ALL EYES ON BATTLEGROUND Matt: Welcome back. WISCONSIN. JUST WEEKS FROM THE AUGUST primary and the NOVEMBER MIDTERMS, THE NEW HEAD OF THE WISCONSIN ELECTIONS COMMISSION IS NOW CHARGED WITH NAVIGATING CALLS FROM FELLOW REPUBLICANS TO JAIL COMMISSIONERS AND DISBAND the agency altogether ALL WHILE ENSURE TRUST IN WISCONSIN'S ELECTORAL SYSTEM THIS FALL. ASSEMBLY SPEAKER ROBIN VOS APPOINTED REPUBLICAN ATTORNEY DON MILLIS TO REPLACE DEAN KNUDSON, WHO RESIGNED HIS POST. THE COMMISSION THEN SELECTED MILLIS, WHO FIRST served in 2016 as the new chair. Welcome to Upfront. Good to see you. You clearly have not been living under a rock for the past year and a half. You have seen and read accounts of the commission. You said yes to returning. Why did you say yes? Mr. Millis: I said reluctantly yes. When I started the job as chairman, I said I am a cheesehead, I love Wisconsin. The legislature has done a lot to create mechanisms to increase confidence in elections. We have statewide voter registration lists, a thing we didn't have before. We have voter identification and other mechanisms in place. And unfortunately, at this time, confidence in our elections seems to be at an all- time low. My hope is that we can take some steps, administratively, maybe even legislatively, to restore confidence in elections, and that is my number one agenda item. Matt: We had Dean Knudson on the show a few months ago. This is what he said upon his resignation. Mr. Knudson: Two of my core values are to practice service above self and display personal integrity, and to me that demands acknowledging the truth even when it is painful. In this case, the painful truth is that President Trump lost the election in 2020, lost the election in Wisconsin in 2020, and the loss was not due to election fraud. Matt: I want to ask you about his resignation. First, did Donald Trump lose Wisconsin in 2020? Mr. Millis: you know, I think I mentioned earlier before we started talking, all I know about what happened in 2020 is what I read in the papers and have seen online. I have not had a chance to spend time talking to participants. I'm already the defendant by virtue of my appointment in a couple lawsuits. We are awaiting just as Gableman's final report. There are things that occurred that should not have occurred. Did that make a difference in the election? I will not make any public statements about that or make any decisions about that until we get to that point. I'm skeptical that the elections commission has a role adjudicating any more over the 2020 presidential election, but for the value of maintaining confidence in the presidential elections, I think it would be unwise for me to say one way or another conclusively what I think of that in my role as chairperson of the commission. Matt: Republican lawmakers have called for the commission to be disbanded, to be laminated. What are your plans to carry this forward and have people trust you? Mr. Millis: the future of the commission is beyond my pay grade. That will be up to the legislature. I know there is, on my side of the aisle, a difference in opinion as to how we should go after the election. Certainly, there could be a change. The commission could be abolished. I do think, because I've had experience with the prior elections board and the Government accountability board, that the commission is an upgrade over the government accountability board. My goal would be to help the legislature and the governor navigate those waters so that if we either change the commission or eliminate it that we do it in a way that maintains and enhances the public's confidence in elections and the results. Matt: You will be chair when the results of the 2022 elections will be certified. Is there any scenario in which you would not certify the results as they come to the commission? Mr. Millis: I would do with the law requires of me. Matt: Certify the results. Mr. Millis: it is a complicated process. I certify the results of the 2000 election, the Bush V. Gore election. That was close in Wisconsin. I felt it was important that all the i's were dotted and all the t's were crossed. Certifying an election means you certify the winner, and I will not certify a winner that I think is not the winner. Matt: The new chair of the Wisconsin elections commission, DON MILLIS Thank you for your time. Best of lu