In a hearing Wednesday, Dane County Circuit Court Judge Maryann Sumi denied the Government Accountability Board's motion to disqualify Attorney General J.B. Hollen from a lawsuit he filed over voter registrations Sept. 10.
Sumi also granted the motions of the Democratic and Republican Parties of Wisconsin to intervene in the lawsuit and set a hearing for Oct. 23, only two weeks before the election.
Lester Pines, the attorney representing the GAB, said Van Hollen should be disqualified from the case because the GAB is technically his client, and suing a client would violate rules of professional conduct.
Pines said he disagrees with the decision to allow Van Hollen to stay on the case, but will instead focus on winning the lawsuit.
Although I don't agree with [the decision], this matter is proceeding on to the next issue, which is, can the attorney general even do this?"" Pines said.
According to Pines, Van Hollen has the ability to enforce some election laws but does not have authority to enforce the Help America Vote Act, a law requiring registration check ups.
Kevin St. John, special assistant to Van Hollen, said the GAB has ordered verification to be performed on only a certain class of voters and should treat the records of all voters the same, regardless of when they registered.
""We're just asking for nondiscrimination. We're asking that each of those voter classes that have HAVA applicable to them be treated the same,"" St. John said.
St. John said the attorney general's office opposed the motions from outside parties to intervene because they wanted the proceedings to occur as early as possible.
According to Pines, Van Hollen could have pushed the lawsuit much earlier if he wanted it resolved before Election Day.
Mark Jefferson, executive director of the Republican Party of Wisconsin, said he believes the GAB is trying to ""run off the clock"" and prevent Van Hollen from winning the lawsuit before Election Day, but believes the case can still be decided in time.
""The issue is can the Government Accountability Board and the state bureaucracy be allowed to ignore federal law any longer,"" Jefferson said.
