Wisconsin election commissioner brags about suppressing Black and Latino votes

In an email sent to Republicans in his district, Robert Spindell, a Republican member of the Wisconsin Election Commission, expressed pride in the suppression of Democratic votes in the city of Milwaukee during the 2022 midterms.

“In the city of Milwaukee … [Republicans] can be especially proud of the City of Milwaukee (80.2% Dem Vote) casting 37,000 less votes than cast in the 2018 election with the major reduction happening in the overwhelming Black and Hispanic areas,” Spindell wrote.

Urban Milwaukee’s Bruce Murphy first reported and published parts of the email Tuesday, hours after the public portion of latest WEC monthly meeting ended.

In Spindell’s own words, this “great and important decrease in Democrat votes” was due to a “multi-faceted plan” to stop Democrats from voting in the heavily liberal city. This plan included:

“Biting Black radio negative commercials run last few weeks of the election cycle straight at Dem candidates, a substantial & very effective Republican Coordinated Election Integrity program resulting with lots of Republican paid Election Judges & trained Observers & extremely significant continued Court litigation.”

Mark Thomsen, a Democratic commissioner on the WEC, called for Spindell to resign from the commission early Wednesday.

Thank you for pointing out the obvious @badachie My fellow commissioner Bob Spindell has shown he cannot be fair and should resign from the WEC.@BobSpindell

— Mark Thomsen (@MarkThomsenWI) January 11, 2023

“My fellow commissioner Bob Spindell has shown he cannot be fair and should resign from the WEC,” Thomsen wrote in a Twitter post.

In addition to being one of six politicians in Wisconsin who are supposed to oversee election laws, Spindell was one of the ten fake electors from Wisconsin who attempted to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson (R) was the one who the fake electors contacted to deliver their slate to then-Vice President Mike Pence on Jan. 6. During a tele town hall last October, Johnson also persuaded voters in Milwaukee to not vote early.

Had the votes in Milwaukee not been so heavily suppressed, Johnson would have likely lost his election to Democratic challenger Mandela Barnes. Johnson defeated Barnes by just 27,000 votes.

Spindell was appointed to the WEC by Wisconsin Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu. His term does not expire until 2026.