Green Bay Clerk Confesses To Election Law Violations Blames Lack Of Understanding

Celestine Jeffreys the city clerk of Green Bay Wisconsin has admitted to not strictly following state election laws regarding Election Day registration in response to a complaint filed by the Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF). Jeffreys claimed her failure to adhere to the statutory requirements was “inadvertent and due to a lack of awareness” rather than any willful violation.

Under Wisconsin law clerks are required to change the status of voters to ineligible on the registration list if their Election Day registration postcards are returned undelivered. They must also notify the voter of the change and provide their name to the district attorney and elections commission.

However, the complaint alleges that Jeffreys repeatedly failed to report hundreds of such electors as mandated by law across multiple election cycles from 2020 to 2023. Instead, she merely recorded the postcards as undeliverable in WisVote without taking any further action.

PILF communications director Lauren Bowman Bis called the situation “bad” and emphasized the need for people to have faith and trust in their elected officials. She noted that Jeffreys’ failure to inactivate individuals on the undeliverable list “could be easily used for fraud and abuse.”

Jeffreys, who became city clerk shortly after the contentious 2020 election, has a history of controversies involving election administration in Green Bay. The city faced scrutiny for its handling of grant funds and the involvement of outside activists during the 2020 presidential race.

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