A story The Wausonian broke has led to a state investigation

Meanwhile, insiders expect a battle at Tuesday's Wausau City Council meeting

Left: Doug Diny moves Wausau's ballot box from the steps of City Hall on Sunday. Right: The box restored to the front of City Hall.

The State Department of Justice is now investigating Mayor Doug Diny’s removal of Wausau’s absentee ballot box before it was secured or in use. And that’s ahead of a resolution about absentee ballot boxes insiders say will spark a battle in the council chambers Tuesday.

The Wausonian on Sept. 24 broke the story that Wausau Mayor Diny on the previous Sunday had moved the absentee ballot box from the steps of city hall, placing it somewhere inside city hall out of public view.

The Wausonian obtained a copy of an email exchange between City Council President Lisa Rasmussen who had expressed concern over the ballot box’s removal. Diny in response sent a photo of himself moving the box. When The Wausonian asked Diny about the box, he responded that it was moved because of concerns. When asked what those concerns were, Diny said he was concerned about the security of the box and moved it inside.

That set off a firestorm, which public commenters blasting Diny for moving the box. That led to City Clerk Kaitlyn Bernarde issuing an ultimatum to Diny saying the box needed to be in place by noon Friday or else she would forward the situation to investigators. After noon that Friday, Diny had issued a press release saying the clerk was out of her lane and that he wanted the council to decide on the placement of the ballot box. He also in the same press release revealed that he’d hired a firm to conduct a performance evaluation of the city attorney (which seemed a non-sequitur without the knowledge that the city attorney had given an opinion two days after The Wausonian’s story published that the clerk had jurisdiction over the absentee ballot box).

The Wausonian visited city hall that Friday after the noon deadline. The mayor’s office was dark, City Attorney Anne Jacobson refused a meeting and the ballot box was still missing from any public area.

Later that Friday, the Marathon County District Attorney announced that it would be forwarding the investigation to the Portage County Sheriff’s Department.

Today Rob Mentzner of WPR reported that the state DOJ has taken up the case.

City Council showdown

Tuesday’s City Council features an item that reads as follows:

Resolution Regarding City’s Use of Absentee Drop Boxes for November 2024 Election.

In a memo about the resolution, Bernarde says she doesn’t feel that it would be appropriate for the city council to weigh in on the absentee ballot decision since it is not within the purview of the city council. Diny doesn’t agree. From Bernarde: