1
00:00:01,301 --> 00:00:05,639
pay to store crops and hope
that prices improve in the

2
00:00:05,706 --> 00:00:08,408
future.
>> Even as the president

3
00:00:08,475 --> 00:00:11,044
and members of his cabinet
make campaign swings

4
00:00:11,111 --> 00:00:13,747
through Wisconsin this week,
the Trump administration is

5
00:00:13,814 --> 00:00:16,717
working behind the scenes
on the electoral process

6
00:00:16,783 --> 00:00:19,453
leading up to the November
elections. This week, the

7
00:00:19,520 --> 00:00:23,123
U.S. Postal Service
released its proposed rule

8
00:00:23,190 --> 00:00:26,059
attached to the president's
March executive order,

9
00:00:26,126 --> 00:00:29,196
titled Ensuring Citizenship
Verification and Integrity

10
00:00:29,263 --> 00:00:31,865
in Federal Elections.
That's an order. Governor

11
00:00:31,932 --> 00:00:35,736
Tony Evers at the time
called BS. The order

12
00:00:35,802 --> 00:00:37,804
instructs the Departments
of Homeland Security and

13
00:00:37,871 --> 00:00:41,141
Social Security to send
state election officials

14
00:00:41,208 --> 00:00:44,578
lists of confirmed U.S.
citizens and prevents mail

15
00:00:44,645 --> 00:00:48,448
in ballots to anyone not on
the list. Add to that, the

16
00:00:48,515 --> 00:00:51,451
FBI has been in Milwaukee
interviewing and seeking to

17
00:00:51,518 --> 00:00:54,888
talk with election
officials who worked the

18
00:00:54,955 --> 00:00:57,191
2020 election that Trump
declares he actually won

19
00:00:57,257 --> 00:01:01,061
but didn't. Trump maintains
his loss was a result of

20
00:01:01,128 --> 00:01:04,531
widespread voter fraud,
which never proved out. Set

21
00:01:04,598 --> 00:01:07,367
against all this, we turn
to Wisconsin Elections

22
00:01:07,434 --> 00:01:10,370
Commission chair elect
Republican member Don

23
00:01:10,437 --> 00:01:12,272
Millis. And Mr. Millis,
thanks very much for being

24
00:01:12,339 --> 00:01:14,675
here.
>> Great to see you.

25
00:01:15,142 --> 00:01:18,178
>> So is it another rough
and tumble election cycle

26
00:01:18,245 --> 00:01:21,481
staring down the Wisconsin
Elections Commission?

27
00:01:21,548 --> 00:01:23,450
>> Well, more. The rough
and tumble certainly is

28
00:01:23,517 --> 00:01:25,786
going to be in the
political ads that are run

29
00:01:25,853 --> 00:01:28,455
between the candidates. You
know, this has always been

30
00:01:28,522 --> 00:01:31,892
an issue for the elections
Commission. You know,

31
00:01:31,959 --> 00:01:35,295
counter lawsuits and
proposed regulations. You

32
00:01:35,362 --> 00:01:38,332
know, I'm not I'm not too
worried about it. I know

33
00:01:38,398 --> 00:01:40,434
that the things that really
bother me the most are that

34
00:01:40,501 --> 00:01:43,237
concern me the most are
making sure that absentee

35
00:01:43,303 --> 00:01:45,339
ballots, if they're mailed
back a week or two before

36
00:01:45,405 --> 00:01:47,541
the election, they get
there on Election Day.

37
00:01:47,608 --> 00:01:50,277
Those are things that we're
working to try to working

38
00:01:50,344 --> 00:01:52,379
with the post office to
make sure that that happens.

39
00:01:52,446 --> 00:01:55,148
Those are the things that
concern me the most.

40
00:01:55,215 --> 00:01:57,417
>> Because Hodek has called
on the U.S. Postal Service

41
00:01:57,484 --> 00:02:00,721
to speed up deliveries of
absentee ballots. After I

42
00:02:00,787 --> 00:02:04,258
read two thirds of of
clerks reported mail delays

43
00:02:04,324 --> 00:02:07,995
during the April 7th
election, how bad was it?

44
00:02:08,061 --> 00:02:11,899
>> Well, it was so bad that
when the commission staff

45
00:02:11,965 --> 00:02:15,035
sent out a questionnaire to
clerks, they got an

46
00:02:15,102 --> 00:02:17,271
overwhelming and historic
response from clerks.

47
00:02:17,337 --> 00:02:20,407
Typically, clerks don't
respond. There was a huge,

48
00:02:20,474 --> 00:02:24,711
huge concern. The. The
staff have met with the

49
00:02:25,679 --> 00:02:28,415
Postal service officials.
We are trying to get what's

50
00:02:28,482 --> 00:02:32,052
known as enhanced delivery
procedures that they would

51
00:02:32,119 --> 00:02:34,621
agree to. When we have
elections. This would mean,

52
00:02:34,688 --> 00:02:39,259
for example, that when you
put a return a ballot to

53
00:02:40,394 --> 00:02:43,363
Madison or Grafton or Eau
Claire, it wouldn't have to

54
00:02:43,430 --> 00:02:46,700
go to Milwaukee or
Minneapolis. It would go

55
00:02:46,767 --> 00:02:48,936
straight to the clerk. And
so those are things we're

56
00:02:49,002 --> 00:02:51,738
working on. Those are the
things we do behind the

57
00:02:51,805 --> 00:02:53,907
scenes that no one really
seems to pay much attention

58
00:02:53,974 --> 00:02:56,009
to. I'm glad that you're
paying attention to it,

59
00:02:56,076 --> 00:02:58,445
that we can really make
sure that our elections are

60
00:02:58,512 --> 00:03:00,514
done effectively and
efficiently.

61
00:03:00,581 --> 00:03:03,317
response from the USPS on
that?

62
00:03:03,383 --> 00:03:06,653
>> I think the staff have
indicated that it was a

63
00:03:06,720 --> 00:03:09,489
generally a very positive
response. I think there's a

64
00:03:09,556 --> 00:03:12,326
dedication to making sure
that absentee ballots are

65
00:03:12,392 --> 00:03:15,562
returned promptly, having
multiple deliveries on

66
00:03:15,629 --> 00:03:17,764
Election Day, things like
that. I think it's I think

67
00:03:17,831 --> 00:03:19,499
it was a very constructive
conversation.

68
00:03:19,566 --> 00:03:22,970
>> As to these federally
generated voter lists for

69
00:03:23,036 --> 00:03:25,472
delivery of absentee
ballots. Do you think

70
00:03:25,539 --> 00:03:28,275
that's a good idea?
>> Well, I think it's

71
00:03:28,342 --> 00:03:30,777
problematic. I mean, one of
the concerns is they want

72
00:03:30,844 --> 00:03:34,648
to use intelligent mail
barcodes on the return we

73
00:03:34,715 --> 00:03:38,585
use we use those on the
when ballots are sent out.

74
00:03:38,652 --> 00:03:41,522
Again, the problem with
that is that it delays it.

75
00:03:41,588 --> 00:03:43,657
I'm guessing that as with
so many other executive

76
00:03:43,724 --> 00:03:45,726
orders and regulations.
>> That.

77
00:03:45,792 --> 00:03:48,495
>> Have come out of the
Obama, Trump, Biden, Trump,

78
00:03:48,562 --> 00:03:51,331
white Houses, the. The
courts are going to have

79
00:03:51,398 --> 00:03:54,201
their say if it looks like
it's going to pass muster

80
00:03:54,268 --> 00:03:57,604
with the courts, that's
when we probably become

81
00:03:57,671 --> 00:03:59,806
concerned. And we'll
certainly have contingency

82
00:03:59,873 --> 00:04:02,743
plans if it looks like it's
going to fall into place.

83
00:04:02,809 --> 00:04:06,613
But what was published last
week was just a preliminary

84
00:04:06,680 --> 00:04:11,351
notice and comment in the
Federal Register. I'm not.

85
00:04:11,418 --> 00:04:14,254
I think it's unlikely that
that regulation is going to

86
00:04:14,321 --> 00:04:16,790
be in play for the November
election.

87
00:04:16,857 --> 00:04:19,760
>> So what is your response
to the FBI poking around on

88
00:04:19,826 --> 00:04:22,729
the 2020 election in
Wisconsin, specifically in

89
00:04:22,796 --> 00:04:24,932
Milwaukee?
>> Well, I've seen

90
00:04:24,998 --> 00:04:27,167
politicians on the press
report about it. Everything

91
00:04:27,234 --> 00:04:30,604
that I've seen in talking
to people who have been

92
00:04:30,671 --> 00:04:32,940
interviewed is that the
interviews have been

93
00:04:33,006 --> 00:04:36,877
professional. They've been
done by career employees.

94
00:04:36,944 --> 00:04:39,279
And it wasn't really what I
call an investigation. I

95
00:04:39,346 --> 00:04:43,250
think there's an effort to
prepare a report for

96
00:04:43,317 --> 00:04:45,385
probably someone higher up
in the Department of

97
00:04:45,452 --> 00:04:48,355
Justice or the FBI. I am
not confident that anything

98
00:04:48,422 --> 00:04:51,091
more will come of it.
Certainly, the conversation

99
00:04:51,158 --> 00:04:54,127
that was reported in the
press with the Election

100
00:04:54,194 --> 00:04:56,997
Commission staffer, the
questions that were asked

101
00:04:57,064 --> 00:05:00,234
were, can you debunk these
election conspiracy

102
00:05:00,300 --> 00:05:02,803
theories? I think the
staffer did a very good job

103
00:05:02,870 --> 00:05:06,473
of that. And so I'm not
sure that we'll have an

104
00:05:06,540 --> 00:05:09,610
investigation. I think it's
doubtful that we'll see the

105
00:05:09,676 --> 00:05:14,047
FBI come in to any clerk's
office in in Milwaukee or

106
00:05:14,114 --> 00:05:16,717
Madison or elsewhere with a
search warrant. I think

107
00:05:16,783 --> 00:05:18,952
mostly what's going on is
that they're trying to

108
00:05:19,019 --> 00:05:21,522
draft a report so that
those in Washington can

109
00:05:21,588 --> 00:05:24,391
evaluate.
>> With all of this

110
00:05:24,458 --> 00:05:26,493
happening behind the scenes,
really, what should voters

111
00:05:26,560 --> 00:05:29,630
do to make sure they can
cast a ballot that is

112
00:05:29,696 --> 00:05:32,733
counted?
>> Well, certainly. Go on

113
00:05:32,799 --> 00:05:35,536
my vote. Make sure that
you're voting in the right

114
00:05:35,602 --> 00:05:37,571
place if you're going to
vote absentee. We don't

115
00:05:37,638 --> 00:05:39,706
want to discourage people
from doing that. Make sure

116
00:05:39,773 --> 00:05:43,544
your ballot, fill it out,
send it back early. Or if

117
00:05:43,610 --> 00:05:47,681
you're concerned about the
mails, place it in a secure

118
00:05:47,748 --> 00:05:50,250
drop box. If your
municipality has one or

119
00:05:50,317 --> 00:05:55,122
deliver it to your clerk,
that's the most important