Republicans in the Wisconsin Assembly on Thursday approved a flurry of election-related bills, sending them to Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ desk — where many, if not all, of them face likely vetoes.
The Assembly approved the measures just days after the GOP-controlled state Senate advanced many of the same bills. Senate Democrats voted against all of the legislation.
The measures would, among other things, bar the use of private funds for election administration, tighten regulations on indefinitely confined voters and provide whistleblower protections for municipal clerks who report election fraud or irregularities.
Speaking to reporters before the Assembly’s floor session began Thursday, Speaker Robin Vos, a Rochester Republican, called the bills “common sense, middle of the road, election reform proposals.”
His comments came less than an hour after Assembly Democrats derided the bills. Assistant Minority Leader Kalan Haywood, D-Milwaukee, called the bills “voter suppression” that would inject “partisan control” into the state’s election systems.
After a day-long floor session, Assembly Republicans approved many of the same measures as their Senate colleagues. However, after a recess that lasted several hours on Thursday night, lawmakers failed to reach a deal on legislation that would allow municipal clerks to begin counting absentee ballots on the Monday before Election Day.
Both Republican and Democratic lawmakers agreed that allowing clerks to count ballots early would be beneficial to the state’s election process. However, Democrats shot down the eventual provision GOP lawmakers put forward.
GOP lawmakers also elected to table a handful of the bills approved by their Senate colleagues.
Include among the passed bills are: