Pressure builds to allow early processing of absentee ballots, here's why the effort is stalled

 

MADISON, Wis. (CBS 58) --After a top Republican indicated it's unlikely a bipartisan bill geared towards speeding up election results won't pass this year; pressure continues to build with Democrats and Republicans urging the Senate to act.

On Wednesday, Gov. Tony Evers and Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson were the latest to call out lawmakers in the state Senate to pass legislation that would allow clerks to begin processing absentee ballots the day before an election.

"There's always this issue of making it more and more difficult for local officials to do their damn job," Evers told reporters during an event in Kenosha. "That bill should have been passed."

The "Monday processing bill" has broad support and passed the Assembly, but the Senate has yet to vote on it.

Evers has called on lawmakers to send him the proposal and added he's "very frustrated" it hasn't arrived on his desk.

With the Senate scheduled to meet one more time next month, the chances of the bill passing are slim.

Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu (R-Oostburg) told WISN on Sunday the proposal is likely dead because it's still sitting in the Senate Shared Revenue, Elections and Consumer Protection committee.

Sen. Dan Knodl, the GOP chairman of the committee, told CBS 58 he will not advance it to the floor because he's not convinced Milwaukee is equipped to handle a second day of processing ballots.

"They already have staffing issues," Knodl said. "To add another day…it wouldn't be wise until they can show us, they can properly staff."

During a public hearing on the bill, clerks testified in support of the bill and stressed how processing absentee ballots ahead of Election Day would be beneficial for all municipalities, but especially key for the state's biggest city.

In 2020, it took Milwaukee almost until 3 a.m. to process tens of thousands of absentee ballots.

"It makes a whole lot of sense for us to process those ballots earlier just because of the sheer number of ballots we take in in the city of Milwaukee," said Mayor Johnson.

When the bill was first introduced, Claire Woodall-Vogg, the executive director of the Milwaukee Election Commission, said the proposal would significantly improve the timing of election results.

When asked about this, Knodl argued that Milwaukee should be able to have "speedy results without an extra day."

LeMahieu could still pull the bill out of committee and bring it to a vote if wants to, but Knodl said he hasn't had any discussions with him about this.

The Republican from Germantown added he hasn't been pressured by any lawmakers to advance the bill.

It comes a day after Assembly Republicans urged the Senate to hold a vote despite the tight timeline.

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) told reporters Tuesday, "I have no idea why senators would not want to solve this problem."

The proposal wouldn't allow clerks to count ballots but ensure they could start opening absentee ballot envelopes to feed them into a machine on Election Day. Officials would also be able to check for any missing information, such as an address or ZIP code, under the bill.

The GOP authors of the proposal also believe it would help increase transparency and help restore faith in our elections.

Former President Donald Trump falsely claimed he lost to Joe Biden in 2020 because of "ballot dumps" in Milwaukee when thousands of absentee ballots were counted, creating a shift in the results.