Wisconsin Elections Commission to purge 188,000 voters

(The Center Square) – Wisconsin is beginning the process to remove 188,000 people from the state’s voting rolls.

The Wisconsin Elections Commission on Wednesday voted to send postcards to people who haven’t voted in the past four years. Anyone who doesn’t return their postcard will eventually be removed from the voter registration list.

Assembly elections chief Janel Brandtjen told The Center Square that the move is largely perfunctory.

“This is the four-year purge,” Brandtjen said. “After every big election, WEC goes through the process.”

A request to purge Wisconsin’s voter rolls before the 2020 election led to lawsuits and a protracted legal battle. It eventually went all the way to the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

A 5-2 court ruled that local election clerks were ultimately responsible for the purge.

That ruling, and the years-long fight by Elections Commission members, has some people looking at the recent decision to purge as a political decision.

“You are right, you can say it looks suspicious,” Brandtjen said.

But she added that WEC is supposed to purge the voter rolls after all big elections, presidential and for the statewide seats.

Ultimately, Brandtjen said we should be “applauding WEC.”

“From a voter’s perspective, having a clean voter list guarantees a fair election,” Brandtjen added.

Disclaimer: This content is distributed by The Center Square