In a state where elections are decided by narrow margins, any successful effort to corrupt the vote or greatly alter registration numbers could change the outcome. As the legal battle makes it way through the courts, American Oversight is investigating whether any unlawful coordination or partisan intent was behind Wisconsin’s voter purge.

Updates

News Roundup: A Coordinated Coup Attempt

January 14, 2022
We’ve written a lot about the Big Lie’s evolution — from fear-mongering about voter fraud to the attempts to subvert the 2020 election, to the ongoing partisan election reviews — and the network of activists who have been keeping this anti-democratic movement alive.

News Roundup: Jan. 6 Accountability and Election ‘Audit’ Transparency

October 22, 2021
The Jan. 6 attack isn’t the only consequence of the Big Lie that Trump allies are trying to shield from public scrutiny.

News Roundup: Sham Audits and the Fruits of Disinformation

May 27, 2021
American Oversight's fight for transparency in the Arizona Senate's sham "audit" of ballots cast in Maricopa County continued this week, with the court on Thursday scheduling an oral argument for July 7 in our lawsuit seeking the release of planning documents and records of related communications.

News Roundup: Spotlight on the States

March 18, 2021
It’s Sunshine Week, and we’re continuing to shine a light on the actions of state governments across the country to narrow access to our democracy or to use public office to serve the few.

In the Documents: Partisan Communications Between Wisconsin Elections Commission Members and State Lawmakers

June 24, 2020
One memo includes a proposal to allow the state — currently the subject of voter-purge lawsuit — to remove voters from the rolls more regularly.
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Related Documents

July 29, 2020

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Public Records Request to the Wisconsin Elections Commission for April 2020 Election Complaint Data and Resolution Policies

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March 11, 2020

Public Records Request to Wisconsin Elections Commission Asking for Communications with State Republican Party

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March 11, 2020

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March 10, 2020

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February 28, 2020

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Public Records Request to Wisconsin’s Legislative Reference Bureau for Communications with Elections Commissioners

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February 26, 2020

Public Records Request to Wisconsin State Senate Asking for Communications with Wisconsin Elections Commission

Wisconsin Senate
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February 26, 2020

Public Records Request to Wisconsin State Assembly Asking for Communications with Wisconsin Elections Commission

Wisconsin State Assembly
FOIA Request
February 17, 2020

Speaker of the Wisconsin State Assembly Robin Vos containing Emails With the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty

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February 13, 2020

Wisconsin Election Commission Chair Knudson Emails with State Legislature

Wisconsin Elections Commission
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February 11, 2020

Public Records Request to Wisconsin Elections Commissioner Knudson’s Communications with Legislators

Wisconsin Elections Commission
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February 11, 2020

Public Records Request to Wisconsin Elections Commissioner Spindell’s Communications with Legislators

Wisconsin Elections Commission
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Wisconsin State Assembly
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December 23, 2019

PRR to the Wisconsin State Senate for Communications with the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty

Wisconsin Senate
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December 23, 2019

PRR to the Wisconsin Elections Commission for Communications with the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty

Wisconsin Elections Commission
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