Wisconsin Election Commission member Bob Spindell bragged in an email, uncovered by Bruce Murphy at Urban Milwaukee, about how he and the Republican Party of Wisconsin depressed voter turnout of minorities in Milwaukee.
“In the City of Milwaukee, with the 4th Congressional District Republican Party working very closely with the RPW, RNC, Republican Assembly & Senate Campaign Committees, Statewide Campaigns and RPMC in the Black and Hispanic areas, we can be especially proud of the City of Milwaukee (80.2% Dem Vote) casting 37,000 less votes than cast in the 2018 election with the major reduction happening in the overwhelming Black and Hispanic areas,” the email said.
The voter suppression scheme was a “well thought out multi-faceted plan,” according to the email, and included:
- “Biting Black Radio Negative Commercials run last few weeks of the election cycle straight at Dem Candidates…
- A substantial & very effective Republican Coordinated Election Integrity program resulting with lots of Republican paid Election Judges & trained Observers & extremely significant continued Court Litigation.”
Spindell’s presence on the Wisconsin Election Commission was already an embarrassment to the state. He was one of a dozen “fake electors” who met secretly at the Capitol in 2020 as part of President Donald Trump’s attempt to overturn the presidential election. Spindell’s name was among those that Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) attempted to give to Vice President Mike Pence on January 6 in an effort to provide an alternate slate of electors and throw Wisconsin’s electoral votes into doubt. This could have caused Congress to throw out Wisconsin’s election results and disenfranchised the state’s voters.
We’re looking for intelligent readers like you. Click here to find out why.In my Thursday newsletter, I pointed out that Spindell’s presence on the state election commission is the Republican Party making a mockery of our election laws:
If Spindell had been in charge of elections during Jim Crow, he would’ve bragged about literacy tests and poll taxes suppressing the Black vote.
It’s worth remembering, too, that Spindell’s fellow Republicans tried in 2020 to throw out thousands of votes in Dane and Milwaukee Counties. Now Spindell is boasting about efforts that accomplished in 2022 what Republicans could not accomplish in the courts in 2020, effectively disenfranchising Democratic voters.
Unfortunately, the Associated Press played the story as a Democrat vs. Republican conflict by making it seem like a personal difference between Democratic Election Commission member Mark Thomsen and Spindell. They also accepted an alternate version of the email (as did Molly Beck from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel) from Spindell that softened the original message. In the alternate version, Spindell attempted to live up to his name and spin the story of the party just attempting to woo traditional Democratic voters.
However, Murphy and Urban Milwaukee have now published the original email in its entirety which does not contain the mitigating paragraphs. Instead, the email bragged of a “great and important decrease in Democrat {sic} votes in the city.”
In the City of Milwaukee, with the 4th Congressional District Republican Party working very closely with the RPW, RNC, Republican Assembly & Senate Campaign Committees, Statewide Campaigns and RPMC in the Black and Hispanic areas, we can be especially proud of the City of Milwaukee (80.2% Dem Vote) casting 37,000 less votes than cast in the 2018 election with the major reduction happening in the overwhelming Black and Hispanic areas.
Promoting the Republican “Cares” Message; pointing out the many flaws of the Democrat Candidates; coupled with a Lack of Interest, persuaded many voters not to vote.
So far, Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul (D-WI) has refused to take any action against the false electors like Spindell despite a report from a Democratic interest group explaining Kaul’s obligation to pursue the matter. It’s a sad case of legal malpractice and political cowardice by the attorney general who was just re-elected in November. But, as the Associated Press reminds us, Spindell is still facing three lawsuits that are the result of his status as one of Trump’s false electors.
Consider subscribing to the “Life, Under Construction” newsletter, published every Monday and Thursday.Now Spindell is bragging about suppressing the vote in Milwaukee. As I was quoted in Charlie Sykes’ “Morning Shots” newsletter for The Bulwark:
It’s worth remembering, too, that Spindell’s fellow Republicans tried in 2020 to throw out thousands of votes in Dane and Milwaukee Counties. Now Spindell is boasting about efforts that accomplished in 2022 what Republicans could not accomplish in the courts in 2020, effectively disenfranchising Democratic voters.
If there was any human decency left in Spindell, he would resign. Instead, we’re left wondering if Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu (R-Oostburg) will finally end this embarrassment and rescind Spindell’s appointment. Spindell’s presence on the Election Commission is not just an egregious case of hypocrisy by the Republican Party who claim to stand for election integrity. It’s a statement by the Republican Party of Wisconsin they are completely uninterested in the fair administration of our state’s election laws.
