GOP leaders, Gov. Evers open to reforming some election laws in 2023
MADISON, Wis. (CBS 58) -- After another contentious election in the battleground state, Republican legislative leaders and Democratic Gov. Tony Evers are expressing a willingness to work together on reforming some election laws.
During the 2023-2024 legislative session, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) and Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu (R-Oostburg) said they want to send Gov. Evers election integrity bills he will sign - not veto.
"I want to make sure everyone has the ability to vote one time, legitimately, and have people believing in our elections again," said Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) in an interview.
LeMahieu said, "I don't think it makes sense to do a whole series of election bills just to get vetoed."
In 2022, Evers rejected more than a dozen election bills Republicans passed amid former President Donald Trump's unfounded claims of machine tampering and mysterious votes appearing out of nowhere that allowed Joe Biden to steal the election.
Evers argued the measures would have overhauled elections and made it more difficult for people to vote.
The proposals became a centerpiece of Republican campaigns during the midterms, but some Democrats argued that message backfired with nonpartisan reviews, recounts and court rulings all finding no proof of widespread voter fraud during the 2020 presidential election.
In effort to gain Democratic support this year, Vos suggested making tweaks to one bill aimed at limiting who can claim indefinitely confined status when requesting an absentee ballot.
He also wants to reintroduce a measure Evers has signaled support for to allow absentee ballots to be counted the day before an election to avoid late-night tallies. The proposal passed the Assembly but died in the Senate last session.
Speaker Vos, Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu (R-Oostburg) and Evers all expressed a desire to see the early count bill signed into law.
Another area of possible compromise would address military voting. Evers said he's open to making changes to how military members vote by mail after a former Milwaukee election official was charged for illegally requesting military ballots.
"I think there's some things that can be done that don't make it more difficult for people to vote," Evers said. "I sense some of those are around the military that I could find acceptable, but I haven't seen them."
Republicans have floated proposals to require military members to show proof of a photo ID and create a secure system for them to vote online.
Under current law, military voters don't have to register or provide a photo ID in order to request an absentee ballot. They do have to provide their name, address and date of birth on the Wisconsin MyVote system, which is used to request mail-in ballots.
Vos: Focus on the Future, Solving Problems
The effort to enact election reforms comes as Vos has been trying to move on from the fallout of the 2020 election where he faced pressure from members of his own party, Trump and his allies, to overturn the results.
"I can't go back and do anything about 2020 just like I can't do anything about 2022," Vos said. "I can't wave a magic wand and change the election results."
But even after pulling the plug on a taxpayer review of the 2020 election and rejecting the former president's demands, Vos still has doubts on what occurred during the last presidential election.
When asked if he believes the 2020 election was stolen, Vos said, "Stolen is an awfully strong word, probably not."
"Were there flaws in the election, did fraud occur, did people who were not legitimately able to vote cast a ballot? Yes. I believe all of those things today as much as I did then."
His comments come a year after Vos told CBS 58 in an interview, he does not believe unfounded claims that the election was stolen are considered conspiracy theories, despite for months acknowledging Joe Biden is the president.
In a move to appease his base Vos hired former Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman to investigate the 2020 election. He was praised by many Republicans, including Trump -- but that was short lived.
Leading up the midterm election, Trump constantly bullied Vos for not decertifying the election, which is legally impossible, and even threatened to endorse his primary opponent if he did not extend Gableman's review.
In the end, what seemed to be endless pressure from Trump, Vos ultimately won reelection after Trump did endorse his primary opponent he nearly defeated in August. Days later, Vos fired Gableman after he produced no credible evidence of widespread fraud after a 14-month investigation.
Vos said he has not talked to Trump since July when he reiterated to the former president over the phone there's no legal pathway to decertify the 2020 election in Wisconsin.
That phone call led to Vos being interviewed by the Jan. 6 committee investigating the attack at the U.S. Capitol.
Now, Vos is vowing to hit the reset button during this year's legislative session in an effort to find consensus with Democrats, including Gov. Evers.
"I'm tired," Vos said. "I'm tired of people arguing about politics at Thanksgiving. I'm tired of people thinking they have to inject politics into movies that I watch, the spots I watch. I think I'm like most Americans. I think we have to at some point say, let's just stop the political bickering and begin to move on and focus on solving some problems."
"In 2024, I know we're going to spend so much time talking about politics. Maybe we can take some time now to focus on policy making and have less discussion about the elections."