Judge to rule fake electors complaint must be reheard

The Wisconsin Elections Commission will likely need to reconsider a formal complaint against Republicans who posed as electors following the 2020 presidential election.

Dane County Judge Frank Remington said Monday that he planned to issue a written order that would vacate an earlier decision by the WEC involving Republican commissioner Bob Spindell.

Spindell was one of 10 Wisconsin Republicans who posed as electors following President Joe Biden’s victory over former President Donald Trump in the 2020 election. The group of Republicans met at the state Capitol at the same time as Wisconsin’s actual electors, signing official-looking documents to send to the president of the U.S. Senate, the Wisconsin secretary of state, the National Archives and the chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin.

The liberal group Law Forward filed a complaint in 2021 against the false electors on behalf of Paul Sickel, the executive director of the Service Employees Union Wisconsin State Council. The complaint alleged that Republicans who participated in the scheme broke the law.

The Elections Commission voted 6-0 to dismiss the case in March 2022, relying on legal analysis from the Wisconsin Department of Justice that found the electors were trying to preserve Trump’s legal options. Spindell participated in that WEC decision even though the complaint directly affected him.

Law Forward argued Spindell should have recused himself from WEC’s vote, filing a lawsuit in an effort to force a redo. While he has yet to issue a final decision, Dane County Judge Frank Remington indicated Monday that he agreed.

“I’ll tip my hand, I’m going to issue a written decision,” Remington said. “Surprise, surprise. I’m going to come to the conclusion … that the appropriate remedy is to vacate the decision of the WEC and remand it back for further proceedings, which don’t include Commissioner Spindell.”

Remington indicated his formal written ruling could be issued as soon as next week.

Remington’s ruling will likely open the door for the WEC to reconsider a complaint against the false electors, this time without Spindell’s participation. While the panel’s remaining five commissioners might or might not rule differently this time, Law Forward attorney Scott Thompson said Remington’s action was significant.

“This dispute has always been about accountability and protecting our democracy,” said Thompson in an interview after Monday’s court hearing. “One of the individuals who carried out this electors scheme was willing to go so far as to make sure he could be the judge and the jury of the complaint about this subject. And that’s just a very basic due process problem.”

While Spindell has objected to the way Law Forward has characterized his participation in the false elector scheme, in a recent court filing, his attorney endorsed the step that Remington described Monday. A separate court filing by the WEC indicated that the agency had advised Spindell to recuse himself the first time the complaint was heard.

The five commissioners who are likely to reconsider the complaint against Spindell will include two new faces. For Democrats, former Milwaukee County Clerk Joseph Czarnezki is replacing Julie Glancey on the WEC. For Republicans, election lawyer Don Millis replaced Dean Knudson on the panel last June.

In addition to the case heard Monday, Judge Remington is also presiding over a lawsuit filed by Law Forward and other firms seeking punitive damages against Spindell and the other Republicans who posed as electors. In that lawsuit, plaintiffs are seeking damages of up to $2.4 million.

Earlier this year, a judge ruled against Sickel and Law Forward in another lawsuit seeking records from Spindell related to the false electors.