Courts
Lawsuit over La Crosse sheriff recount could still go to trial
The recount of last year’s election for sheriff in La Crosse County could be debated at a civil trial within a few months.
A court hearing is planned this July, on a lawsuit that challenges how the November recount was conducted after John Siegel was elected sheriff.
Siegel defeated Fritz Leinfelder for the open position by 176 votes.
The suit was filed against the La Crosse County clerk’s office by voter Mary Jo Werner, who observed the recount for sheriff. Werner is concerned about election rules that allow college students to vote on local races in the towns where they go to school part-time, possibly diminishing the votes of full-time residents.
Judge Elliott Levine ruled last fall that candidates can challenge election results under Wisconsin law, but individual voters cannot.
Martha Linville
February 11, 2023 at 8:28 am
I still don’t understand just how this woman has standing to bring a lawsuit (she is not the candidate), and why against the county clerk, who does not set the rules but simply watches over the administration of those rules.