February 7, 2022

To:  Senate Committee on Elections, Election Process Reform and Ethics

Re:  Opposition to SB 941, SB 936, SB 937, SB 938, SB 939, SB 942, SB 943 and SJR 101

The League of Women Voters of Wisconsin believes that good government depends on the informed and active participation of its citizens, and that voting is a fundamental citizen right which must be guaranteed. Wisconsin election laws should provide citizens with maximum opportunity for registration, voting at the polls and absentee voting. Further, election administration should be adequately coordinated and funded to achieve statewide standards uniformly applied, verifiable results and local municipal effectiveness. 

Since its founding in 1920 the League has studied many of the issues addressed in the bills before you in today’s public hearing. Our members have agreed and affirmed the positions and principles stated above. We oppose several of the bills you are considering today for the following reasons: 

• Some make it much harder for voters to apply for and cast an absentee ballot; 

• Some add new levels of bureaucracy to election administration that will only complicate procedures and slow productivity for election officials;

• Some can only be characterized as a power grab by a legislative branch seeking to control elections.

Given that none of these proposals would improve elections, they would be a net loss for voters.

Therefore we oppose the following bills and urge you to reject them:

SB 941  This billimposes requirements on the Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC) that are not required for any other state agency. It would allow inappropriate legislative oversight of an agency tasked with overseeing the electoral activities that impact all Wisconsin voters. Voters have the right to expect electoral agency functions to be monitored and not micromanaged. 

SB 936  This bill requires that, in the event of a recount, the municipal clerk is required to print and make available paper copies of all absentee ballot applications received electronically for the election. This is an impractical demand, especially in a statewide election. Also, legislators should be given copies only of complaints that could involve their own campaign or that of an opponent. 

SB 937  This bill makes it harder for citizens with long-term disabilities to exercise their vote, while doing nothing to improve the security of elections. 

SB 938   While it is appropriate to maintain an accurate list of electors, this bill is deeply flawed. It would disenfranchise many of the same groups of electors who are already burdened by voter photo ID and restrictive proof of residence requirements. It requires that WEC’s voter registration database be coordinated with databases in various federal and state agencies. In particular, the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) database is limited to a select group of non-citizens and is not a comprehensive list. Updates are not frequent. The result would be false positives that could disenfranchise qualified citizens.

SB 939   Similar to SB 937, rather than improve the voter experience this bill complicates it for no apparent reason. Absentee voters should not have to provide ID for every election, when the Clerk can keep a copy of the ID on file. This bill requires voters to submit an application (with ID) in addition to completing the certificate envelope.

SB 942  This very punitive bill singles out the Wisconsin Elections Commission for an unreasonable level of legislative control. Threatening to reduce staff in a key state agency does not consider what is best for voters, and it certainly will not improve elections.

SB 943   Like SB 942 this bill singles out the WEC for an unreasonable level of legislative control over elections. This potentially harmful oversight will only add confusion for local election officials and certainly will not improve elections.

SJR 101  It is reasonable for private funds to have some regulation, but the practice should not be banned. A constitutional amendment to ban private resources is uncalled for and utterly inappropriate.