Writ of Mandamus-Election Law

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WI Court of Appeals – District I

Case Name: Yehuda Miller v. Milwaukee County Election Commission

Case No.: 2023AP001116

Officials: White, C.J., Donald, P.J., and Geenen, J.

Focus: Writ of Mandamus-Election Law

Miller appealed the dismissal of his petition for a writ of mandamus against the Milwaukee County Election Commission (MCEC), requesting access to physical records related to the 2020 general election. Miller had submitted two public records requests, seeking to inspect all original documents from the election, including absentee ballots, and proposed broad search terms like “election” to help identify the records. MCEC responded by providing electronic copies of hundreds of thousands of documents, but the parties reached an impasse.

The circuit court dismissed Miller’s petition, ruling that his requests were overly broad and burdensome, citing previous case law. On appeal, the court affirmed the decision, noting that Miller’s requests lacked reasonable subject matter limitations, making them legally insufficient under Wisconsin’s Public Records Law. The court compared Miller’s requests to those rejected in prior cases where requests without specific limitations were deemed excessive.

Additionally, the court highlighted that Miller’s petition was prematurely filed, as MCEC had not withheld or delayed access to records. The court concluded that Miller failed to demonstrate a clear legal right to the records or that MCEC had a duty to produce them.

Affirmed.

Decided 12/26/24

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