Justice Department Threatens to Withhold Federal Election Funds from Wisconsin

The Justice Department sent a letter on June 4 to the Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC), accusing it of violating federal law by failing to provide a required administrative complaint procedure for voters to report electoral misconduct. The Justice Department warned that Wisconsin risks losing federal election funding if it does not immediately address the issue. This follows a recent lawsuit it filed against the North Carolina State Elections Commission for failure to maintain accurate voter lists, showing the emphasis President Donald Trump's administration is placing on election integrity.

Civil Rights Division Steps In

The letter, signed by Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon, cites the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) of 2002, which stipulates that states must establish an administrative complaint procedure that allow voters to report violations they witnessed or experienced. The law, enacted in response to the 2000 presidential election controversies, aimed to standardize and improve election processes across states.

(READ MORE: Yes, Foreign Nationals Register to Vote in American Elections)

Dhillon notes the process must be nondiscriminatory and allow citizens to request a hearing on the record. If the state finds the complaint valid, it must provide an appropriate remedy; and if it finds no violation, it must publish the results.

According to Justice Department findings, the WEC has not implemented any such procedure, leaving Wisconsin voters "stranded," without a clear mechanism to report issues or seek redress of perceived election grievances. It accuses the WEC of cynically relying on a 2022 state court ruling that claims it cannot police itself as an excuse to not follow HAVA.

In Teigen v. WEC (2022), the then-conservative Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled drop boxes unconstitutional. It refuted an argument by a friend of the court that defendants should have taken their case to the WEC before bringing it to court, arguing the WEC cannot police itself. The WEC claims it has provided an outlet for HAVA complaints against election officials but dismisses complaints against itself because of the this ruling. Interestingly, the Wisconsin Supreme Court overturned Teigen after it gained a liberal majority but the WEC has not shown the same keen interest in preserving the drop box aspect of the former ruling.

In her letter, Dhillon reminds the WEC that Wisconsin has received over $77 million from the U.S. Election Assistance Commission—funding that is conditional upon states fulfilling their HAVA obligations.

Requiring accountability from the WEC is a critical step in preventing a repeat of the chaos surrounding the 2020 presidential election in Wisconsin.

Wisconsin voters witnessed widespread irregularities during that election, including late-night ballot dumps in Milwaukee—where thousands of votes appeared overnight, favoring Joe Biden—unconstitutional drop boxes, and the WEC's tampering with state election law to extend mail-in ballot deadlines.

The most egregious evidence of voter fraud, however, came via nursing homes. Nearly 100 nursing homes reported banana republic-style turnout numbers of 95–100 percent. Most of these were concentrated in the Democrat-heavy counties of Milwaukee, Dane, Brown, Racine, and Kenosha. The state's 2022 Office of the Special Counsel report cited witnesses who attested to many of these elderly residents having "severe dementia" that would render them incapable of voting.

This happened because the WEC appears to have violated state law by disallowing municipal clerks from sending Special Voting Deputies to nursing homes to help the elderly vote because of COVID-19. Instead, the state mailed ballots directly to nursing home residents. This resulted in nursing home staff illegally "helping" residents with their ballots, including illegally acting as witnesses and likely forging residents' signatures and pressuring them to vote, when many were medically incompetent to do so.

Wisconsin Voters Have No Recourse

The lack of a robust complaint procedure exacerbated these issues, leaving voters without recourse to challenge perceived voter fraud. By enforcing accountability now, the Justice Department can ensure guardrails are in place to address confusion and potential misconduct during the 2026 midterms.

Voters need an outlet to air their complaints if they witness questionable behavior or fraud during elections. By enforcing HAVA with the power of the purse, the Justice Department aims to compel Wisconsin to address its failure to provide a legally mandated process for reporting electoral misconduct, as evidenced by the irregularities of the 2020 election. The Justice Department's recent crackdown on sloppy or outright corrupt state-level election oversight and management is a vital step toward restoring trust in elections and avoiding a repeat of the 2020 chaos.

(READ MORE: Texas Voter Fraud Bust Shows How Elections Get Stolen)