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Jeff Cercone
By Jeff Cercone January 26, 2022

Wisconsin legislators did not vote to remove Biden’s electoral votes.

If Your Time is short

  • Republican Rep. Timothy Ramthun, a denier of Joe Biden’s electoral victory, introduced a resolution on Jan. 25 seeking to recall Wisconsin’s 10 electoral votes, alleging they were fraudulently certified.

  • The privileged resolution was referred to the Rules Committee, as required by Assembly rules. That committee’s chair called the resolution "illegal" and said he has no plans to advance it.

  • Biden won Wisconsin by more than 20,000 votes, and there has been no evidence of fraud in the election that would have affected the outcome.

The 2020 presidential election results have been checked, affirmed and certified every way they’re supposed to be, but futile efforts to overturn them keep popping up, and feeding misinformation.

In Wisconsin, Republican state Rep. Timothy Ramthun introduced a resolution at an Assembly floor session on Jan. 25 seeking to recall the state’s 10 electoral ballots awarded to President Joe Biden, alleging they were fraudulently certified.

His effort failed, but that didn’t stop some people on social media from claiming victory.

A Facebook post reads: "It begins. Wisconsin Assembly votes to remove electoral votes from Biden," above a link to an article from United America First. The headline says, "BOMBSHELL: Wisconsin Assembly Votes to Withdraw Its 10 Electors for Joe Biden in 2020 Election."

This post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.)

The article links to another article by the conservative outlet The Gateway Pundit, which says the Assembly voted to advance Ramthun’s resolution.

That is not what happened. There was no vote. Here’s what Assembly Majority Leader Jim Steineke, a Republican, tweeted late Tuesday night:

"Disinformation spreads quickly. Here’s what happened in the assembly tonight:

  • Ramthun introduced a resolution with zero support (no cosponsors)
  • B/c it was a privileged resolution, it has to be referred to committee. It was referred to Rules
  • There was no vote on it."


 

Here’s how the Wisconsin Assembly handles privileged resolutions, according to its rulebook: 

"Any resolution or joint resolution relating to the officers, members, former members, procedures, or organization of the assembly or legislature is privileged in that it may be offered under any order of business by a member who has the floor and may be taken up immediately before all other proposals, unless referred by the presiding officer to a standing committee or to the calendar."

So Steineke, as required, referred Ramthun’s resolution to the Rules Committee he chairs. It appears he has no interest in moving the resolution forward.

Earlier on Jan. 25, he tweeted that Ramthun’s attempt to recall Wisconsin’s presidential electors is illegal and unconstitutional.

"As chair of the Rules Committee, there is ZERO chance I will advance this illegal resolution," he tweeted, with the hashtag #EndofStory.

Ramthun has been a vocal denier of Biden’s election victory and was recently disciplined by Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos for making false election claims, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Biden won the state by more than 20,000 votes and there has been no evidence of widespread voter fraud. A recount of state results actually awarded Biden 87 more votes, the Associated Press reported.

Our ruling

A Facebook post says that Wisconsin state legislators voted to remove electoral votes from President Joe Biden.

That didn’t happen. A state lawmaker who disputes Biden’s 2020 victory in Wisconsin introduced a privileged resolution seeking to recall electoral votes from Biden. By Assembly rules, privileged resolutions must either be taken up immediately or referred to a committee. It was referred to the Rules Committee. There was no vote.

The chair of the committee called the resolution "illegal" and unconstitutional and said he has no plans to move it forward.

We rate this claim False.

Staff researcher Caryn Baird contributed to this report.

Our Sources

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "​​'It's just plain unconstitutional': Wisconsin GOP leaders again reject resolution to 'pull back' 2020 electoral votes," Jan. 26, 2022

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Assembly Speaker Robin Vos disciplines GOP lawmaker who is the most vocal denier of 2020 election outcome," Jan. 20, 2022

Republican Rep. and Assembly Majority Leader Jim Steineke’s tweet on Jan. 25, 2022

Republican Rep. and Assembly Majority Leader Jim Steineke’s tweet on Jan. 25, 2022

Wisconsin State Legislature, "Privileged resolutions"

Wisconsin Elections Commission, "Fall 2020 general election results"

Wisconsin State Legislature, "2021 Assembly Joint Resolution 120" Jan. 25, 2022

The Associated Press, "Completed Wisconsin recount confirms Biden’s win over Trump," Nov. 30, 2022

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More by Jeff Cercone

Wisconsin legislators did not vote to remove Biden’s electoral votes.

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