Wisconsin’s elections regulator is being accused of allowing thousands of non-citizens to vote in the state’s election after it failed to verify the citizenship of its registered voters.
A recent lawsuit filed in Waukesha County Circuit Court by Pewaukee resident and election integrity activist Ardis Cerny alleges that the Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC) and the state’s Department of Transportation (DOT) failed to interject with the thousands of “registrants unlawfully included on” its voter rolls. Cerny claims the state did not verify the citizenship of those who registered to vote, resulting in illegal immigrants taking part in the nation’s elections.
The lawsuit claims the WEC and the DOT violated the voting rights of legally registered voters and took advantage of taxpayers' dollars by failing to use resources and tools provided by the state to verify the eligibility of those registering to vote in the state’s elections.
The lawsuit refers to a 1976 U.S. Supreme Court ruling, in which “respondents were discharged or (in the case of one respondent) threatened with discharge for the sole reason that they were not affiliated with or sponsored by the Democratic Party.” It alleged that the newly elected Sheriff— a Democrat— and county Democratic organizations violated the “First and Fourteenth Amendments and various statutes, including the Civil Rights Act of 187.”
[Cerny] and other legally qualified and registered eligible Wisconsin electors have rights to cast their votes in free and transparent elections without cancellation by unlawful ballots cast by non-citizens or other unqualified voters. As with all fundamental rights, deprivation of those rights is irreparable injury,” the complaint further states, referring to a 1976 U.S. Supreme Court ruling involving the Democrat Party political machine in the Cook County, Illinois, Sheriff’s Office threatening to fire non-civil service employees who were Republicans. Qualification, registration, and identification (‘ID’) are the three basic requirements to cast a legal vote in Wisconsin federal and state elections.
Wisconsin’s DOT’s Department of Motor Vehicles claims it already verifies individuals' citizenship or other legal status when they apply for driver’s licenses. However, the department does not share this information and said the WEC does not seek it either.
“WisDOT and WEC have a current agreement to carry out the matching program described in” Wisconsin statute, DOT Secretary Craig Thompson wrote in a letter to state Republicans Sen. Dan Knodl and Rep. Scott Krug. “To ensure compliance with the Help America Vote Act, this matching program is statutorily limited to the personally identifiable information on the official registration list. Citizenship information is not included in this list, so it is ineligible for the matching program and not a part of the current agreement. Absent statutory authority to verify citizenship data via the online registration system, WisDOT cannot share this information.”
However, Cerny’s lawsuit pointed out that under the U.S. code, the term “‘person’ … does not include a State or agency thereof.” In other words, government agencies are permitted to share such information.
The lawsuit comes at a time when Democrats are downplaying concerns that illegal immigrants are voting in the country’s elections.
Democrat Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) insisted that non-citizens voting is a problem that “doesn’t exist.”
When asked about the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, Kelly argued there is “no evidence” that illegal immigrants are voting. “This is a solution looking for a problem,” he said.
The SAVE Act would prevent non-citizens from voting in federal elections by requiring proof of citizenship.
However, last month, Ohio found that at least 138 non-citizens recently voted in the state’s elections after a months-long voter roll audit was conducted. Meanwhile, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) found that more than 6,500 non-citizens were registered to vote in Texas.