MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin Republicans will meet on Tuesday as required under federal law to allow the state’s Electoral College to cast votes for President-elect Donald Trump, not a day earlier as required by state law, after election officials and the Justice Department agreed that this is the appropriate day to do that.
The Republican Party of Wisconsin filed a lawsuit last week to determine which of the two dates it should meet. The Justice Department and the Wisconsin Elections Commission agreed that votes must be cast Tuesday in accordance with federal law. The Justice Department has requested that the case be dismissed.
U.S. District Judge James Pederson dismissed the case Thursday because everyone agreed federal law must be followed, effectively mooting the lawsuit.
State law requires the electors to meet on the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December. But federal law requires the meeting to take place the first Tuesday after the second Wednesday.
Recognizing the conflict, Wisconsin’s Republican-controlled Legislature spent the last legislative session trying to bring the state into compliance with federal law. The Senate passed the bill on a 31-1 vote, but it never received a vote in the General Assembly.