, ,

New Lawsuit Asks State Supreme Court To Toss Nov. 3 Election Results

Petitioner From Chippewa Falls Argues State's Use Of Absentee Ballot Drop Boxes Was Illegal

By
Buildings flank the Wisconsin State Capitol
Wisconsin State Capitol. Angela Major/WPR

A new lawsuit filed with the Wisconsin Supreme Court asks justices to throw out the results of the Nov. 3 election. The attorney bringing the suit alleges results are “tainted” by the illegal use of ballot drop boxes throughout the state.

The petition was filed on behalf of Dean W. Mueller of Chippewa Falls by his wife, attorney Karen L. Mueller, of the Amos Center for Justice and Liberty.

The suit is asking the Wisconsin Supreme Court to stop the certification of election results from Nov. 3 that have President-elect Joe Biden ahead of President Donald Trump by just more than 20,000 votes. An injunction is needed, argues Karen Mueller, because the Wisconsin Elections Commission encouraged local elections officials to use drop boxes to collect absentee ballots without having the rulemaking authority to do so.

Stay informed on the latest news

Sign up for WPR’s email newsletter.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

“Therefore, the ballots placed within the drop boxes are illegal ballots and cannot be counted under Wisconsin law,” said Mueller.

If ballots from drop boxes cannot be separated from the total, Mueller asks the court to “nullify the November 3, 2020 presidential election results in the State of Wisconsin” and direct the Wisconsin state Legislature to either arrange for a new election before Dec. 14 or have state lawmakers appoint the state’s 10 electors to the Electoral College.

[[{“fid”:”1365816″,”view_mode”:”full_width”,”fields”:{“format”:”full_width”,”alignment”:”center”,”field_image_caption[und][0][value]”:”%3Cp%3EA%20secure%20ballot%20box%20in%20Washington%2C%20D.C.%20Voting%20rights%20advocates%20around%20the%20country%20are%20concerned%20about%20possible%20voter%20intimidation%20at%20polls%20on%20Nov.%203.%20(%3Ca%20href%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Fwww.flickr.com%2Fphotos%2Fjoeflood%2F50425239081%2Fin%2Fphotolist-2jPUwMP-2h8m4Xn-HUuKuP-5HvYtE-2jV3E8M-2jvttFh-rRw7N-5HvYuf-D8jAVy-Bh3fr9-KWErrk-UjBW2h-VxHwZE-VpHAyg-VxHvAC-VxHqUU-VpHx6K-VmFFDu-VpHorv-VpHwvX-VxHuUY-UjBUgd-5HrEsV-VxHGwq-Ncu3oE-2jMeZf9-VmFCWW-VpHzSg-VmFHaf-VBfQ24-VmFDry-UnJwkr-VxHwbA-UjBP7q-VpHBsv-VmFt2L-UnJspa-VmFEQL-VmFDXo-VBfDNP-VmFBUW-UnJpX6-VxHEpE-VmFCpd-VBfR2R-VmFsx9-V26CVU-VpHxBV-zybNEo-zw8oCN%22%3E%3Cem%3EJoe%20Flood%2F%20CC%20BY-NC-ND%202.0%3C%2Fem%3E%3C%2Fa%3E)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A”,”field_image_caption[und][0][format]”:”full_html”,”field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]”:”A bicycle in front of a secure voting box.”,”field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]”:”A bicycle in front of a secure voting box.”},”type”:”media”,”field_deltas”:{“1”:{“format”:”full_width”,”alignment”:”center”,”field_image_caption[und][0][value]”:”%3Cp%3EA%20secure%20ballot%20box%20in%20Washington%2C%20D.C.%20Voting%20rights%20advocates%20around%20the%20country%20are%20concerned%20about%20possible%20voter%20intimidation%20at%20polls%20on%20Nov.%203.%20(%3Ca%20href%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Fwww.flickr.com%2Fphotos%2Fjoeflood%2F50425239081%2Fin%2Fphotolist-2jPUwMP-2h8m4Xn-HUuKuP-5HvYtE-2jV3E8M-2jvttFh-rRw7N-5HvYuf-D8jAVy-Bh3fr9-KWErrk-UjBW2h-VxHwZE-VpHAyg-VxHvAC-VxHqUU-VpHx6K-VmFFDu-VpHorv-VpHwvX-VxHuUY-UjBUgd-5HrEsV-VxHGwq-Ncu3oE-2jMeZf9-VmFCWW-VpHzSg-VmFHaf-VBfQ24-VmFDry-UnJwkr-VxHwbA-UjBP7q-VpHBsv-VmFt2L-UnJspa-VmFEQL-VmFDXo-VBfDNP-VmFBUW-UnJpX6-VxHEpE-VmFCpd-VBfR2R-VmFsx9-V26CVU-VpHxBV-zybNEo-zw8oCN%22%3E%3Cem%3EJoe%20Flood%2F%20CC%20BY-NC-ND%202.0%3C%2Fem%3E%3C%2Fa%3E)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A”,”field_image_caption[und][0][format]”:”full_html”,”field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]”:”A bicycle in front of a secure voting box.”,”field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]”:”A bicycle in front of a secure voting box.”}},”link_text”:false,”attributes”:{“alt”:”A bicycle in front of a secure voting box.”,”title”:”A bicycle in front of a secure voting box.”,”class”:”media-element file-full-width media-wysiwyg-align-center”,”data-delta”:”1″}}]]

Mueller’s lawsuit cites a “propaganda campaign” by the federal Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency to lobby states into using ballot drop boxes leading up to the November presidential election. It also mentions links to Dominion Voting Systems, whose machines Trump claimed, without evidence, deleted millions of votes while switching hundreds of thousands of votes to Biden.

The Wisconsin Elections Commission promoted a “lack of trust,” wrote Mueller, in the process of voting absentee by mail.

“By so stating they planted the seeds of fear in the public regarding these very issues and ‘steered’ them away from using the United State Postal Service and towards the ballot drop boxes in the same way that CISA had just explained would be a very effective method to plant doubts into the minds of people regarding one method of voting, i.e. USPS, and move them towards another through their media driven ‘use of ballot drop boxes’ campaign that was also broadcast through many media outlets,” Mueller wrote.

Mueller also alleges that private grants from the Center for Tech and Civic Life to cities like Kenosha, Green Bay, Milwaukee and Madison for administering drop boxes during the COVID-19 pandemic meant that a “‘perfect storm’ of election interference could emerge.” As a result, Mueller argues that “there is now a cloud of suspicion over the whole election process in Wisconsin.”

The Mueller lawsuit is the second in a week asking the state Supreme Court to throw out Wisconsin’s presidential election results. On Nov. 24, a group with Republican ties called Wisconsin Voters Alliance alleged there were tens of thousands “illegal” votes cast in the election. That lawsuit also asks the court to direct the state Legislature to select Wisconsin’s 10 presidential electors.

Mueller ran for Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District seat in 2014 while only garnering 23.6 percent of the vote in a Republican primary.

She has also written numerous articles on the website Wisconsin Christian News including one criticizing Trump the day after the 2016 “Super Tuesday” slate of Republican state primaries. Mueller said that Trump’s statements during the bid to become the Republican presidential nominee “indicate that the future holds tyranny for those who disagree with him or cross his purposes.” She continued that some voters were too eager to pick Trump as a punishment to the political establishment.

Trump’s apparent philosophy that the ‘ends justify any means’ has been revealed through his repeated threats to ‘punch’ people in the face if he does not like them,” Mueller wrote. “While he may not be able to physically accomplish such feats, consider the childish outlook that harbors such a constant thread of vengeful and punishing ideas that he then openly repeats to others if he does not like someone or they thwart his goals.”

The Wisconsin Attorney General’s office is defending the Wisconsin Elections Commission in the lawsuit filed on Nov. 24. Attorney General Josh Kaul said, in reference to that case, his department “will ensure that Wisconsin’s presidential electors are selected based on the will of the more than 3 million Wisconsin voters who cast a ballot.”

Celebrate Curiosity. Make your year end gift today. Support WPR.