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The Wisconsin Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case that will determine whether Elections Commission Administrator Meagan Wolfe may remain in that role despite her appointment ending more than a year ago. The GOP lawmaker’s attorney Misha Tseytlin said Wolfe should no longer be able to serve as elections administrator. While he conceded that Ms. Wolfe is a “lawful holdover,” he argued the elections commission has a duty under the law to vote on a new administrator every four years. “The issue here is can three commissioners essentially cut the Senate out entirely forever?” he said. Liberal justice Jill Karofsky pointed to a case two years ago where GOP lawmakers successfully argued to the then-conservative state Supreme Court that a GOP appointee to the Natural Resources Board (NRB) could continue serving in that role indefinitely until the senate confirmed his successor. “It seems to me, this has little to do with what the law actually says, and far more to do with who is in these positions,” Justice Karofsky said. “If the Legislature favors someone, they stay. If they don’t, they must go. Does that sound like the rule of law to you?”
When the state Supreme Court had a conservative majority two years ago, they ruled that Wausau dentist Fred Prehn could continue serving on the NRB even after his term expired. The decision said Mr. Prehn would only have to vacate his seat after the Senate confirmed his appointed successor. Now, with a new liberal majority, the state Supreme Court is being asked to decide if the principle applies to Ms. Wolfe, who is an appointee of the Elections Commission. The court is also being asked to determine whether the commissioners had a duty to appoint a new administrator after Ms. Wolfe’s first term ended in July 2023.
During a June 2023 meeting of the Wisconsin Elections Commission, all three Republican members of the elections commission voted to re-nominate Ms. Wolfe for another four-year term so that her nomination could be considered by the full state Senate, which was expected to vote down her confirmation. The three Democratic commissioners abstained from the vote — leaving the motion short of a majority — with the intent of stopping her nomination from going to the Senate, thereby keeping Ms. Wolfe in place as the WEC administrator indefinitely. The state Department of Justice sued to prevent Republicans from removing Ms. Wolfe and a Dane County judge ruled that she was a legal holdover appointee, referencing the Prehn ruling.
Prior to this week’s oral arguments, Ms. Wolfe released a statement promising to honor any decision from the court or elections commission.
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