Activists submit 2,000 recall signatures for WEC's Spindell

(The Center Square) – After more than a year of campaigning, voting activists submitted nearly 2,000 signatures to Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu, seeking to oust Bob Spindell from the Wisconsin Elections Commission.

The petitioners cited Spindell’s role as one of the 10 fake electors in the civil lawsuit disputing the 2020 election results, arguing his track record of “undermining voters and elections” should disqualify him from serving on the WEC.

“Concerned Wisconsin voters have made it clear that they will not stand for any attempts at silencing their voices,” said Samuel Liebert, Wisconsin state director of All Voting is Local. “Wisconsin deserves better than fake electors like Bob Spindell, and it is imperative that Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu stand with his constituents and remove him from the election commission immediately. Voters in the Badger State must go into November knowing that their election officials will protect the sanctity of their ballots and not cater to lies about our elections.”

Spindell and the nine other electors agreed in December to end a $2.4 million lawsuit against them by admitting their roles in challenging the election, agreeing to never serve as an elector in Wisconsin again. The settlement also acknowledged that the electors "are not admitting any liability or culpability."

LeMahieu, who appointed Spindell, had already rejected such calls from Secretary of State Sarah Godlewski and other lawmakers in December.

“The civil settlement explicitly states that the plaintiffs acknowledge that the defendants, including Commissioner Spindell, admit no guilt or culpability,” LeMahieu said in a statement. “Liberal groups sought millions of dollars in court, and instead walked away with nothing. The Trump electors’ actions were an effort to support an ultimately failed legal strategy. Not a sinister plot to overturn an election.”

Despite his decision, Wisconsin Democrats and voting groups – including All Voting is Local, the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, and the Wisconsin Working Families Party – have continued to demand the Republican commissioner resign, resulting in the submitted petition.

“Bob Spindell should resign. If he doesn’t, Senator LeMahieu must remove him. We understand the Wisconsin Elections Commission is made up of partisan appointees, but surely Senator LeMahieu can find a different Republican who didn’t attempt to illegally overturn a presidential election. The people of Wisconsin deserve better than Bob Spindell,” Senators Mark Spreitzer and Jeff Smith said in a statement.

Spindell’s term is set to expire in May 2026.