Two lawyers who are actively involved in the efforts to overturn President Joe Biden’s 2020 victory in Wisconsin are seeking a judge’s intervention to establish a fresh system for verifying individuals’ citizenship before they can exercise their right to vote.
The lawsuit, filed shortly before the upcoming Election Day, requests Waukesha County Circuit Court Judge Michael Maxwell to direct the Wisconsin Department of Transportation and the Wisconsin Elections Commission to cross-check the information of millions of Wisconsin residents on the voter registration list prior to the Nov. 5 election.
In the event that any noncitizens are discovered on the voter rolls, the lawsuit seeks their removal.
Wisconsin attorneys Michael Dean and Kevin Scott filed a lawsuit on behalf of Ardis Cerny of Pewaukee. Cerny was one of the observers overseeing the recount after Donald Trump’s loss to Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election.
It is worth noting that Dean was previously involved in a lawsuit aiming to overturn the election results. Furthermore, both Dean and Scott have worked for former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman, who led an investigation into the 2020 election and proposed the possibility of the Wisconsin Legislature decertifying Biden’s victory.
According to the lawsuit, a small percentage of individuals who applied for voter ID cards over the past decade were denied due to fraud or ineligibility. Dean and Scott argue that based on this rejection rate, there could potentially be around 10,000 illegally registered active voters throughout the state. During a recent court hearing, Dean even suggested that the actual number might be even higher.
Judge Maxwell questioned Dean about the timing of ordering the data matching and potential deactivation of voter registrations, just 20 days before the presidential election. In response, Dean emphasized the importance of verifying voter citizenship status before Election Day.
Dean expressed concern about the potential consequences if it is discovered that the election results were influenced by noncitizen votes. He emphasized the importance of taking proactive measures to prevent such a scenario from happening.
The Wisconsin Department of Justice, representing the WEC and the DOT, contends that the data matching Dean seeks is not sanctioned by state law.
Moreover, the DOJ asserts that the suit’s references to concerns over “illegal immigrants” voting are misplaced, as the DOT possesses solely outdated information on individuals who are legally present in the state but have not yet obtained U.S. citizenship.
Utilizing this data, the DOJ argues, could potentially result in the disenfranchisement of lawful voters.
Assistant Attorney General Lynn Lodahl of the Department of Justice (DOJ) also pointed out that driver’s licenses and ID cards typically remain valid for a period of eight years, whereas the naturalization process is usually shorter in duration.
It is important to note that both state and federal laws have already made it clear that noncitizens are not allowed to vote. In fact, individuals who are caught lying on Wisconsin’s voter registration can face serious consequences.
Specifically, they can be convicted of a felony, which could result in a prison sentence of up to three-and-a-half years, as well as a hefty fine of $10,000. These measures emphasize the gravity of attempting to fraudulently participate in the voting process.
The Migration Policy Institute reported that approximately 39,000 individuals in Wisconsin have attained U.S. citizenship from 2015 to 2022.
PBS Wisconsin was informed by the Wisconsin DOT in April that they have granted over 258,000 driver licenses and 41,000 ID cards to noncitizens since 2019.
However, PBS was also informed by the WEC that only three noncitizens have been referred for prosecution for illegal voting since 2019.