Earlier this year, the city of Wausau, Wisconsin, made a grave error when they inadvisably elected MAGA election denier Doug Diny as mayor. Diny made it clear during his campaign that he was going to wage a Quixotic war against free and fair elections and that he would tilt at all the ballot drop boxes he had to to make sure of that.
He made good on that promise on Sunday, when he went to City Hall and stole the city’s ballot drop box and put it to an undisclosed location inside City Hall. He has already offered three different rationales for his actions:
“I was uncomfortable with certain staff actions that ran counter to previous agreements I had with the clerk on the matter,” Diny told Wausau Pilot early Tuesday. “I was hired to tighten things up at city hall. This action is consistent with my overall position and what I heard from residents when I was knocking on doors.”
Hours later, in an interview with WSAU, Diny backtracked on the move being related to policy and claimed he moved the ballot box because he was worried it would be “taken and thrown into the river.”
Diny later explained that he was working on Sunday, September 22nd, when he just so happened to notice the drop box was not secured to the ground and took it upon himself to move it to a more secure location.
This alone opens another cornucopia of questions he needs to answer.
One, what time was he working on Sunday? While it’s not unheard of for people to put in overtime, Sunday was when the Green Bay Packers played and believe me when I tell you that Packer games are a sacred thing. Almost the entire state shuts down during Packers games. Even politicians know not to go canvassing or phone banking when the games are on.
Moving on, let’s say for the sake of argument that he was working on Sunday. Why was he wearing a suit? City Hall was closed to the public. He had no events going on. And after he “just so happened to notice” that the ballot box was not secured to the concrete, he also “just so happened” to have a dolly, a clean hard hat and brand-new work gloves? And he “just so happened” to have someone available to take pictures of him purloining democracy?
Gee, I don’t know, but it sure sounds more and more to me like a publicity stunt to score some cheap political points.
And then there is a few other just so happeneds in this story. Last Thursday, the country Republican Party “just so happened” to have released a letter condemning ballot boxes. And the city attorney apparently “just so happened” to have been consulted about whether Diny had the right to move the ballot box. (The city attorney told him in no uncertain terms that he did not have the right to do so.)
It should be noted that the ballot drop box is clearly labeled with a sign reading “Kiosk closed” and, per the election clerk, the box was locked. No ballots were impacted by Mayor Dingy’s crimes.
Now I’m starting to wonder if Trump or one of his alcolytes might “just so happen” to be planning on coming to the area in the near future.
The mayor has been catching hell all week, and rightfully so. Not only has almost every politician on every level condemned his actions, but people have been holding protests both in Wausau and in Madison.
Dingy could have some big legal problems coming his way. City Clerk Kaitlyn Bernarde made referrals to the District Attorney’ Office and to the Wisconsin Election Commission. Diny also could face ethics charges since he has been advised by the city attorney that he did not have the right or the authority to tamper with the ballot drop box in any way. I hope someone also makes a referral to the US DOJ for Diny’s violation of federal laws involving voting and the ADA.
Until the hostage drop box is returned, examined and secured, eligible voters are being directed to deposit their ballots in the payment box in from of City Hall.
