Official in charge of Wisconsin's election review attends conspiracy-fueled symposium hosted by MyPillow's Mike Lindell
The former Wisconsin Supreme Court justice who is conducting a review of the state's presidential election spent recent days at a conspiracy theory-fueled symposium on election fraud headed by MyPillow's chief executive.
Gableman — who
claimed the election was stolen at a November rally backing Donald Trump — was joined in Sioux Falls this week by a state lawmaker and a member of the Wisconsin Elections Commission.
In addition, Gableman last week visited Arizona to see its review of ballots, the former justice
told the Associated Press. The Arizona Senate seized ballots and voting machines from Maricopa County as part of an election audit that has drawn criticism from Democrats and some Republicans.
Gableman told the AP he was there "out of an honest effort to find out if anyone has any information that will be helpful in carrying out my duties as special counsel."
Also attending the event hosted by MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell were two other Wisconsin Republicans — state Elections Commissioner Bob Spindell and state Rep. Timothy Ramthun of Campbellsport
Ramthun falsely claimed at the symposium that voting software recently approved by the Wisconsin Elections Commission would "scrub" votes from machines used in the presidential election.
In an interview, Spindell said he was learning about the potential for vote hacking. He said he wants to review more information about how the 2020 election was conducted but added he recognizes Joe Biden is the president.
"One thing I think I've learned is anything can be hacked," he said.
Spindell said Gableman arrived late Tuesday and spent Wednesday at the symposium. He said he didn't have an opportunity to talk to him in depth.
"He was right in the middle trying to absorb everything that was said," Spindell said of Gableman.
Democratic state Rep. Mark Spreitzer of Beloit said Gableman’s attendance at the event shows he can’t be taken seriously. He said the public should discount any report he produces about the election in Wisconsin.
"This Lindell conference is obviously on the fringe even of Republican thought right now. That really further undermines any credibility that Gableman might have had," said Spreitzer, who sits on the Assembly Elections Committee.
Ramthun wrongly told the symposium he believed Dominion Voting Systems machines and software recently approved for use in Wisconsin would wipe out records of votes from the presidential election.
"If I’m told that Dominion is currently in the process of scrubbing the machines in my state, I’ve got a big problem with that," Ramthun said, according to a clip of his speech posted online by Gateway Pundit, a conservative site that often promotes conspiracy theories.
"And the first thing I want to do is, how do I stop that right now in its tracks? How do I stop that to prevent further damage from occurring so that we can continue the process of a true, full forensic investigation to get the facts out to find closure.”
Ann Jacobs, the Democrat who serves as chairwoman of the Wisconsin Elections Commission, said Ramthun’s claim was false and irresponsible.
"Rep. Ramthun has apparently never used a computer," she said. "Software updates don’t wipe out your computer. They add lines of code to existing programs.
"Secondly, the data of elections is not stored in those machines. It is stored on removable devices. That is how we are able to re-use these machines in multiple elections. When we have a February primary and an April election, the data sticks are removed from those devices and stored."
Former Justice Michael Gableman took the trip to South Dakota as he ramps up his taxpayer-funded review of an election that the courts have upheld.
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