The Sconi

Wisconsin Secretary of State conservative challenger Jay Schroeder recently committed to the 2022 Election Integrity Candidate Questionnaire and Pledge. Meanwhile, his competitor in the GOP primary and current state Assembly Rep. Amy Loudenbeck failed to respond to any emails inviting her to also pledge her commitment to election integrity, according to the Election Transparency Initiative (ETI).

The 2022 Election Integrity Candidate Questionnaire and Pledge is led by the ETI and is backed by a broad coalition of more than a dozen national conservative organizations. According to the ETI's website, the pledge is the first of its kind and invites candidates to go on the record, so voters can gauge their commitment to election integrity for themselves.

By committing to the 2022 Election Integrity Candidate Questionnaire and Pledge, Schroeder has vowed "to actively support election administration, legislation, litigation and regulations (consistent with the law) that will help ensure free and fair Wisconsin elections voters can trust." A press release on the ETI website said this includes a number of both ballot security and voter integrity measures, while also rejecting unsecure and unverifiable voting practices that ultimately undermine confidence in election outcomes. 

Schroeder completed an additional comprehensive election integrity questionnaire that gauged "his stance on a range of critical issues, including voter ID, ballot security, absentee voting, private financing of local elections, ballot trafficking and more."

Loudenbeck is set to be challenged by Jay Schroeder in the Aug. 9 primary for Wisconsin Secretary of State. She did not respond to any email that was sent to her official office or campaign inviting her to also pledge his commitment to election integrity, according to ETI.

“Election integrity in Wisconsin is not only essential to repairing the trust of the state’s voters, but also those of a nation who have lost confidence that their vote matters, and that it can be counted fairly and openly in elections that are secure and transparent," ETI National Chairman and former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli said in a statement. "But it’s worrisome when any candidate seeking office declines to explicitly state her position on matters of such importance to voters, especially election integrity."

“Make no mistake, it should be a red flag for any Republican voter that Rep. Loudenbeck – unfortunately – isn’t willing to commit herself to a detailed accounting of election integrity issues," Cuccinelli said. "She’s been loyal to party leaders like Speaker Vos who have slow walked election reform, resisted investigations into election fraud, and supported unsecure drop boxes in 2020. It appears that she’ll put the interests of Republican party leaders before the best interests of achieving fair and secure Wisconsin elections, and won’t stand up to Democrats who want to make it easy to cheat."

ETI reported that an attorney for state Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and state Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, allies of Loudenbeck, wrote to the Madison City Clerk in September 2020 declaring their support for ballot drop boxes – means by which Wisconsin law “provides for numerous, readily available methods for all voters to return their completed absentee ballots by the November 3, 2020, statutory deadline.”

On July 8, 2020, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled in Teigen v. Wisconsin Elections Commission that under state election law, unsecure ballot drop boxes and the practice of ballot trafficking are illegal.