Tony Evers takes action on bills aimed at changing rules for voters

MADISON - Democratic Gov. Tony Evers on Wednesday took action on a slate of bills aimed at changing rules for voters ahead of the 2024 election cycle.

Evers signed a trio of bills that change deadlines for clerks to send out absentee ballots, require clerks to retain video footage of election night proceedings for 22 months if the municipality opts to broadcast proceedings on election night, and force courts to dissolve the campaign committee of a candidate convicted of election crimes and require leftover funds to be returned to donors.

The governor also vetoed bills that would have changed rules for those who declare themselves "indefinitely confined" and significantly lowered the cost of obtaining an electronic list of every registered voter in Wisconsin.

Evers also vetoed a bill that would have required the Wisconsin Elections Commission to verify voters' citizenship status with state Department of Transportation records and require licenses and identification issued by DOT to non-citizens to indicate the cards cannot be used for voting.

"I object to this bill requiring state-issued identification cards to have a 'recognizable indication' that could result in certain individuals being treated differently or unfairly in everyday, non-electoral situations this legislation fails to consider or contemplate," Evers said in a veto message.

The bill was introduced by Sens. Dan Knodl and Duey Stroebel, Republicans from Germantown and Cedarburg. Knodl and Stroebel said in a memo to colleagues the bill was drafted in response to two incidents in a 2021 school board election during which one person who is not a U.S. citizen attempted to register to vote and another did successfully register and cast a ballot.

Another bill Evers vetoed would have required voters to apply to receive the status of "indefinitely confined" and changed state law to require such designations to be placed only when the voter "cannot travel independently without significant burden because of frailty, physical illness, or a disability that is expected to last longer than one year."

Under current law, voters may declare themselves to be indefinitely confined, which then allows them to receive absentee ballots without having to show ID or having to reapply for the status.

The designation came under scrutiny after the 2020 election when the number of such voters skyrocketed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The bill also would have specified "that the existence of an outbreak or epidemic of a communicable disease in a voter's community does not qualify the voter as indefinitely confined."

Evers also vetoed a bill that would have lowered the cost to obtain an electronic list of every registered voter in Wisconsin from $12,500 to $250.

Bill author Rep. Amy Binsfield, R-Sheboygan, said the bill was meant to "set to level the field for those who would like to see transparency in our voter information. We want to take away barriers that don’t have a solid purpose."

Evers in a veto message said capping the cost could reduce services to elections clerks if revenue from such fees declined significantly.

Molly Beck can be reached at molly.beck@jrn.com.