Wisconsin’s Democrat Secretary of State Doug La Follette has continued to stall filing the Convention of States Application to the U.S. Congress in Washington, D.C., despite the state legislature passing the Resolution calling for a Convention of States in January of this year.
When a state passes the Resolution calling for a convention, the secretary of state is in charge of filing the proper paperwork and sending it to Congress, who holds each state’s documentation until the 34-state threshold is met.
Both the Wisconsin House and Senate are currently controlled by Republicans, with the governor and secretary of state seats held by Democrats. As described by the COS Wisconsin team, Secretary of State Doug La Follette is playing politics.
During a press conference on Thursday, the bill’s sponsor, Representative Dan Knodl, called it a "dereliction of duty" and described what steps will be taken if the secretary continues delaying filing the Application.
“He has had time to sign 10 executive orders and yet he will not answer repeated contacts about this particular matter. Secretary of State, time to step up and perform your task that you took an oath to do so,” said Knodl.
Watch the press conference here.
Co-sponsor Senator Kathy Bernier said she is sending one final letter to La Follette, and if nothing happens, they will pursue legal action to force the secretary to do the job Wisconsin residents pay him to do.
“The secretary of state in the state of Wisconsin has no authority to say whether he likes or dislikes something and to shirk his duties,” said Bernier. “I’m deeply disappointed in the secretary of state in his inaction in fulfilling his legal obligations.”
See the timeline of actions taken and letters sent to La Follette here.
“He’s got until August 1 to get his job done, then we’ll start legal action against him,” said Sen. Bernier.
Convention of States seeks to rein in the out of control federal government by implementing term limits to kick out career politicians, budget requirements to end the wasteful spending, and an overall limitation to the federal government’s size and power.
Sign the petition below to show your support for the Wisconsin legislature passing the COS Resolution.
