[Madison, WI] – The Republican Party of Wisconsin has filed a complaint against Superintendent for Public Instruction Candidate Jill Underly with the Wisconsin Elections Commission asking the commission to investigate her illegal conduct. The complaint calls on WEC to commence an immediate investigation into Underly’s illegal use of Pecatonica School District resources to build her campaign contact list on state time.

Last week, the Wisconsin State Journal reported that Jill Underly used her official district email to communicate with superintendents across Wisconsin in an effort to gather their personal emails ahead of her campaign launch. Underly’s emails reveal that she was campaigning on the taxpayer’s dime by sending these emails during official work hours on multiple occasions. Underly even explicitly mentions the “state superintendent race” and later admits that she “may have been risky” in communicating using her official district email.

Underly was right to be concerned, given that her actions violated multiple Wisconsin laws that bar public officials from campaigning on government time or using government resources. WEC must launch an expedited investigation immediately so that Wisconsinites can fully understand the extent of Underly’s illegal actions ahead of the spring election on April 6.

The Republican Party of Wisconsin released the following statement from Communications Director Anna Kelly on the complaint:

“Wisconsin kids deserve better than a superintendent who uses our schools as campaign offices while some Wisconsin schools remain closed. WEC must investigate these concerns immediately so that Wisconsin voters can know the full extent of Jill Underly’s crimes while she was on the taxpayer’s dime.”

Read the full complaint here.