Third Election Complaint Filed Against Kronenwetter Clerk Birk-LaBarge

The new complaint alleges that Clerk Birk-LaBarge excluded one of the individuals on the Democratic Party Supplemental List from working in the August 2024 primary. Election complaints have now been filed in 2024 against the Clerk by a Village Trustee, a member of the Marathon County Republican Party, and an individual on the Democratic Party Election Inspector List.

Clerk Birk-LaBarge seems to be taking the position that there were no vacant positions for the August primary, even though she apparently hired additional election inspectors for the primary that were not on the Village Board approved list. She references “permanent” vacant positions, despite that Wisconsin Statute 7.30 does not include the word “permanent”.

Clerk Birk-LaBarge also seems to be taking the position that she only has to utilize the supplemental Democratic list to replace vacancies caused by individuals on the original Democratic list. This is not consistent with the instructions in the FAQ referenced by the Clerk in her response.

The Kronenwetter Village Board reappointed Village Clerk Birk-LaBarge during a contentious August 26th Village Board Meeting that included a closed session which appears to have violated the Wisconsin Open Meetings Law.