The Wisconsin state legislature next week will consider a proposal to move Wisconsin’s presidential primary to March, a move that would cause voter confusion, increase election official fatigue, waste millions of tax dollars, and possibly have disastrous consequences if a recount is needed between elections. 

The vote on this proposal could take place as early as Tuesday, December 4. Contact your State Senator and Assembly Representative and urge them to reject any effort to add a third Spring election to the 2020 election calendar. 

Moving the presidential primary would require adding a third election to the Spring 2020 line-up between the regularly scheduled February primary and April election. The League strongly opposes this measure because it would be confusing for voters and would likely suppress voting. Asking municipal and county clerks to engage in overlapping elections - February to March to April - is extremely unwise from security and procedural perspectives. County and municipal clerks from around the state are opposing the proposal because of the high cost for local governments and the fact that it is logistically not possible. 

While the Capitol offices are closed for the weekend, you can ready your message over the weekend for your State Senator and Assembly Representative and urge them to reject any effort to add a third Spring election to the 2020 election calendar. 

Find your legislator here: http://legis.wisconsin.gov/
You can also reach your legislators by calling the Legislative Hotline. In Madison, dial 266-9960. Toll-free, call 1-800-362-9472.

LWVWI released a general statement to the press on Nov 30 after little information was released to the public by the Assembly Leadership calling for the extraordinary session. Watch for additional Action Alerts from LWVWI as we review and assess the legislation. The bills were finally released in full Friday evening and can be read from the Wheeler Report website. A summary can be reviewed here.