Wisconsin Republicans and Democrats introduce competing election bills together to model “civil conversations”

MADISON, Wis. (WMDX) – State lawmakers are introducing bills that would change Wisconsin elections. 

Both Republicans and Democrats have their own proposals, but they introduced them together at a press conference Wednesday. That’s a rarity in the current political landscape. 

“Today we are meeting the moment. Our country and our state [have] never been more divided, and more contentious. The partisan divide has become not just contentious, but even hostile,” said Rep. Lee Snodgrass (D – Appleton). “Rep. Krug and I will continue to model that civil conversations and debate can happen in the same room, from the same podium, with the same goal in mind in spite of diverging ideas.” 

She referenced Rep. Scott Krug (R – Rome), who’s working to become a middle-ground voice in Wisconsin’s election laws. Democrats’ bills are unlikely to get hearings without Republican support, and Republicans’ bills are likely to be vetoed by Gov. Tony Evers without some Democrats’ support. 

Republicans’ proposals: Early absentee ballot processing, security on drop boxes, rules for election observers

“In the polls, we see voters want three things in Wisconsin elections: they want to know that the person voting next to them is who they say they are, they want to know that that person is eligible to vote, and they want to know who won the damn election before they go to bed,” Krug said, to laughter from the rest of the room. “I mean, there are simple things in Wisconsin elections that we can tackle together to make sure that we come up with that answer.” 

His bills include creating standard early voting hours, and new rules for election observers. 

One of the most notable among his plans: a bill to allow poll workers to begin processing absentee ballots on the Monday before election day. Most states allow that, but Wisconsin does not. A similar bill last year was blocked by Republicans in the State Senate. 

Over the years, both Democrats and Republicans have supported allowing absentee ballot processing on the Monday before an election. This time around, Krug’s bill includes requiring standardized security measures for ballot drop boxes. Democrats don’t support his draft of the plan, saying it would make it near impossible to even use the drop boxes. 

Krug said he’s balancing some things the Trump administration wants, with preserving Wisconsin’s independent election system. 

“This package that I’m looking to introduce this week does take into account a lot of things that President Trump has said about elections. We need safety, we need security, we need to know who voters are,” he said. “But we also want to make sure that we understand, we set the line in Wisconsin, we have our own elections. So as you hear things coming out of Washington about ‘we don’t wanna do mail-in voting anymore’, ‘we’re gonna get rid of machines and do hand-counting’, some things like that, those are things we have not included in this package because that’s not the Wisconsin way.” 

Democrats’ bills: voter registration forms for high schoolers, requiring elected officials to get experience as poll workers, and increased protection for clerks and poll workers

The Democrats’ bills prioritize voter education and accessibility. They would also add protections for clerks, their staff, and poll workers. 

They would increase accessibility training for poll workers to ensure people with disabilities have a fair chance to vote. One of Snodgrass’ proposals would require that elected officials work a shift as poll workers, so they understand the system they’re legislating. 

“I have seen time and time again my colleagues making false claims about election security and administration. And as I tell people, there’s no better way of learning than doing,” Snodgrass said. “So requiring all elected officials to work a poll, when they’re of course not on the ballot, will enhance their understanding of the process so that they can continue to be a voice to talk about how Wisconsin’s elections are secure.” 

Rep. Jodi Emerson (D – Eau Claire) authored bills that would allow young people to pre-register to vote before turning 18 and require Wisconsin high schools present voter education and registration forms to students.

“This legislation ensures that every high school student in Wisconsin who becomes eligible to vote receives a voter registration form and nonpartisan information about voting and civic responsibility,” Emerson said. “Democracy works best when everyone participates, and that starts with access and education. Too often, young people want to get involved, but don’t know how …  this is not about partisanship, it’s about participation.”

Rep. Amaad Rivera-Wagner’s (D – Green Bay) bill would further protect staff working elections. He referenced cases where misinformation led to disruptions, and even safety threats, for clerks and poll workers.

“We had a … person who claimed to be an election observer who tried to break into city hall looking for ‘the China ballots’,” Rivera-Wagner said. “We had another individual who claimed to be an election observer who filmed, followed, stalked our clerk.” 

Lawmakers at this press conference made it clear that they don’t agree on all of these proposals. They emphasized that they’ll discuss their disagreements and potential changes when the bills go through the committee process.