At its heart, it’s a partisan stunt, but also a crime.
Kinda like setting fire to a barn to “prove” an arsonist is on the loose.
In Wisconsin, GOP activists fraudulently applied for absentee ballots using the names of prominent people, including the state assembly speaker, to “prove” the state’s absentee ballot system has “vulnerabilities.”
And Racine County Sheriff Christopher Schmaling, a Trumper and election denier, is defending the fraudsters instead of enforcing the election laws (see story here).
But he won’t necessarily have final say on whether the activists are prosecuted. The Wisconsin Election Commission, which is not dominated by GOP crazies, appears inclined to refer the case to prosecutors after completing their own investigation (see story here). Prosecutors, not sheriffs or other cops, ultimately decide whether to prosecute accused lawbreakers.
There’s no question a crime was committed. The organizer even admits it. “I committed a crime when I did it,” he said, adding if he goes to jail, “I would be willing to take that hit for the country.” But that’s not the same as dying in battle to make the world safe for democracy.
It’s more similar to a case I read in the newspapers many years ago in which a college student aspiring to be a writer pretended to rob a bank, but didn’t take any money, just to observe the teller’s reaction so he could put it in a story. In sentencing him to jail, the judge said a robber is a robber, regardless of his motive.
Same here. If you want to make a point about election processes, you have to do it by lawful means.
But the criminal behavior of the activists is only half this story. The other half is a partisan sheriff who praises their lawbreaking.
The problem with elected sheriffs is they can only be removed by recall or impeachment, which often makes them a law unto themselves. The public, however, is not totally without other recourse. Other public officials and aggrieved citizens can seek recourse in the courts. In Colorado, a judge locked a county clerk out of her office, and barred her from contacting staff, effectively sidelining her while she awaits trial on the felony misfeasance charges against her (see story here). And in Washington, a sheriff accused of repeatedly harassing a black newspaper carrier faces misdemeanor charges, was required to post bond, and ordered to stay away from the victim (see story here).
Sheriff’s departments are police agencies, and are supposed to enforce laws impartially. The problem with electing sheriffs is twofold: One, voters can put partisans instead of professional law enforcers in those offices; and two, they can get too big for their britches. King County, Washington, where Seattle is situated, had enough of elected sheriffs and converted the position into an appointee of the elected county executive.
This is not a victimless crime. The activists’ aim is to promote partisan legislation to restrict mail voting in Wisconsin — which is popular there — by propagating a lie that mail voting is easy prey for vote fraud and manufacturing fake evidence to “prove” it. This is an attack on the voting rights of other citizens, particularly those who can’t vote by other means. Unless you think your right to vote is less valuable than the cash in your wallet, it’s a more serious than robbing you of your wallet.
But Sheriff Schmaling doesn’t see it that way. He’s got a high horse to ride. Political cops like him help give law enforcement a bad name. Responsible voters in his county should take that into consideration the next time he’s up for election.
Photo below: Sheriff Schmaling taking the oath of office he violated by defending voting fraudsters instead of enforcing the law
