With Gov. Scott Walker's signature, Wisconsin has a new law on the books prohibiting early voting in the state on the weekends and weekdays from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., otherwise known as when most people aren't at work.
The measure was opposed by Democratic legislators in the state, especially because turnout for early voting is high in cities like Milwaukee and Madison and these cities tend to vote for Democrats.
The new law goes against the recent recommendations of the Commission on Election Administration, a bipartisan panel that released a lengthy report on voter access in January. The panel recommended that states expand, not restrict "alternative ways of voting, such as mail balloting and in-person early voting" in order to avoid hours-long lines at the polls on election day. A majority of states allow for some form of early voting — either by mail or in person — and the commission noted that voters want more, not fewer, early voting options available to them.
Walker's administration cited the need to create "uniform" hours across the state for early voting as his reason for signing the bill. Previously, Wisconsin allowed clerks to set their own hours, including on the weekends.
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. He also vetoed a part of the bill that would have let the state reimburse jurisdictions for early voting costs.
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote!
Michael H. Drucker
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