Bipartisan bills seek to combat voter fraud, address voting concerns in battleground state

 

MADISON, Wis. (CBS 58) -- A group of Democrat and Republican lawmakers are joining forces to fix problems that have occurred while administering elections, some that happened in the midst of a pandemic.

The bipartisan bills seek to prevent last-minute closures of polling sites, enact additional requirements on absentee voters overseas, and reimburse some costs associated with special elections.

On Tuesday, the Assembly Campaign and Elections Committee held a public hearing on those proposals but decided not to hear testimony on additional legislation proposed that would add protections for election officials as they've faced an onslaught of harassment and threats stemming from false claims since the 2020 presidential election.

Rep. Scott Krug, the Republican chair of the committee, said they were going to consider bills that have bipartisan first, suggesting other measures introduced will be considered at another time because "nothing is going to change unless both sides agree to this, and these become signed by the governor."

The proposals are drastically different from ones introduced by Republicans last session which would have overhauled how elections are administered. Gov. Tony Evers vetoed those measures, arguing they would have made it more difficult to vote.

One of the bills that has board support includes prohibiting election officials from closing one or multiple polling sites within a month of an election. The proposal would also ban municipalities from closing more than half of its polling places and require local governments to receive public input before deciding to close any polling location.

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.

Only five polling sites were open in Milwaukee, which normally has 180. Meanwhile, Green Bay had two polling locations compared to the 31 the city typically offers.

Another bill seeks to crack down on voter fraud by requiring military personnel to show proof of their government issued ID when requesting absentee ballot application.

The proposal was introduced after Kimberly Zapata, a former Milwaukee election official, was charged with fraud for illegally requesting military absentee ballots and sending them to a Republican lawmaker who embraces election conspiracies.

Military members would have to provide their federal Department of Defense number to request a ballot, then local clerks would have to verify that information with state officials at the Department of Military Affairs.

Lisa Tollefson, the Rock County clerk, testified the bill would create roadblocks for peace corps and other service members who are not issued DOD numbers.

Some Democrats on the committee also had concerns with a provision in the bill to allow service men and women to return absentee ballots via email.

"The idea of opening the door more broadly to email voting makes me extremely nervous," said Rep. Lisa Subeck, a Democrat from Madison. "Because I don't think we are at a point we're we have the kind of safeguards in place…I'd be interested in learning more how securely this could be done."

Rep. Shae Sortwell (R-Two Rivers), who co-authored the bill, said they will consider making changes to the bill and hope to receive more feedback from federal military officials who had some issues with the proposal.

"The concept overall is somewhat new and unique for Wisconsin, so there's going to be some growing pains on this issue," Sortwell said.

In an effort to improve transparency, other bills heard by the committee would require a municipality that livestreams canvassing proceedings to save the recording for 22 months. Another would reimburse counties and municipalities for certain costs incurred during a special election for individuals running for state office, including lawmakers, judges, and justices.

Under the bill, the following costs would be reimbursed by the Wisconsin Elections Commission:

• Rental payments for polling places.
• Election day wages paid to election officials working at the polls.
• Costs for the publication of required election notices.
• Printing and postage costs for absentee ballots and envelopes.
• Costs for the design and printing of ballots and poll books.
• Purchase of ballot bags or containers, including ties or seals for chain of custody purposes.
• Costs to program electronic voting machines.
• Purchase of memory devices for electronic voting machines.
• Wages paid to conduct a county canvass.
• Data entry costs for a statewide voter registration system.

Another election related bill that was introduced last month, but not considered by the committee Tuesday, includes stiffer penalties for intentionally harming an election official and banning the public from obtaining personal information such as where an election official lives.

Krug said the bill could come before the committee in a few weeks.