MILWAUKEE — The Republican Party of Wisconsin filed a lawsuit Tuesday against Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson and the Milwaukee Election Commission (MEC) after alleging a privately-funded voter outreach program in the city may violate Wisconsin election laws.
Mayor Cavalier Johnson announced his support for the "Milwaukee Votes 2022" campaign Sept. 12. It includes door-to-door canvassers encouraging people to cast their ballot in November's election.
In their lawsuit, Republicans claim the organization behind the effort, GPS Impact, is partisan and has partnered with Democrats in the past.
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The Republican Party of Wisconsin submitted open records requests for Milwaukee Election Commissioner Claire Woodall-Vogg, MEC, Mayor Johnson, and his office discussing Milwaukee Votes. The lawsuit says the defendants violated the Wisconsin Open Records law by failing to provide the requested records.
According to the Associated Press, the controversy echoes concerns raised in 2020 by Republicans when "a Mark Zuckerberg-funded group distributed millions of dollars in grants to support local elections offices in Wisconsin and throughout the country as COVID-19 complicated the presidential election."
TMJ4 News reached out to Mayor Johnson's office on Tuesday. A spokesperson responded with the following statement: "The Mayor’s staff has been in consultation with our attorneys during the two weeks since the original records request was made. I would expect the requested documents will be provided in the coming days. I have seen absolutely no indication that any laws were broken. As to any specific response to the lawsuit, I will leave that to our attorneys."
