In November, 20 election-related bills were introduced in the state Senate. Lawmakers passed three proposals to amend the state's Constitution for stricter voter ID laws, restricting opportunities for election officials and local municipalities to use privately-sourced funds to conduct elections. Following efforts to oust Wisconsin's top elections official, Wisconsin Elections Commission Administrator Meagan Wolfe, Republicans in the Senate and Assembly are now focusing on legislation to further regulate local election offices.
MADISON (WKOW) -- Wisconsin remains a key battleground state ahead of the 2024 election. Actions taken by the state's Republican-led legislature have left many election officials concerned about how proposed regulations could impact preparations for next year's races.
"We really need people to believe in our elections. That's our system. It's based on trust," Dane County Clerk Scott McDonell said. "When you lose that trust, or people are continuously trying to break it down. It's a problem for our democracy, and certainly, as a purple state, we're one of the four or five states that are going to get national scrutiny."
In November, 20 election-related bills were introduced in the state Senate. Lawmakers passed three proposals to amend the state's Constitution for stricter voter ID laws, restricting opportunities for election officials and local municipalities to use privately-sourced funds to conduct elections.
Following efforts to oust Wisconsin's top elections official, Wisconsin Elections Commission Administrator Meagan Wolfe, Republicans in the Senate and Assembly are now focusing on legislation to further regulate local election offices.
McDonell says the implications of ongoing efforts to deny the 2020 presidential election have had far-reaching effects on the retention and safety of municipal clerks across the state.
"I've seen other county clerks retire early, I would have thought they would have stayed on and they didn't," McDonell said. "I've seen clerks switch jobs. We've had a lot of turnover here in Dane County, among our municipal clerks. And they're trying to get Meagan Wolfe to quit.. and to her credit, she won't do it."
While lawmakers have taken actions to move specific bills through the legislature, McDonell said the most crucial piece of legislation that could help local election offices streamline the processing of absentee ballots has stalled in the Senate.
Representative Sylvia Ortiz-Velez (D-Milwaukee), co-author of a bipartisan bill establishing the Election Worker Protection Act that would provide safeguards for elections workers to continue administering secure elections, argues the legislature has worked collaboratively across the aisle to move the "Monday Processing bill" and several other bipartisan bills to Governor Tony Evers' desk.
"We kind of tried to make sure that we tried to stay away from things that were divisive, and really try to focus on things where we can find common ground," Ortiz-Velez said.
Wisconsin's first election takes place on February 20 of 2024. McDonell says his office is working to create the safest environment for its staff. He's hoping that existing tensions can be resolved by then.
