Scott McDonell

McDonell was born in Washington, D.C. to father Robert McDonell and mother Ann Temple McDonell[1] and grew up in Bethesda, Maryland where his mother was a professor at Montgomery College. He graduated from Walt Whitman High School, where he played varsity soccer and was active in the arts. He also played soccer at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where he graduated with a BA in political science in 1995. Shortly after graduation, he successfully ran for a seat on the Dane County Board of Supervisors.

His early career also included employment in the state Department of Administration and public service on the boards of the Tenant Resource Center and the Madison Community Cooperative.[2][3]

McDonell was elected to the Dane County Board in April 1996, succeeding Mark Pocan. On the board, McDonell focused on issues including criminal justice reform, regional transportation solutions, mental health services and conducting an audit of Dane County's justice system. Highlights of his service include adoption of a Regional Transit Authority (which was later repealed by Republicans[4] when they took over the Wisconsin Legislature) and creating the first county domestic partner registry. He served briefly as acting Dane County Executive and in 2011 ran unsuccessfully for that office.[5]

Dane County Clerk Bob Ohlsen retired in February 2011, roughly two years before his term expired, and asked McDonell as County Board chair to appoint Karen Peters, the deputy clerk, as the interim County Clerk.[6] Peters declined to run for a full term, and McDonell entered the race to serve as the next County Clerk. In August 2012 he won a 4-way primary for the Democratic nomination[7] and was unopposed in the November general election and took office in January 2013. He defeated independent Karen McKim in 2016 for reelection,[8] and was unopposed for reelection in 2020.

As clerk he served on Dane County's Redistricting Commission.

When the county got new voting equipment in 2014, McDonell joined forces with YouTube series Chad Vader (Darth's younger, less famous brother created by Blame Society Productions) to create a voting information video for Dane County. He also co-wrote the scripts for videos with Vader on the topics of Voter ID and a 2020 pandemic video on absentee voting. The latter won a national award for best municipal public service announcement.[9]

A primary duty of the Dane County Clerk's Office, in addition to overseeing elections, is to issue marriage licenses. Long a supporter of same-sex unions, one of McDonell's first high-profile actions as clerk took place on Friday June 6, 2014, when a federal judge ruled that same-sex marriage was legal in Wisconsin. He had prepared for that possibility in advance,[10][11] having staff, judges and court commissioners at the ready for a “marriage rush” that day and adding open office hours into the following weekend.[12]

McDonell organized clerks around the state, and “act[ed] as a de facto spokesman for county clerks across the state and [saw] to it that as many marriages as possible took place during a one-week window of opportunity” after the initial ruling.[13][14] Despite statements from Republican Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen that the state ban remained in force and even suggesting that clerks issuing licenses could be prosecuted,[15] eventually 60 of the 72 counties issued marriage licenses to same-sex couples before the Federal court issued an injunction halting same-sex marriages pending appeal.[16] The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals denied the appeal in September 2014 and in October the US Supreme Court declined to take up the case, and on October 7, 2014, same-sex marriages resumed in Wisconsin.

After Republicans took control of state government in 2010, they implemented a number of changes to voting in Wisconsin, changing procedures for election officials and voters.[17] McDonell helped organize communication among clerks on how to approach these new laws, which made Wisconsin voting requirements among the most restrictive in the nation. He also worked on helping voters get needed identification, including coordinating free rides to the Department of Motor Vehicles to obtain a voter ID.

Further challenges emerged in 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic – and the resulting shelter at home order – came just weeks before Wisconsin's presidential primary. This resulted in legal challenges[18] and rapidly changing guidance from courts and elected officials, while requests for absentee ballots surged.[19] The Wisconsin Republican Party sued McDonell[20] over advice he gave on Facebook that voters could be considered “indefinitely confined” due to the pandemic and the Wisconsin Supreme Court ordered him to remove the post. Another pandemic challenge was a lack of available poll workers. In Dane County, 249 Wisconsin National Guard members filled in as poll workers, keeping lines much shorter than they were elsewhere in Wisconsin.[21]

After President Donald Trump lost the 2020 election, his followers and many Republican officials challenged the election results. The Trump campaign filed lawsuits in State and Federal court, some of which named McDonell specifically in the lawsuits. [22] In addition, in Dane County and Milwaukee County, Trump's campaign paid for a recount.[20] This was the second presidential recount McDonell oversaw making him the only clerk in the country to do so twice. (In 2016, Jill Stein's campaign ordered a recount after Trump won Wisconsin. Although both margins of victory were narrow, both recounts affirmed the initial results.)

Further attempts to discredit and overturn the 2020 election results included false information targeting election officials, which created a dangerous environment for clerks, poll workers and others involved in elections.[23] McDonell spearheaded a plan to add panic buttons, bullet-proof glass, scan-card door access and other security measures to keep his team safe. He also administered training courses on de-escalating conflict at the polls.[24][25]

McDonell has received subpoenas as part of the United States Justice Department investigation into attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election[26][27]

McDonell has taken on national roles and became a frequent statewide and national media resource on election integrity.[28][29] He is involved with Election Sciences, Reform, and Administration (ESRA) conferences, which bring together election experts from academia, government and nonprofits around the topic of best election practices. In 2022, McDonell became a member of the Committee for Safe and Secure Elections (CSSE) board, a nonpartisan organization with bipartisan membership that creates partnerships between local law enforcement and election officials aimed at protecting election workers.

McDonell lives in downtown Madison with his wife Megin and two children. He is the Lecturing Knight of the Madison Elks Lodge 410.[30]

• How To Vote (With Chad Vader)
• Donald J Trump vs Wisconsin Elections Commission Et Al Decision and Order
• Election Sciences, Reform, & Administration Conference Series
• Committee for Safe and Secure Elections