GOP Bill Would Revive Voter ID, Reduce Early Voting

Critics say an elections bill headed for a public hearing Tuesday has nothing to do with creating jobs, and more to do with harming voting rights.

Republican Rep. Jeff Stone of suburban Milwaukee is the lead author of AB 225, a wide-ranging bill that would attempt to revive the voter ID law, restrict early voting, limit recalls, change referendum scheduling, and alter criteria for when ballots can be thrown out. On Friday afternoon, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos approved a hearing on the measure for Tuesday. Critics are trying to slow down the fast-moving legislation. Greendale resident Dorothy Sherman is a constituent of Stone’s.

“We really need to work on getting the right to vote protected. We need to move forward, not backward, in our state.”

Democratic state Rep. JoCasta Zamarripa, also of Milwaukee, says majority Republicans are pursuing the wrong agenda.

“When we’re 44th in the nation in job creation, we should be focusing on jobs. Instead, we’re trying to restrict Wisconsinites’ right to the ballot, and it’s very unfortunate.”

Stone says improving the economy is important, “but I also think that having a government and elections that operate in a way people believe is accurate and fair is something that is also an important duty that we have as the legislature. So everything doesn’t stop; we can actually walk and chew gum at the same time. We can work on more than one issue.”

Stone says it isn’t clear how the state Senate would handle the elections bill, even if the measure should race through the Assembly.