ICYMI: Josh Kaul Defended Wisconsin Voters in 2020. He’s Running to Protect Them Again in 2024.
MADISON, Wis. – In 2020, Attorney General Josh Kaul defended Wisconsin’s election results and protected voters from extreme GOP attacks on our freedom to vote. In a new report from UpNorthNews, AG Kaul speaks to the critical importance of having an attorney general prepared to defend democracy in 2024.
Read more from Up North News here or check out excerpts below on how Attorney General Josh Kaul is working to keep Wisconsin elections fair and safe:
UpNorthNews: Josh Kaul Defended Wisconsin Voters in 2020. He’s Running to Protect Them Again in 2024.
For most of the past 50 years, the democratic process of participating in elections was straightforward: you voted, Wisconsin election officials counted those votes, the candidates who got more votes won, and the losing candidates conceded.
But over the past two years—since President Donald Trump lost Wisconsin and the White House—democracy has been thrown into chaos. Trump and his supporters tried to overturn the results of the 2020 election through both legal and illegal means, including the Jan. 6 attack at the US Capitol that left five people dead and more than 140 police officers injured.
Many Republican politicians in Wisconsin—including Sen. Ron Johnson and gubernatorial nominee Tim Michels—have followed Trump’s lead down a rabbit hole of conspiracy theories and lies about non-existent election fraud and “rigged” elections.
Other elected officals, like Democratic Attorney General (AG) Josh Kaul, defended the state’s election results and protected Wisconsin’s voters from being disenfranchised. In doing so, Kaul showcased the role of the AG position as one vital to protecting democracy.
“When Donald Trump and his allies tried to overturn the outcome of the 2020 presidential election, my administration successfully defended the will of the voters,” Kaul said in a statement to UpNorthNews.
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Kaul has also vowed to protect election workers from the consequences of two years of election lies, including threats and harassment. Speaking recently to the Associated Press, Kaul vowed to prosecute anyone who attacks or harasses Wisconsin election workers.
“What people should know is intimidating election officials is a crime and something we take very seriously,” Kaul told the AP. “Continuing to get that message out is a proactive way to deter people from engaging in that activity. And if they do, we will hold them accountable.”
In November, Wisconsinites will decide if they want Kaul to serve another term as Attorney General—a role Kaul sees as essential to protecting future elections in Wisconsin, just like he did in 2020.
“We should all be concerned about the extremism and falsehoods being spread about our elections. Donald Trump has made clear that he will pressure Republican politicians to overturn election results he doesn’t like, and on issue after issue, Republican politicians in Wisconsin have been unwilling to stand up to Donald Trump,” Kaul said. “It’s critical that we continue having an attorney general we can count on to stand up for the will of the voters and our democracy in 2024, no matter the result.”
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