The Daily Fuckup

In Wisconsin, the alternate-elector episode was not a casual protest or a symbolic gesture. On Dec. 14, 2020, a group of Republican electors met at the state Capitol in Madison and signed a certificate purporting to cast Wisconsin’s electoral votes for Donald Trump and Mike Pence, even though the state had certified Joe Biden’s win. The National Archives’ record of that filing shows the date, the signers, and the stated purpose of the document. ([archives.gov](https://www.archives.gov/files/electoral-college/2020/vote-wisconsin.pdf?utm_source=openai))

The paper trail mattered because it was official-looking and because it was created after the election result in Wisconsin was already set. That made the documents useful to later lawsuits over the post-election effort, including a civil case that challenged the legitimacy of the false elector slate. By the time the case later settled, the defendants acknowledged that their votes were used as part of an effort to undermine the 2020 presidential election. ([law.georgetown.edu](https://www.law.georgetown.edu/icap/our-work/promoting-good-government-voting-rights-whistleblowers-and-transparency/penebaker-v-hitt/?utm_source=openai))

This was part of a larger effort across several states to generate alternate electoral paperwork after the vote had been counted. In Wisconsin, the central facts are now well documented: the electors met at the Capitol, signed the certificate, and transmitted it through channels meant for genuine electoral votes. Those steps did not change the election outcome, but they did create records that investigators, litigants, and the public could examine later. ([archives.gov](https://www.archives.gov/files/electoral-college/2020/vote-wisconsin.pdf?utm_source=openai))

What the record supports is a sequence of acts, not a legal conclusion by itself. The documents show that the false slate existed and was filed. Later litigation and settlement materials would add admissions and additional internal records, but those developments came after the date of this edition. On Dec. 12, 2021, the durable fact was the same one the paperwork had already established: Wisconsin’s alternate electors had signed and sent a certificate claiming votes the state’s voters had not given them. ([archives.gov](https://www.archives.gov/files/electoral-college/2020/vote-wisconsin.pdf?utm_source=openai))