Wisconsin: Elections board agrees to ask lawmakers for absentee voting rule changes | Associated Press

Wisconsin election officials on Tuesday agreed to ask the Legislature to revamp the state’s absentee voting regulations by streamlining request deadlines, expanding electronic ballot access for overseas voters and implementing other changes. The state Government Accountability Board agreed after only brief discussion to make the recommendations at the request of a municipal clerk task force. That panel contends the state’s absentee voting requirements have grown too complicated and confusing over the years.

Wisconsin: Republicans push for changes to election observer, local recall laws | Chippewa Herald

Election observers could get far closer to the tables where poll workers gather information from voters on Election Day under a bill introduced by a group of Assembly Republicans late last week, which already had a public hearing on Tuesday. At the campaigns and elections committee hearing, lawmakers also considered GOP-authored legislation that would raise the bar for recalling local officials. Under the election observer bill, chief inspectors and municipal clerks would be required to designate areas for observers at the polls that are within five feet of the tables where voters provide their names and addresses, as well as within five feet of the tables where people can register to vote.

Wisconsin: Settlement reached in lawsuit over state’s redistricting records | Journal Sentinel

Groups suing the state over redistricting have reached a settlement with the law firm hired by lawmakers to help draw legislative and congressional maps, according to documents filed in court Wednesday. Terms of the deal were not made public. Whether there will be any further action in the case remained unclear Wednesday. Every 10 years, states must redraw legislative and congressional maps to account for population changes. Republicans controlled all of state government in 2011 and were able to draw maps that helped their party.

Wisconsin: Audit of state elections board off, at least for now | The Cap Times

Despite the Republicans’ ongoing criticism of the state ethics and elections board, the agency has avoided an audit, at least for now. “We were told (Friday) they had other priorities,” said Reid Magney, a spokesman for the Government Accountability Board, the nonpartisan state agency that oversees elections and campaign ethics laws. Earlier last week, Sen. Robert Cowles, R-Green Bay, and Rep. Samantha Kerkman, R-Powers Lake, the Republican co-chairs of the Joint Legislative Audit Committee, had announced that a hearing would be held this Wednesday followed by a committee vote to decide if the state should audit the GAB. But on Monday committee members were told the meeting was off. Cowles and Kerkman did not return phone calls seeking an explanation.

Wisconsin: Website crash, software woes blamed for late election returns Tuesday | Sheboygan Press

As election returns came in Tuesday night, those interested in the outcome — candidates, their supporters and members of the media — were left waiting as the Sheboygan County website failed to update with election returns for hours. Final results weren’t available until around midnight, and even then the website wasn’t fully updated. Blame technology. The county experienced a website crash that County Clerk Jon Dolson said the county’s IT department still has yet to fully understand. He said the third party that operates the new county website was still investigating the issue on Wednesday.

Wisconsin: Milwaukee voters overwhelmingly back retaining same-day voter registration | Journal Sentinel

Voters in Milwaukee overwhelmingly approved an advisory referendum Tuesday that backs the right to register at the polls on election day. With 97% of the units reporting, the measure was winning 73%-27%. A number of voter rights groups had backed putting the measure on the ballot in January, including Milwaukee Inner-city Congregations Allied for Hope, One Wisconsin Now and United Wisconsin. The Common Council, with Ald. Milele Coggs as the lead sponsor, approved the referendum on a 11-4 vote in mid-January. Before Tuesday’s vote, proponents of same-day voting were hoping for a large turnout and victory margin as a means of sending a message to Republican legislators not to fiddle with the law. It was unclear what Tuesday’s outcome will mean to the future of same-day registration. Nine members of the council doubled down this week, issuing a statement urging Milwaukee voters to express their opinion on same-day registration and voting.

Wisconsin: Opponents speak against bill to limit absentee voting | Journal Sentinel

A coalition of voter-rights advocates, including Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, Ald. Milele Coggs and community leaders, expressed opposition Tuesday to a proposed Assembly bill that would trim hours for in-person absentee voting. The group also urged city voters to turn out on April 2 and vote yes on an advisory referendum in favor of same-day voter registration. The referendum asks voters: “Should the State of Wisconsin continue to permit citizens to register to vote at the polls on election day?” Barrett and others said Wisconsin has a long and rich tradition of open and accessible voting laws. The Assembly bill threatens that, he and others said.

Wisconsin: New court filing: Documents were deleted from GOP redistricting computers | Journal Sentinel

Documents were deleted from state redistricting computers last year even after a lawyer for the Legislature told lawmakers’ aides to preserve all records on the computers, according to documents filed Wednesday in federal court. Nine hard drives were recently given to groups suing the state because of questions about whether legislators and their attorneys had turned over all the documents they had been ordered to provide. One of the nine hard drives was unreadable and the outside of it was dented and scratched, which suggested its metal housing had been removed, according to affidavits in the case. In addition, some of the hard drives had a program installed on them that could remove electronic data and hide the fact that files had been deleted, according to the filing. So far, however, a computer expert has not been able to determine if the program was actually used. A lawyer representing the law firm that helped lawmakers with redistricting called the new allegations premature and unproven. Left unanswered so far is who was responsible for the deletion of any documents. The technician reviewing the computers hopes to recover at least some documents.

Wisconsin: Proposed Bill Would Alter Absentee Voting Hours | WXOW

A bill recently proposed in the Wisconsin state assembly seeks to set a uniform standard for in person, absentee voting across the state. Rep. Duey Stroebel (R-Saukville) has proposed limiting the hours city clerks can accept absentee ballots in person. The bill calls for in person absentee voting hours at each polling place to not exceed 40 hours each week. It specifies that municipalities would have the authority to decide how those 40 hours would be divided up although all must occur at some point between 7:30 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. Those wishing to vote absentee in person later than 6:00 p.m. or on weekends would need to call and make an appointment.

Wisconsin: Bill would limit hours for early voting in Wisconsin | The Oshkosh Northwestern

A Republican lawmaker is proposing limits on the hours and days voters can cast in-person absentee ballots even as such voting increases in popularity in the state. The bill would have a heavy impact in Madison, one of several municipalities that have held extended hours on nights and weekends to accommodate in-person absentee voters. Critics said the bill, introduced in the state Assembly late last week, would force municipalities to spend more on mail-in absentee ballots while making it harder for people to vote. The measure proposed by Rep. Duey Stroebel, R-Saukville, would prohibit clerks from opening early, late or on weekends to accommodate voters wishing to cast their ballots before Election Day.

Wisconsin: Federal panel opens GOP computers in Wisconsin redistricting case | Journal Sentinel

A federal court gave groups suing the state broad access Monday to three computers used by the Legislature to develop Republican-friendly voting maps. The Legislature “must make these three computers available in their entirety immediately” to the groups suing the state, the three judges wrote. “The computers are extremely likely to contain relevant and responsive materials that should have been disclosed during pretrial discovery. Moreover, Plaintiffs have established that substantial numbers of documents were not disclosed, which satisfies the court that some form of ‘fraud, misrepresentation, or misconduct’ likely occurred,” the unanimous opinion said, quoting from a procedural rule. The ruling provided the latest setback for Republican lawmakers, who have consistently resisted releasing documents in the case. It will give the plaintiffs a chance to determine whether legislators and their attorneys improperly withheld additional documents before the case went to trial.

Wisconsin: Report says nding Election Day voter registration would cost up to $14.5 million | Wisconsin State Journal

Ending Wisconsin’s practice of allowing people to register to vote on Election Day would cost up to $14.5 million when the expenses of several state agencies are taken into account, a spokesman for the state Government Accountability Board said Monday. Some Republicans have pushed for an earlier registration deadline, saying it would make it harder for anyone to vote illegally. The staff of the GAB, which oversees the state’s elections, studied the idea and in a preliminary report in December estimated its costs for the first two years after a change would increase by $5.2 million. The estimate increased dramatically Monday for two reasons. Since December, four affected state departments — transportation, workforce development, health services and children and families — have submitted their own cost estimates totaling between $9.9 million and $10.5 million, said GAB spokesman Reid Magney. Meanwhile, GAB staff has determined that depending on how state laws were changed, the election agency’s main costs could be held to $3.9 million.

Wisconsin: Groups speak against legislation ‘rigging the vote’ | Journal Times

Flanked by supporters with signs reading, “We need more people working, not less people voting,” local and state leaders spoke Thursday against several legislative proposals that they said would “rig the vote” for future elections. With around 30 in attendance at the George Bray Neighborhood Center, 924 Center St., speakers focused on potential legislative issues including eliminating same-day voter registration, reintroducing state voter identification laws and changing how electoral votes are counted in Wisconsin. “Every citizen should have the right to vote,” said state Rep. Cory Mason, D-Racine. “It just seems like such a basic statement that I can’t believe that we’re actually going to debate about it this year” in the Legislature.

Wisconsin: Gov. Walker voices concerns about GOP Electoral College plan | Journal Sentinel

Gov. Scott Walker says he has a ”real concern” about a Republican idea to change the way the state awards its electoral votes, conceding the move could make Wisconsin irrelevant in presidential campaigns. A proposal now percolating in the GOP is to allocate most electoral votes by congressional district, instead of giving them all to the statewide winner. “One of our advantages is, as a swing state, candidates come here. We get to hear from the candidates,” said Walker in an interview Saturday at a conservative conference in Washington, D.C. “That’s good for voters. If we change that, that would take that away, it would largely make us irrelevant.” Walker says he has not yet taken a position on the issue. Republicans have suggested making the change in a handful of states such as Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Michigan, which have been voting Democratic for president but are now controlled by the GOP at the state level.

Wisconsin: Milwaukee prosecutors investigating voter fraud | JSOnline

Milwaukee prosecutors are investigating at least two instances of suspected voter fraud from the presidential election in November, court records reveal. Assistant District Attorney Bruce Landgraf confirmed Tuesday only that his office is looking at several referrals from area clerks after the November election, and not all of the reviews require subpoenas like those recently made public in the two cases. In one matter, investigators seek records that might prove Leonard K. Brown voted twice in the November election, once in Milwaukee and again in West Milwaukee. The other suggests a Mukwonago man voted there and in West Allis. That man, Chad Vander Hyden, was arrested on charges of double voting in December after he declined West Allis detectives’ invitation to come in and discuss what appeared to be his signature on poll records.

Wisconsin: Battle brews over same-day voter registration | Fox11

The debate over same-day voter registration surfaced again in the area Tuesday, even though the governor has backed off the idea. Government Accountability Board reports so far show a hefty cost to stop same-day voter registration. Its report released in December showed a $5 million initial cost and $1 million a year after that. Without same-day registration, supporters claim registration sites would need to be set up at other agencies.

Wisconsin: Justices again decline to take up voter ID case | Journal Sentinel

The state Supreme Court for a third time on Monday rejected a request by Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen to take up a case that voided Wisconsin’s voter ID law. The terse opinion was unsigned, and no one dissented from it. The defeat for the Republican attorney general came just 2 1/2 months before Justice Patience Roggensack faces re-election. The decision means the case will remain before the Court of Appeals in Waukesha. A second case is before the Court of Appeals in Madison. One or both cases are expected to eventually be decided by the state Supreme Court.

Wisconsin: Walker open to changing state’s Electoral College allocations | Journal Sentinel

Gov. Scott Walker is open to having Wisconsin allocate its Electoral College votes based on results from each congressional district – a move that would offer Republicans a chance to score at least a partial victory in a state that has gone Democratic in the last seven presidential elections. The idea is being considered in other battleground states that have tipped toward Democrats as Republicans try to develop a national plan to capture the presidency in future years. The GOP governor said he found the notion intriguing but neither embraced it nor rejected it. “To me, it’s an interesting concept, it’s a plausible concept, but it’s not one where I’m convinced either of its merits or lack thereof,” he said in a recent interview at the governor’s mansion in Maple Bluff. Democrats promised to fight such a change, saying they viewed it as a way for Republicans to try to rig elections to their advantage.

Wisconsin: Walker vows veto of same-day voter registration ban | Sheboygan Press

Gov. Scott Walker on Wednesday apparently drove the final nail into the coffin of calls to end same-day voter registration in Wisconsin, vowing to veto any such bill that imposed additional costs. “If it has a price tag, absolutely,” Walker told the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism in an interview at the Executive Residence, when asked if he would use his veto pen. “There’s no way we’re spending money on something like that.” The idea of ending same-day voter registration gained currency after Walker made a speech in California last month in which he suggested ending the state’s practice of letting voters register on Election Day, citing the burden it placed on poll workers. Two Republican lawmakers began seeking sponsors on a bill to accomplish this in the GOP-controlled state Legislature. But the idea drew heavy opposition from critics, including some local election officials, and the state Government Accountability Board estimated it would cost the state $5.2 million to develop alternative registration systems required by federal law.

Wisconsin: GAB: Four state agencies could be sued if same day voter registration dropped | WSAU

Four state agencies which give out public benefits could be sued if Wisconsin drops Election Day voter registration. Government Accountability Board attorney Mike Haas told the panel Tuesday the departments of Transportation, Health Services, Children and Families, and Workforce Development would probably face lawsuits at some time. That’s because they would be required to carry out the federal Motor Voter act, from which the Badger State is currently exempt because it has same-day registration.

Wisconsin: State would need to spend $1.2M to check for illegal voters, report says | Wisconsin State Journal

Wisconsin would need to spend $1.2 million to begin checking federal databases for names of non-citizens who should be removed from voter registration lists, says a report from the state’s election agency. Two other states have found relatively few illegal voters on the lists, and there’s no reason to suspect more would be detected in Wisconsin, an agency spokesman said Monday. The Government Accountability Board is to decide Tuesday on sending the staff report to the state Legislature, which would need to enact new laws before the agency could use the federal Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements program.

Wisconsin: Both sides saw big same-day voter registration numbers | Journal Sentinel

State election records show that voters in Wisconsin’s Democratic-leaning counties have been more likely to register to vote at the polls, but voters in Republican-leaning areas also made heavy use of the state’s same-day registration law. The Wisconsin State Journal reported that in three recent statewide elections, one in eight ballots came from voters who registered that same day, according to data from the Government Accountability Board. The data was for the November 2008 and November 2010 elections, and the June 2012 gubernatorial recall election.

Wisconsin: Records show 1 in 8 register on voting day | madison.com

State election records show that voters in Wisconsin’s Democratic-leaning counties have been more likely to register to vote at the polls, but voters in Republican-leaning areas also made heavy use of the state’s same-day registration law. The Wisconsin State Journal reported that in three recent statewide elections, one in eight ballots came from voters who registered that same day, according to data from the Government Accountability Board. The data was for the November 2008 and November 2010 elections, and the June 2012 gubernatorial recall election.

Wisconsin: Ending same-day voter registration would cost $5.2 million, board finds | Journal Sentinel

Ending election-day registration will cost the state $5.2 million or more initially, won’t reduce the administrative work of clerks and will still allow some people to register at the polls because of a federal law. Those details were included in a report sent to lawmakers Friday by the Government Accountability Board, which runs state elections. Rep. Joel Kleefisch (R-Oconomowoc) and Sen. Alberta Darling (R-River Hills) are working on a bill to end the ability of voters to register to vote at the polls. GOP Gov. Scott Walker supports the idea, but Senate President Mike Ellis (R-Neenah) has cautioned that Republicans who control the Legislature have not yet decided what they want to do on the matter.

Wisconsin: Walker says ending same-day registration too costly | JSOnline

Gov. Scott Walker said Wednesday that a Government Accountability Board report that says it would cost the state $5.2 million to end the state’s same-day registration law convinced him that he would not sign such a bill. “There is no way I’m signing a bill that costs that kind of money,” Walker told reporters. Walker cited a report by the state’s Government Accountability Board that concluded it would cost $5.2 million, and would do nothing to end the administrative work of clerks around the state. Walker said that, in light of the GAB report, he didn’t think members of the Legislature would even try to approve a bill to end the same-day registration law.

Wisconsin: Citizens unite to defend same day voter registration | Milwaukee Courier Weekly Newspaper

In response to Governor Walker’s recent plans to again attack voting rights, members of the African-American Civic Engagement Roundtable, joined by Mayor Tom Barrett, Neil Albrecht (Executive Director of the city of Milwaukee’s Election Commission), State Representative Sandy Pasch, State Representative Jon Richards, and other community partners held a press conference on Wednesday morning to speak out against public comments made by Walker that support the elimination of same day registration in Wisconsin.

Wisconsin: Scott Walker On Eliminating Same-Day Voter Registration: ‘This Is A Ridiculous Issue’ | Huffington Post

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) is backing away from his support for eliminating same-day voter registration, saying it is a distraction while he is trying to focus on job creation. “This is a ridiculous issue. My priority is about jobs, creating jobs,” he told reporters on Wednesday after a ceremony to promote a Wisconsin National Guard officer. But on a speech on Nov. 16 at the Ronald Reagan Library and Museum, Walker expressed significantly more support for eliminating same-day registration, citing the burden it places on poll workers on election day.

Wisconsin: Opposition Mounts Over Plan to Scrap Same Day Voter Registration | WUWM News

Gov. Scott Walker set off a firestorm last month when he suggested Wisconsin should do away with same day registration. He says eliminating the on-site procedure would alleviate the burden on poll workers. “It’s difficult for them to handle the kind of volume of folks who come in at the last minute. It would be much better if registration was done in advance of Election Day,” Walker says. Incoming Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos supports the governor’s idea of requiring voters to register ahead of time. Vos says lines would be shorter at the polls. He also claimed in a television broadcast a few days ago, that same day registration sometimes results in fraud.

Wisconsin: On Voter ID, GOP Leader Open To Changing Wisconsin State Constitution | Huffington Post

Requiring every Wisconsin voter to show photo ID at the polls is going to be a top priority for the Republican-controlled legislature in the next session, according to incoming Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester). “I do think that having photo ID is something that is broadly supported by the public,” Vos said in an interview on Sunday with WISN’s Mike Gousha. “It’s something that I really hope we’re going to have in place by the next general election.”