MADISON, Wis. (AP) 鈥� The Republican-backed candidate in Wisconsin's state Supreme Court race has resurfaced long debunked concerns about voting fraud because of the late reporting of ballots in Milwaukee just two weeks before the .
Brad Schimel, a former Republican attorney general, spoke of the possibility of 鈥渂ags of ballots鈥� and fraud in Milwaukee during an interview Tuesday on conservative talk radio. Schimel faces Susan Crawford in the April 1 election with majority control of the Wisconsin Supreme Court at stake.
Schimel, in on WISN-AM, said his supporters need to 鈥済et our votes banked, make this too big to rig so we don鈥檛 have to worry that at 11:30 in Milwaukee, they鈥檙e going to find bags of ballots that they forgot to put into the machines.鈥�
Schimel said that happened in 2018 and in November 鈥渨hen (U.S. Senate candidate) all night, and then all of a sudden, Milwaukee County changed that.鈥�
Republicans and Democrats alike, along with state and Milwaukee election leaders, warned in the run-up to the November election that Milwaukee absentee ballots would be reported late and cause a huge influx of Democratic votes. Milwaukee is the state's most populated city and is heavily Democratic. Its was chosen with bipartisan support.
The reporting of those absentee ballots swung the 2020 presidential election to Democrat Joe Biden, fueling baseless that the election had been stolen from President Donald Trump.
Milwaukee's absentee ballots are counted at a central location and reported all at once, often well after midnight on election day. Elections officials for years have made clear that those ballots are reported later than usual due to the sheer number that have to be counted and because state law does not allow them to be processed until polls open.
A bipartisan bill to allow for processing prior to election day last year. Republicans, who have controlled the Legislature since 2011, routinely complain about slow processing in Milwaukee but have not passed bills to allow for speedier counting.
In 2018, the reporting of more than 47,000 absentee ballots after midnight put Democrat Tony Evers ahead of then-Gov. Scott Walker. Evers went on to win and Walker criticized the late reporting, saying it blindsided him.
And in November, Hovde said he was 鈥渟hocked鈥� by the reporting of more than 108,000 ballots in Milwaukee early in the morning after the election in his defeat to Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin.
Schimel said in the radio interview he didn't know what happened.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know if there was fraud there,鈥� Schimel said. "There鈥檚 no way for me to know that. All I know is this: We need to turn our votes out. That鈥檚 the best insulation we have against any potential fraud, is just get our people to the polls.鈥�
Asked about his concerns during an appearance later Tuesday at the Milwaukee Rotary Club, Schimel said he brought up fraud because voters often ask him how to guarantee election integrity.
鈥淚 tell people, by following the rules,鈥� Schimel said. 鈥淎nd then I tell them, 鈥楬ere鈥檚 the best way to make sure your vote isn鈥檛 stolen: Go use it.鈥� That鈥檚 the answer.鈥�
Yet despite his concerns, Schimel said: 鈥淚 will always accept the results of the election.鈥�
Crawford's spokesperson, Derrick Honeyman, said Schimel was "dabbling in conspiracy theories to please his ally, Elon Musk, and it鈥檚 unbecoming of a judge and candidate for the state鈥檚 high court.鈥�
Groups funded by billionaire Musk have contributed more than $11 million to help Schimel's campaign. Crawford is backed by Democrats, including philanthropist George Soros and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker.
Schimel鈥檚 comments drew criticism from the Democracy Defense Project, a bipartisan coalition promoting truth about elections that includes former Republican Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen.
鈥淭here is no evidence of fraud in Milwaukee, but the failure of the state to allow early counting on absentee ballots before the close of polls feeds into conspiracy theories,鈥� the group said in a statement.
The election comes as the court faces cases on , , voting rules and .
The court is currently controlled 4-3 by liberals, but one of them is retiring, creating the battle for the majority.
Scott Bauer, The Associated Press
