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Wisconsin election officials recommend charges in Vos recall effort
Molly Beck
MADISON - Wisconsin's top election officials are recommending criminal charges against more than a dozen people who helped carry out a failed recall campaign against Assembly Speaker Robin Vos.
The bipartisan Wisconsin Elections Commission on Feb. 27 notified 13 people that the six-member panel found probable cause they had violated election fraud laws while attempting to gather enough signatures to force a recall election against Vos.
Supporters of President Donald Trump sought to organize a recall election against Vos over the Assembly speaker's criticism of Trump and his unwillingness to break the law and undo the 2020 Wisconsin presidential election.
The commission said two recall volunteers likely violated state laws by listing false addresses on paperwork required to circulate petitions and 11 violated laws by submitting fraudulent signatures of voters in 2024.
The 13 people were notified Friday of the recommended charges that will be forwarded to the Racine County district attorney, according to the letter obtained by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Most live out of state. Just one person has a Wisconsin address.
Wispolitics.com first reported on the letter.
Vos filed a complaint against the volunteers and recall campaign organizers, but the commission did not find sufficient evidence to show the recall leaders had violated state laws.
According to letter, Vos submitted "credible affidavits from several individuals who claim they did not sign the recall petition" but whose signature appeared on the petitions.
At the time, the recall committee blamed the forged signatures on "sabotage" and unidentified participants "recruiting individuals from outside Wisconsin."
The organizers ultimately were unsuccessful in triggering a recall election despite trying twice to do so.
Vos, 57, announced last week he would retire at the end of his current term representing Wisconsin's 63rd Assembly District.
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Petition to pause Wis. data centers tops 1,000 signatures, protests set
Environmental group Clean Wisconsin launched a petition to pause approval of new data center projects until stronger energy and water use guidelines are established.
More than 1,000 Wisconsin residents have signed a petition to pause approval of data center projects until state leaders place more guidelines on their energy and water use.
The petition, created by environmental advocacy group Clean Wisconsin, called for policymakers to stop approving data centers powering artificial intelligence until the state creates "a comprehensive plan" for regulating the projects. The petition has collected more than 1,200 signatures as of Nov. 26, the organization says.
The petition pointed to the projects' demand for large amounts of energy and water, which it said could negatively impact the environment. Clean Wisconsin says two approved data center projects are expected to use more electricity than all Wisconsin homes combined.
It's the latest sign that Wisconsinites remain concerned about the growth of data centers.
Protests against data centers set for Dec. 1 and Dec. 2
Statewide actions and protests against proposed or planned data centers are set for Dec. 1 and 2 at government meetings or local landmarks in Milwaukee, Kenosha, Beaver Dam, Menomonie, Janesville, Madison and Port Washington.
A Marquette University Law School poll recently found Wisconsin voters across political parties view data centers as having more costs than benefits to the local communities where they are built.
"These enormous projects are using resources we all share. We must ensure that when an AI data center comes to Wisconsin, it will benefit — not harm — our communities," Mark Redsten, Clean Wisconsin president and CEO, said in a statement Nov. 25.
"That means real transparency, it means allowing time for community members to be fully informed, and it means comprehensive planning at a statewide level," he added.
The petition follows Microsoft canceling its plans for a data center in Caledonia in response to local residents and officials. The company said it still may look to build a data center at a different site in the area.
Companies are still moving forward with large data center campuses in southeast Wisconsin, including Microsoft's $7.3 billion investment in two Mount Pleasant data centers and a $15 billion Port Washington campus powering tech giants OpenAI and Oracle.
Clean Wisconsin said without more extensive oversight and transparency about data center energy and water usage, "the harm to Wisconsin communities and its environment could be irrevocable."
Earlier this month, state lawmakers introduced a bill to establish stronger transparency surrounding data center projects' water and electricity consumption.
These projects' high demand for power has led We Energies to propose $5.5 billion in new energy projects, including seven solar fields and two natural gas plants.
Under the proposal, data center companies would pay 75% of the cost to build and maintain the two natural gas plants.
The utility also proposed a separate rate for data center companies to ensure that "costs will not be shifted from data centers to other customers," spokesperson Brendan Conway previously told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
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