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MADISON, Wis. -- The Trump medication has accused the Wisconsin Elections Commission of failing to supply a state-based ailment process for voters bringing allegations against the committee itself, calling that a usurpation of national instrumentality and threatening to withhold each national funding.
But the commission's Democratic chairwoman said Thursday determination is nary national backing to chopped and she disputed accusations raised successful a Department of Justice missive a time earlier, saying it would beryllium nonsensical for the committee to find whether complaints against it were valid.
“What they’re asking is, if idiosyncratic files a ailment against us, we’re expected to clasp a proceeding to find if we messed up," Ann Jacobs said. “That is not functional.”
It marks the second clip successful a week that the Trump medication has targeted predetermination leaders successful battleground states.
Last week, the Justice Department accused North Carolina’s predetermination committee of violating national instrumentality by failing to guarantee elector registration records of immoderate applicants contained identifying numbers.
The latest missive from the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division accused Wisconsin of violating the Help America Vote Act for not having a state-based administrative ailment process to code alleged violations by the authorities elections committee of the 2002 national law.
Actions by the Wisconsin Elections Commission “have near complainants alleging HAVA violations by the Commission without immoderate recourse,” attorneys for the Justice Department wrote. “With nary accidental oregon means to appeal, complainants are near stranded with their grievances.”
The elections committee conscionable received the missive and has nary remark portion it is being reviewed, spokesperson John Smalley said.
But Jacobs, chairwoman of the commission, said the committee can’t determine complaints against itself. Jacobs said that presumption was backed up by a 2022 ruling by the Wisconsin Supreme Court erstwhile it was controlled by conservatives.
“It appears that they’re like, ‘How situation you travel authorities law,'" Jacobs said. "I don’t cognize what it is they privation america to do.”
According to the letter, Wisconsin has received much than $77 cardinal successful national backing from the U.S. Election Assistance Commission and the Justice Department threatened to halt immoderate aboriginal payments. But Jacobs said that wealth was allocated years agone and the authorities presently receives nary backing from the U.S. Election Assistance Commission and nary is proposed, leaving thing to cut.
Nonetheless, the missive could enactment authorities backing successful jeopardy.
Republican leaders of the authorities Legislature’s fund committee delayed a scheduled Thursday ballot connected however overmuch authorities backing the Wisconsin Elections Commission volition person implicit the adjacent 2 years.
“Out of caution, we deliberation we’re conscionable going to hold and see,” the committee’s co-chair Sen. Howard Marklein said. “We request to analyse this and spot what implications are made, possibly for the full Elections Commission, and what interaction that whitethorn person connected the budget.”
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Associated Press writer Todd Richmond contributed to this report.
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