Assembly approves changes to election laws, constitutional amendments

 

MADISON, Wis. (CBS 58) -- Ahead of the 2024 election lawmakers passed a series of changes to election laws, some that will require input from voters.

On Thursday, the Assembly approved bipartisan bills that would allow clerks to process absentee ballots the Monday before an election and allow voters to track the status of their ballot through a text message verification system.

The "Monday processing bill" is geared towards giving clerks more time to process absentee ballots to avoid late-night tallies.

For years, election officials have asked lawmakers to use the practice which will allow them to check for missing information on an absentee ballot envelope and take the ballot out of the envelope to eventually feed it through a voting machine on Election Day.

"When we go to bed on election night we should have solid unofficial results," said Rep. Ron Tusler, the Republican author of the bill. "This is a common sense bill."

Ahead of session, Gov. Evers spokeswoman Britt Cudaback said the governor would sign the bill.

With absentee voting growing in popularity since the 2020 election, lawmakers were also unified in approving an opt-in text message system to alert voters when their ballot was received by their municipal clerk.

"We are taking an important step to enhance the security, transparency, and confidence in our voting system," said Rep. David Steffen (R-Green Bay).

Another bipartisan bill that passed would prevent last-minute closures of polling sites. During the April 2020 election, voters in Milwaukee and Green Bay waited hours to cast a ballot as the spread of Covid-19 had an unprecedented impact on the number of poll workers.

A handful of other election-related bills passed by Republicans are unlikely to become law.

Those include changing eligibility requirements for indefinitely confined voters, capping the age of a state Supreme Court Justice at 75, and notifying families whose relative intends on voting with a Special Voting Deputies in nursing homes.

"The governor would veto any bill that enables politicians to interfere with our election or makes it harder for eligible Wisconsinites to cast their ballot," Cudaback said in a statement.

Constitutional Amendments

Voters will get their chance to weigh in on two constitutional amendments next year that could impact how elections are administered.

The Assembly passed three proposals, two that will appear on the 2024 ballot. Those include amending the state constitution to ban local governments from accepting private grant money to help administer elections and ensuring only U.S. citizens vote in state and local elections and

Those will appear on the April and November ballot, respectively.

Evers has vetoed legislation that would ban private funding for elections, but he's unable to reject constitutional amendments. It is an option being used more frequently by Republicans who control the Legislature to bypass Evers veto pen.

In 2020, GOP lawmakers were outraged over a nonprofit that distributed upwards to 10 million dollars in grants to local municipalities to help them administer the election. The group was largely funded by Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of META, formally known as Facebook.

Republicans argue it gave an unfair advantage to largely Democratic cities, despite all communities receiving some money.

The effort to clarify non-citizens cannot vote in state or local elections comes as some municipalities across the U.S. have allowed them to cast a ballot. Wisconsin’s constitution currently only states that U.S. citizens aged 18 and over are qualified electors.

Rep. Lee Snodgrass (D-Appleton) argued the proposal is seeking to solve a problem that doesn't exist.

"I prefer to legislate about existing problems, not made-up ones," Snodgrass said. "The legislation before us today is born out of fear and distrust."

Republicans also approved an amendment to preserve the state's voter ID law. It will need to pass next year as well since constitutional amendments must pass two constructive sessions.

The effort comes as some fear the 2011 law, which is one of the strictest in the country, could be overturned after the state Supreme Court flipped to 4-3 liberal control in August. Evers has also proposed eliminating the state's voter ID requirements in previous state budgets.