On Tuesday, Representative Timothy Ramthun (R-WI) introduced Assembly Joint Resolution 120 (AJR120). The resolution has been referred to the Committee on Rules and seeks to reclaim the state's 10 electoral votes from the 2020 election. Ramthun asserts there is evidence that the votes were "certified under fraudulent purposes."
Ramthun has been under fire for his efforts to expose what happened in the 2020 election. In January, Republican Speaker Robin Vos stripped Ramthun of his only staffer "for spreading misinformation about the 2020 election and fellow Republicans."
The resolution effectively walks through much of the evidence, from sworn testimony and emails, resulting from several ongoing lawsuits, starting with the Center for Tech and Civic Life's (CTCL) "illegal use of over 500 voter dropboxes" in the state. Former Justice Michael Gableman says five key Wisconsin cities took upwards of 9 million dollars from the Zuckerberg Foundation.
Resolution 120/Wisconsin
Biden won by a slim margin of approximately 20,000 votes. The alleged improper absentee ballots alone would have given Trump a win.
Additional assertions in AJR120 include but are not limited to the following:
- The Wisconsin Election Commission (WEC) knowingly and incorrectly gave improper guidance on indefinite confinement rules, "suggesting all voters could declare themselves indefinitely confined because of the pandemic."
- Voter trends representing population growth that is a "statistical impossibility."
- Dirty voter rolls, revealed by grassroots canvassing, indicating bogus absentee ballots—23 percent of which allegedly have questionable addresses.
Dirty Voter Rolls/Wisconsin
- A failure to protect data with the deletion of logs and files on the Dominion Voting Machines by the WEC.
- Evidence of city commissioners accepting election bribes from biased outside organizations.
State Representative Jim Steineke, the majority leader of the Wisconsin State Assembly, says Ramthun's resolution is "just plain unconstitutional." Steineke took to Twitter to state that "disinformation spreads quickly." He also stated that Ramthun had "zero support," and there was "no vote on it."
Steineke may not be entirely correct in his statements, however. An online blog may provide insight into the way Ramthun presented his resolution. He used Assembly Rule 43: Privileged Resolutions to advance it. Discussions on several social media platforms seem to confirm its use. The resolution is now in Speaker Vos' hands. And, furthermore, at a minimum, Wisconsin voters now know exactly where their representatives stand.
"Rep. Ramthun bravely called for a point of order today, during an open session. He did this by using Assembly Rule 43 and asking was his resolution privileged and able to be passed on to the Rules Committee through an open session? Yes, the resolution was privileged. Then they were able to do a vote within the session that was currently taking place. And it was all “Yes”, a unanimous vote to move the legislation to the Rules Committee. So now the resolution will land at the Rules Committee. It’s in the hands of Speaker Vos, a Republican. So Speaker Vos and the rest of the representatives have ten days to answer back on whether he’s going to push it to the floor for a vote."
In his first pass at a resolution to reclaim electoral votes in November, Ramthun declared his commitment to accountability:
“I have formally called upon the entire legislature to answer the concerns the majority of Wisconsin citizens have regarding election integrity,” Ramthun said in a statement. “I have also offered every office the opportunity to see all the provided evidence used to make the claim upon request, as well as proposed legislative solutions to ensure future elections are not manipulated...."
"It is this time in history where we can correct the course of our state and our nation, to hold those who would manipulate our sacred right to vote accountable,” Ranthum said. “It falls upon us to take a stand and set an example for the remaining states to follow. Accountability demands that if you do not follow the law, and seek to fraudulently affect election results, you will not succeed.”
Assembly Republicans hired Gableman last summer to investigate the 2020 election. Allegedly, Gableman has secured key evidence that would bolster Ramthun's resolution to reclaim the electors. Most recently, it was reported, a lawyer for the Assembly seeks to "jail the mayors of Madison and Green Bay if they don't sit for depositions soon." However, Gableman says he does not plan to incarcerate the city officials.
The mayors have yet to comply with the subpoenas. And in the case of the Green Bay mayor, a letter from his attorney to Judge Ramirez asserts that "the Petition (for the subpoenas) is not only lacking in legal merit and built upon a gross distortion of the relevant facts."
On Jan. 21, Judge Ramirez told Gableman's lawyer he needed more facts if he was going to enforce the subpoenas. "Instead," writes Chris Rickert for the Wisconsin State Journal, "He asked the parties to submit briefs on the court's authority to issue the writs, the correct procedure to follow, and the factual basis for the writs. A hearing to consider those arguments was scheduled for Apr. 22."
