MADISON, Wis. — The Wisconsin Supreme Court delivered a unanimous ruling on Friday, determining that Meagan Wolfe, the nonpartisan administrator of the Wisconsin Elections Commission, can retain her position despite her failure to be reappointed and confirmed by the state Senate. This decision comes after Republican lawmakers sought to remove Wolfe due to her involvement in the administration of the 2020 presidential election.
In 2023, the Republican-controlled Senate attempted to terminate Wolfe’s tenure, prompting the Wisconsin Elections Commission to file a lawsuit to protect her role. The state Supreme Court upheld a prior lower court decision affirming Wolfe’s right to remain administrator, providing a 7-0 ruling that indicates no vacancy exists, thus eliminating the commission’s obligation to appoint a new leader merely because Wolfe’s term had concluded.
Wolfe expressed her satisfaction with the court’s decision and looked forward to overseeing forthcoming elections scheduled for February 18 and April 1. She stated, “I have every confidence that our clerks will continue to deliver fair and accurate elections to all Wisconsin communities.”
Leaders of the Republican Senate voiced their disappointment regarding the ruling, asserting their commitment to maintaining free and fair elections in the state. “Senate Republicans will continue to do everything we can to ensure that Wisconsin has free and fair elections and restore integrity to the process,” Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu and Senate President Mary Felzkowski remarked in a combined statement.
In their decision, the court drew on a precedent from a 2022 ruling that permitted Fred Prehn, a Republican appointee, to stay on the Natural Resources Board even after his term had lapsed. This earlier ruling occurred while the court was under conservative control, but now holds a 4-3 liberal majority. Notably, the liberal justices told that their reliance on the Prehn decision does not necessarily serve as an endorsement of its rationale. They emphasized that neither party sought to challenge or adjust that earlier ruling.
Chief Justice Annette Ziegler, alongside conservative Justice Rebecca Bradley, countered the liberal justices by asserting that legal outcomes should not vary based on the official holding the position.
Republican lawmakers targeted Wolfe primarily due to their dissatisfaction with the outcome of the 2020 election, which saw former President Joe Biden emerge victorious in Wisconsin by nearly 21,000 votes. Despite two recounts, a nonpartisan audit, and various legal challenges, conspiracy theories arose accusing Wolfe of facilitating a plot to manipulate the election results—claims that have been widely discredited. Interestingly, similar inquiries have not been proposed regarding the 2024 elections, which saw President Donald Trump win.
Wolfe, who was initially appointed to her position in 2018 and confirmed for a four-year term in 2019 by a GOP-majority Senate, has continued to lead a nonpartisan staff governed by a bipartisan board divided evenly between Democrats and Republicans. During her reappointment process in 2023, all members of the commission expressed support for her. However, a tied vote resulted in a lack of a fourth supportive vote needed to advance her reappointment to the Senate.
Republicans maintained that state law compels the elections commission to designate a successor once an administrator’s term expires, yet Wolfe has remained in her role, serving as a holdover administrator. Following the Republican Senate’s vote to remove her in September 2023, the elections commission moved forward with its lawsuit against this decision. In court proceedings, Republican leaders subsequently conceded that their attempt to terminate Wolfe was merely “symbolic” with no actual legal weight.
A Dane County judge ruled that Wolfe continues to serve legally as the elections commission’s administrator due to the absence of a majority vote for her replacement. The state Supreme Court’s upholding of this ruling reinforces Wolfe’s continued presence in the role amid political contention surrounding election administration in Wisconsin. Previously, Republican senators rejected the confirmation of Wolfe’s predecessor, Mike Haas, and dismissed an agriculture department secretary appointed by Democratic Governor Tony Evers in 2019.
