Attorney General Kaul Issues AG Opinion on Constitutional Amendment Relating to Election Officials

MADISON, Wis. –Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul today released a formal AG opinion, at the request of the Dane County Corporation Counsel, regarding the meaning of a new provision of the Wisconsin Constitution, which states that “[n]o individual other than an election official designated by law may perform any task in the conduct of any primary, election, or referendum.”

 

The opinion concludes that, “‘election official’ has the same meaning in the new constitutional provision as it has in the statutes,” and that, “a ‘task in the conduct of any primary, election, or referendum’ refers to work in directing or leading the administration of an election.” The opinion further concludes that, “[t]he legislative record shows that the provision was proposed in response to the perception that a local election official had lost control of the oversight of an election,” and that, “[the new provision] does not apply to more ordinary circumstances in which an election official works with or is assisted by non-election officials in ensuring the proper administration of an election, such as work with vendors on the layout and printing of ballots, information technology personnel on software and hardware security, law enforcement personnel on ballot transport, or employees or volunteers assisting with mailings or other clerical work.”

 

A copy of the Attorney General’s opinion can be found here.

 

The opinion request letter can be found here.