Wisconsin: Walker in talks to end campaign probe | Associated Press

A person close to an investigation of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's campaign and other conservative groups said Wednesday that Walker's attorney is talking with the lead investigator about a possible settlement that would end the probe. The person who spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity said he could not do so publicly because of a secrecy order covering the investigation. The person said he had spoken with several people with direct knowledge of the discussions between prosecutors and Walker's attorney. The secret investigation, known as a John Doe, began in August 2012 shortly after the Republican governor won a recall election. It focused on alleged illegal campaign fundraising, spending and coordination between conservative groups, Walker's campaign and others during recall elections in both 2011 and 20

Wisconsin: State seeks stay as it appeals voter ID case | Bloomberg News

Wisconsin has told a U.S. judge that it will appeal his ruling barring the state from enforcing a voter-identification law as litigation over ballot access intensifies in the run-up to November’s elections. Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen on Monday filed court papers asking U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman in Milwaukee to delay his April ruling blocking the law until the decision is reviewed by an appeals court in Chicago. The measure, signed by Republican Gov. Scott Walker in 2011, would require Wisconsin voters to produce a government-issued ID before casting a ballot. Adelman permanently blocked the measure on April 29, concluding it burdens minorities’ right to vote. Dozens of courtroom battles were fought ahead of the 2012 presidential election over voter-identification requirements passed by Republican-dominated legislatures since President Barack Obama’s 2008 victory. Supporters of the laws say they’re needed to prevent voter fraud. Opponents contend the measures are aimed at suppressing the votes of low-income people and the elderly who may be more inclined to vote for Democrats.

Wisconsin: Van Hollen appeals ruling striking down Wisconsin voter ID law | Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

State Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen on Monday appealed a two-week-old decision striking down Wisconsin's voter ID law. Van Hollen had promised an appeal as soon as U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman in Milwaukee blocked the voter ID law for violating the U.S. Constitution and federal Voting Rights Act. Monday's filing puts the case before the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago. Van Hollen also asked Adelman to suspend his ruling while the appeal proceeds, saying his decision was too broad. In his ruling, Adelman expressed skepticism that any voter ID law could pass court muster because minorities have a more difficult time than whites obtaining photo identification. He wrote that he would review any changes to the voter ID law that state lawmakers may make — something attorneys in Van Hollen's Department of Justice said the judge doesn't have the authority to do.

Wisconsin: ‘John Doe’ ruling may land in U.S. Supreme Court | Wisconsin State Journal

The federal court decision halting the John Doe investigation into coordination between Gov. Scott Walker’s campaign and conservative political groups raises unique questions that could very well end up before the U.S. Supreme Court, experts say. But that same decision also conflicts in some respects with recent Supreme Court decisions, raising questions about whether in the end, the decision by U.S. District Judge Rudolph Randa would stand. Randa ruled last week that the type of issue advocacy done by Wisconsin Club for Growth is not subject to government control, even if it is done in coordination with a candidate’s campaign.

Wisconsin: State to lift limits on campaign giving after Supreme Court ruling | Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

Wisconsin election officials acknowledged in federal court Thursday they could not enforce a state law that limits the amount donors can give to all candidates to $10,000 a year, in light of a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling. The state's settlement of a lawsuit over the limits — if approved by U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman as expected — would also have the effect of allowing donors to give unlimited sums to political parties and political action committees. The state Government Accountability Board, which oversees state election laws, also agreed to pay more than $5,700 in legal fees to millionaire Fred Young Jr. of Racine, who brought the case. Those funds will go to the conservative Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty, which represented Young. The decision comes a month after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled similar limits are an unconstitutional restriction of the free speech rights of those who make donations to congressional candidates. "I'm very pleased we've made one more piece of progress to restoring the First Amendment," said Young, who sits on the board of the Cato Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based group that promotes limited government.

Wisconsin: Conflicting Rulings Cloud Wisconsin Campaign Finance Inquiry | New York Times

An investigation into possible campaign finance violations involving conservative groups in Wisconsin and Gov. Scott Walker’s campaign committee has become entangled in back-to-back federal court rulings on whether it should continue. On Tuesday, a federal judge halted the investigation, giving a momentary victory to Mr. Walker, a Republican who is seeking re-election this fall and is sometimes mentioned as a presidential possibility for 2016. The investigation, the details of which are murky because of tight state secrecy rules, had clouded Mr. Walker’s political prospects and become a focus of attention for his critics. But on Wednesday, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit stayed the injunction, calling for a lower court review of an earlier, separate appeal in the case.

Wisconsin: Assembly backers of voter ID vow to reintroduce bill next session | Wisconsin State Journal

The Republican authors of a new voter ID bill that passed the state Assembly, but not the Senate, said Tuesday they plan to reintroduce the legislation after the November elections. Reps. Mark Born, R-Beaver Dam, and Michael Schraa, R-Oshkosh, wrote in a column they believe their bill is constitutional because it's based on an Indiana law upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. Born and Schraa also responded to a criticism of their bill by state Sen. Joe Leibham, R-Sheboygan, who is running for Congress and authored the state's current voter ID law that passed in 2011. Leibham said last week, after a federal judge struck down the law, that he believes the current law is constitutional and the new bill would create "such a big loophole in the voter ID requirement" that the system would be "substantially similar to the one we have now."

Wisconsin: Federal judge halts John Doe probe into Walker recall | Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

A federal judge ordered a halt Tuesdayto the John Doe investigation into campaign spending and fundraising by Gov. Scott Walker's campaign and conservative groups, saying the effort appeared to violate one of the group's free speech rights. In his 26-page decision, U.S. District Judge Rudolph Randa in Milwaukee told prosecutors to immediately stop the long-running, five-county probe into possible illegal coordination between Walker's campaign, the Wisconsin Club for Growth and a host of others during the 2011 and 2012 recall elections. "The (Wisconsin Club for Growth and its treasurer) have found a way to circumvent campaign finance laws, and that circumvention should not and cannot be condemned or restricted. Instead, it should be recognized as promoting political speech, an activity that is 'ingrained in our culture,'" Randa wrote, quoting from a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision.

Wisconsin: Little chance to fix voter ID law under court decision, Walker says | Pioneer Press

Gov. Scott Walker and a top lawmaker said Wednesday they see little chance they could pass a voter ID law that would overcome Tuesday's decision by a Milwaukee federal court judge overturning the requirement. Any new law would have to be approved by U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman, who not only struck down the voter ID law but also enjoined the state from enacting any similar requirement, said John Ulin, an attorney who represented civil-rights groups and individuals challenging the law. Senate President Mike Ellis, R-Neenah, said he doesn't expect the Legislature to be convened before the November elections. "It would be an exercise in futility," Ellis said. "Based on what Adelman wrote, it seems whatever we do, he's going to rule unconstitutional." Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, has taken a wait-and-see approach on the possibility of bringing lawmakers back to the Capitol, spokeswoman Myranda Tanck said. But Walker held out little hope the state could overcome the complete rejection of the law by Adelman, a former Democratic state senator who sits on the U.S. District Court in Milwaukee.

Wisconsin: Milwaukee County clerk to take over elections | Journal-Sentinel

He didn't ask for it and he won't get a pay raise, but Milwaukee County Clerk Joe Czarnezki's job now includes running the county Election Commission. Czarnezki said he plans to streamline reporting of election results and get them posted quickly online on election nights, something that hasn't been done in the past. Czarnezki also is aiming for more timely posting of campaign finance reports by candidates for county offices, another duty of the county election office. "As soon as they are received and verified, (campaign reports) should be scanned and posted on the website," Czarnezki said Wednesday. Thanks to a provision tucked into a larger bill signed into law last week, the county clerk was designated executive director of the Election Commission. Czarnezki will answer to the existing three-person commission on election matters.

Wisconsin: Voter ID law a burden to poor, minority voters, federal judge rules | Associated Press

A federal judge struck down Wisconsin's voter identification law on Tuesday, declaring that a requirement that voters show a state-issued photo ID at the polls imposes an unfair burden on poor and minority voters. U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman sided with opponents of the law, who argued that low-income and minority voters aren't as likely to have photo IDs or the documents needed to get them. Adelman said the law violated the U.S. Constitution's guarantee of equal protection. He said the law appeared too flawed to fix with legislative amendments. Adelman's decision invalidates Wisconsin's law and means voter ID likely won't be in place for the fall elections, when Republican Gov. Scott Walker runs for re-election.

Wisconsin: Legislature cannot fix voter ID law before November election, leader says | Wisconsin State Journal

The leader of the state Senate said Wednesday that the Legislature will not go back into session to fix Wisconsin’s voter ID law, which was struck down Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman. Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, said in an interview that although he supports the planned appeal of Adelman’s decision, Tuesday’s rejection of the law left little room for lawmakers to act. “I don’t see it (Legislature) coming back,” Fitzgerald said. “It’s not going to be resolved for the November election.” Senate President Mike Ellis, R-Neenah, echoed that sentiment, saying that calling lawmakers back to Madison would be “an exercise in futility.” Any new law would have to be approved by Adelman, who not only struck down the voter ID law but also blocked the state from enacting any similar requirement, said John Ulin, an attorney who represented civil-rights groups and individuals challenging the law. “This pretty much ends the idea that we could come in and do something through a legislative effort that would make sense at this point,” Fitzgerald said.

Wisconsin: Federal judge strikes down voter ID; Van Hollen to appeal | Associated Press

A federal judge in Milwaukee struck down Wisconsin’s voter identification law Tuesday, declaring that a requirement that voters show a state-issued photo ID at the polls imposes an unfair burden on poor and minority voters. U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman sided with opponents of the law, who argued that low-income and minority voters aren’t as likely to have photo IDs or the documents needed to get them. Adelman said the law violated the U.S. Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection. The decision invalidates Wisconsin’s law and means voter ID likely won’t be in place for the fall elections, when Republican Gov. Scott Walker faces re-election. Walker said last month that he would call lawmakers into special session if the courts ruled against the law; Walker’s spokeswoman did not immediately return an email seeking reaction Tuesday. Nor did Republican legislative leaders, who have agreed a special session would be warranted to pass a revised version of the law. Tuesday’s decision could set a precedent for similar legal challenges in Texas, North Carolina and elsewhere. There are 31 states with laws in effect requiring voters to show some form of identification, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Seven states have strict photo ID requirements similar to the one a state judge struck down in Arkansas last week; that decision has been appealed to the Arkansas Supreme Court. Pennsylvania’s voter ID law has been put on hold because of court challenges.

Wisconsin: Federal Judge Strikes Down Wisconsin Law Requiring Photo ID at Polls | New York Times

A federal judge on Tuesday struck down Wisconsin’s law requiring voters to produce state-approved photo identification cards at polling places, advancing a new legal basis — the Voting Rights Act — for similar challenges playing out around the nation. Judge Lynn Adelman, of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, found that the state’s 2011 law violated the 14th Amendment of the Constitution as well as the Voting Rights Act, which bars states from imposing rules that abridge a citizen’s right to vote based on race or color. “I find that the plaintiffs have shown that the disproportionate impact of the photo ID requirement results from the interaction of the requirement with the effects of past or present discrimination,” Judge Adelman wrote in the decision. “Blacks and Latinos in Wisconsin are disproportionately likely to live in poverty. Individuals who live in poverty are less likely to drive or participate in other activities for which a photo ID may be required (such as banking, air travel, and international travel) and so they obtain fewer benefits from possession of a photo ID than do individuals who can afford to participate in these activities.”

Wisconsin: Federal judge strikes down Wisconsin voter ID law | The Washington Post

A federal judge in Milwaukee struck down Wisconsin’s voter Identification law Tuesday, saying a requirement that voters show a state-issued photo ID at the polls imposes an unfair burden on poor and minority voters. U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman sided with opponents of the law, who argued that low-income and minority voters aren’t as likely to have photo IDs or the documents needed to get them. Adelman said the law violated the U.S. Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection. Adelman’s decision invalidates Wisconsin’s law and could set a precedent for similar legal challenges in Texas, North Carolina and elsewhere. At least 14 states require voters to show photo ID, and legislation in dozens of other states includes proposals to either introduce new voter ID laws or strengthen existing ones. Just last week, an Arkansas judge struck down that state’s voter ID law; it is being appealed to the Arkansas Supreme Court.

Wisconsin: State lags behind offering online voter registration | Associated Press

Wisconsin may soon be in a minority of states that don’t allow voters to register online. The state, long considered a model for its high voter turnout and election administration, seems stubbornly old-fashioned as it sticks to paper registration while others move to online systems that are simpler, cheaper and less prone to errors, elections experts told lawmakers recently. Legislators from both parties have expressed interest in online registration, but progress has been stymied by a long-standing fight over same-day voter registration and other party divisions. Two bills that would have allowed online voter registration have failed to pass in the past four years, frustrating elections officials. “Online registration is no longer cutting-edge innovation. It is a well-established and essential tool,” said Kevin Kennedy, director of the Government Accountability Board, which oversees Wisconsin’s elections. “We already have in place what we need to do. We need the legislative authorization to do this.” Eighteen states have already adopted online registration, with Arizona pioneering the approach in 2002 and others following since 2007. Four states have approved the method and are working on the systems. Fifteen more states, including Wisconsin, are considering legislation, according to data from the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Wisconsin: State to Allow Online Voter Registration? | MacIver Institute

The Assembly Committee on Campaigns and Elections held an informational hearing on the subject of online voter registration on Tuesday. The hearing did not focus on a specific bill, but legislators and speakers discussed how an online voter registration system has been implemented in other states. Currently, 18 states offer online voter registration, and four other states have passed legislation allowing it. Arizona was the first to allow online registration in 2002. Kevin Kennedy, Director and General Counsel of the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, spoke for informational purposes only but highlighted many of the benefits of online voter registration. "Legislation that enables online voter registration would make a tremendous leap forward in the administration of elections in Wisconsin," Kennedy said. "The basic voter registration data will be more accurate if it is entered online by the voter. Online registration eliminates data entry errors resulting from difficult to decipher paper forms." Kennedy also said that online registration would reduce issues caused by large voter registration drives conducted by third-party organizations.

Wisconsin: Write-in rules changed under new state law – Isthmus | The Daily Page

For poll worker Larry Nelson, Election Day's most irritating hour -- or hours -- arrives after the polls close, when the write-in votes are counted. "Here you are, on your feet after working 14 hours, and now you have to sort through the ballots looking for Mickey Mouse," he explains. "It's quite a bit of work for something that doesn't mean a whole lot. Hopefully we can get the law changed before the next election." Consider it done. On April 2, the day after this year's spring election, Gov. Scott Walker quietly signed a bill lifting the requirement that all write-in votes must be counted.

Wisconsin: Kevin Kennedy approaches 35th anniversary managing state elections | WisPolitics

Kevin Kennedy's predecessor was removed as Wisconsin's top elections official after a few "management issues." Kennedy recalled that included mistakes in tallying results from the September 1982 primary and a mix-up with the wording for a ballot referendum that was supposed to gauge support on a nuclear weapons freeze. But the language sent to local clerks left the word "weapons" out of the question. So Kennedy has taken the approach that he's auditioning each day to keep his post as Government Accountability Board director and general counsel. "I don't stand for election every four years. I get reviewed every day by a citizen board," Kennedy said in a WisPolitics.com interview. "As I tell people it takes four votes, not a million votes, to get rid of me." Kennedy will celebrate 35 years with Wisconsin's elections agency this week, first as legal counsel and then executive director of the old Elections Board before heading up the GAB, which was created in 2007 and began its work in place of the old Elections and Ethics boards in 2008.

Wisconsin: League of Women Voters ponders lawsuit over early voting restrictions | Capital Times

Andrea Kaminski, executive director of the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin, is unsure how her organization will respond to Gov. Scott Walker’s recent signing of a bill to restrict early voting throughout the state. Walker issued a partial veto that killed a provision that would have barred municipalities from offering more than 45 hours of weekday in-person absentee voting. Nevertheless, the bill as signed still bars municipalities from offering early voting on weekends in the weeks preceding an election and restricts early voting to the hours of 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays. Walker’s veto amounted to a minimal improvement, says Kaminski. “It was a very, very small concession,” she says.

Wisconsin: Wisconsin Rapids mayor in hot water over ballot photo | Associated Press

Add a Wisconsin mayor to the list of voters who violated the state’s election law prohibiting sharing pictures of completed ballots. Wisconsin Rapids Mayor Zach Vruwink, 26, faces a possible felony after posting online a picture of his ballot in the primary for his re-election. A City Council candidate saw the post and filed a complaint with the district attorney, who was debating moving forward with charges as of Thursday. Despite warnings from the Government Accountability Board — which governs elections in Wisconsin — the issue has come up in multiple elections in the last few years as voters photograph their ballots and share them on social media. “I understand the law’s intent is to protect the integrity of the voting process,” Vruwink wrote in a text message. “This post was in no way election fraud.”

Wisconsin: Scott Walker signs early-voting bill; partial veto extends voting hours | Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Acting out of the public eye on controversial measures, Gov. Scott Walker signed asbestos liability legislation Thursday opposed by a number of veterans groups and used a partial veto to loosen new restrictions on early voting opposed by Democrats. Wielding his pen privately on a stack of 31 bills, Walker approved a number of elections bills Thursday, including the absentee voting measure and another one to give lobbyists more time to give campaign donations to state officials. In the early-voting measure, Walker used his partial veto powers — the most powerful in the nation — to nix language restricting early voting hours in Milwaukee and other cities to 45 hours a week while leaving in place a provision to prohibit early voting on weekends.

Wisconsin: Senate approves bill to limit absentee voting | Daily Cardinal

The state Senate passed a bill Friday limiting voting times to submit absentee ballots. Under current law, one can apply to a municipal clerk in person to vote using an absentee ballot. The ballot can be submitted between the third Monday before the election and the last Friday before the election by 5 p.m. In-person applications for absentee ballots would only be received Monday through Friday between 7:30 a.m. and 6 p.m. under Senate Bill 324, introduced by Sen. Glenn Grothman, R-West Bend. Both Democrats and Republicans criticized the bill and urged Gov. Scott Walker to veto it.

Wisconsin: Assembly to vote on bill that would end weekend voting | WLUK

Voting on the weekend could be a thing of the past in Wisconsin. The state Assembly will vote on a bill Thursday that would limit early voting hours to weekdays from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. The measure would also require the state to pay half the expenses for small communities offering early voting. The state Senate passed the bill last week 17-16. All Democrats voted against it. State Sen. Glenn Grothman, R-West Bend, wrote the bill.

Wisconsin: Dale Schultz: ‘I am not willing to defend them anymore’ | Capitol Times

Wisconsin state Sen. Dale Schultz, R-Richland Center, will not ride off quietly into the sunset. In an appearance on the Devil’s Advocate radio show (The Mic/92.1 FM) last week, Schultz told hosts Mike Crute and Dominic Salvia that his party’s support for a series of election law changes was indefensible. “I am not willing to defend them anymore,” he explained when Salvia asked why Republicans sought to limit the number of voting hours a municipality could offer. “I’m just not and I’m embarrassed by this.” Since announcing his retirement in the face of a tough primary challenge from conservative state Rep. Howard Marklein, R-Spring Green, the Republican iconoclast has become more strident in criticizing the party in which he has made a political career. Schultz has served as a legislator from southwestern Wisconsin since 1983, including two stints as Senate majority leader in 2003 and 2005. Last week, Schultz argued that there were no legitimate justifications for some of the election reforms pushed by Republicans. “It’s all predicated on some belief there is a massive fraud or irregularities, something my colleagues have been hot on the trail for three years and have failed miserably at demonstrating,” he said.

Wisconsin: Wisconsin Senate Republicans not likely to act on voter ID this session | Capitol Times

The Wisconsin state Senate's Republican leadership favors a special session to address voter ID as opposed to taking up legislation passed by the Assembly in November in the remaining weeks of the 2013-14 legislative session. Myranda Tanck, an aide to Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, Senate Republicans would prefer to see how the state Supreme Court rules on the voter ID bill that Gov. Scott Walker signed three years ago. That law has since been struck down by two Dane County Circuit Court judges.

Wisconsin: In narrow vote, Senate backs ending early voting on weekends | Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

After being blocked by Democrats a day earlier, Republican state senators narrowly approved bills Wednesday to end weekend voting before elections, allow lobbyists to make political donations earlier in the political season and curb lawsuits by those exposed to asbestos. Under one bill, approved by a one-vote margin, early voting in clerks' offices could occur only on weekdays between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. Clerks would not be able to hold early voting during all of that period, however, because they would be limited to allowing a total of 45 hours of early voting a week. Democrats told Republicans they saw the move as an effort to suppress voting by their supporters. "I feel like I'm in 1906, fighting the fights that people who came long before me had to fight," said Sen. Lena Taylor (D-Milwaukee), who is African-American. "I would argue it screams of backward-thinking mentality, all the way back to Jim Crow, and you should be ashamed."

Wisconsin: The politics of Voter ID in Wisconsin | Capitol Times

Gov. Scott Walker is putting the entire weight of the governorship behind Voter ID. Walker told reporters Tuesday that he was willing to call a special session of the Legislature this summer in order to pass a new bill requiring voters to show photo identification at the polls. Although Walker signed such a bill into law in 2011, it was quickly ruled unconstitutional by two Dane County judges and is now being considered by the state Supreme Court, which is expected to deliver a ruling in the coming months. If the high court upholds the lower court rulings, finding that the bill cannot be implemented as written, Walker suggested that the Legislature could pass a new bill that would address any objections from the judiciary while still preserving an ID requirement.

Wisconsin: Senate narrowly passes package of election measures, including early voting limits | Associated Press

With just one vote to spare, Republicans who control the state Senate on Wednesday passed a series of hotly contested election law changes, including disallowing casting early votes on the weekends or past 7 p.m. in the two weeks leading up to an election. All 15 Democrats were joined by Republican Sen. Dale Schultz, who is not seeking re-election, in voting against the bills. All six proposals, which also included measures to delay asbestos lawsuits and limit liability for parents of teen drivers, passed 17-16. Democrats, who used a procedural move Tuesday to delay the final votes until Wednesday morning, renewed their arguments that Republicans were trying to make it more difficult for people to vote, particularly minorities in Milwaukee and Madison. "It screams of backward-thinking mentality, all the way back to Jim Crow and you should be ashamed," said Democratic Sen. Lena Taylor, of Milwaukee, who is black. Jim Crow laws dating back to the 19th century mandated segregation in some U.S. states.

Wisconsin: Walker open to bill limiting early voting hours | Associated Press

Gov. Scott Walker signaled Tuesday that he was open to signing a bill that would limit early voting, including disallowing it on weekends in the two weeks leading up to an election. The state Senate was expected to pass the bill Tuesday, despite objections from those who say it’s an unconstitutional attempt to make it more difficult for minorities in Wisconsin’s largest cities to vote. Senators were preparing to work into the night voting on more than 50 bills, including more than a dozen that would make substantive and technical changes to election law, as part of an effort to end this year’s session within the next couple weeks.