Wisconsin Right Now first broke the story on the activities of Michael Spitzer-Rubenstein back in November 2020.
Legislative Republicans on Tuesday took the first step toward an official Wisconsin election investigation into claims of voter fraud or voter malfeasance.
Wisconsin Right Now broke the story on the activities of Michael Spitzer-Rubenstein in November 2020. You can see our earlier reporting here.
We revealed then that Brown County’s elected County Clerk had expressed concern to the Wisconsin Election Commission on election day that the City of Green Bay’s Central Count process, where absentee ballots were counted, was “tainted.” The City of Green Bay has defended its election process.
“Over the past year, year and a half, we’ve heard allegations of improprieties. Specifically, state laws not being followed,” Rep. Joe SanFelippo, R-New Berlin, said.
Sanfelippo is the second in command on the Assembly’s elections committee.
Republican lawmakers have been demanding answers since news broke about questions just what outside political activists Green Bay did for the city’s election office.
Sanfelippo stated he hopes that election managers voluntarily appear before his committee, and respond to all of the questions they are asked. But he said lawmakers are ready to issue subpoenas if necessary.
“I think it’s in everybody’s best interest to be open and forthcoming in how our elections are administered throughout the state,” Sanfelippo added.
Sanfelippo and other Republicans say their goal with their Wisconsin election investigation is to restore trust in Wisconsin’s election system.
“I can’t honestly see why anyone would not want to answer questions or provide documents,” Sanfelippo explained. “This just gives us the necessary tools to move forward.”
Sen. Alberta Darling Called For a Wisconsin Election Investigation
Sen. Alberta Darling also called for a Wisconsin election investigation, writing, “Local political leaders took outside money and let partisan operatives take control of the election process in Green Bay.” Darling’s press release outlined the following claims:
A DEMOCRATIC OPERATIVE HAD ACCESS TO ABSENTEE BALLOTS AND GIVEN KEYS TO THE CENTRAL COUNT AREA BEFORE NOVEMBER 3RD.
OUTSIDE OPERATIVES SOUGHT TO ASSIST IN CORRECTING ABSENTEE BALLOTS RETURNED TO THE CITY CLERK’S OFFICE IN GREEN BAY.
OUTSIDE OPERATIVES MAY HAVE ASSISTED MILWAUKEE WITH REJECTED ABSENTEE BALLOTS.
THE CLERK’S OFFICE MADE LOCAL POLITICAL LEADERS AWARE OF THE FRUSTRATIONS AND POSSIBLE VIOLATIONS BUT WAS LARGELY IGNORED.
DESPITE THESE COMPLAINTS FROM THE GREEN BAY CLERK, THE OUTSIDE OPERATORS WERE GIVEN MORE CONTROL OVER THE ELECTION.
BROWN COUNTY’S CLERK SAID GREEN BAY WENT “ROGUE.”
This is what else we reported in November:
Both Rubenstein, who is from New York, and Rivera-Wagner have expressed strong Democratic partisanship and anti-Trump positions. Rubenstein once wrote about fighting back against the president’s “dangerous” plans. Rivera-Wagner is a Joe Biden delegate to the Democratic National Convention who once organized a resist Trump rally and refers to the “Trump trickle down of hate” and uses a #ResistTrump hashtag on social media.
Brown County Clerk Sandy Juno and the observers say Spitzer-Rubenstein and Rivera-Wagner were interacting with poll workers who were processing ballots on election night. Neither man was certified as an election inspector. An attorney for the Wisconsin Election Commission advised Juno that inspectors, not consultants, were supposed to be making decisions about ballots.
“I let them know I wasn’t very happy about it,” Juno told Wisconsin Right Now. “He (Spitzer-Rubenstein) was at Central Count participating in the election with some of the people at Central Count. That was a concern. What kind of put me off was the fact he had a printer and a laptop at a table in there, and he was walking around with a cell phone; that’s not the type of stuff that should have been allowable in the Central Count location.”
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