Wisconsin Republicans approved a series of changes to state election laws, but they’re likely to be dead on arrival if they reach Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’s desk.
The bills passed by the state Senate with no Democratic support would bar state and local governments from accepting donations or grants from private groups to help run elections and would allow observers to watch poll workers from 3 feet away.
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The first bill is in response to an announcement in July that five of the state’s largest cities would share a $6.3 million grant fund to help run elections during the coronavirus pandemic that was gifted from the Center for Tech and Civic Life, a group backed by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
The group awarded grants to 221 localities in Wisconsin, as part of some 2,500 grants given to governments nationwide, according to a report by Wisconsin Public Radio.
Smaller bills lawmakers passed related to election rules include requiring the state Elections Commission to post minutes of its meetings within 24 hours for increased transparency and allow penalties for election observers who disrupt the electoral process at polling places. The penalties would include a fine of $1,000 or 90 days in jail for repeat offenses.
The proposed changes for election observers prompted contentious debate, bringing up concerns brought by Republicans about the 2020 election in regard to the distance between observers and workers, given the social distancing guidelines of the pandemic.
“That’s the objective of this bill, so people can see and hear,” state Sen. Kathleen Bernier said, according to a report by the Associated Press.
If the bills make it through the GOP-led Assembly, they will be delivered to Evers, who has indicated he would likely veto the proposals.
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Democratic state Sen. Tim Carpenter said the governor was their saving grace against the bills driven by “the big lie” that Democrats stole the election from former President Donald Trump.
“My concern now is things are getting a little crazy because some radical members feel the election was stolen,” Carpenter said. “Thank God that Gov. Evers is around so he can veto some of these bills.”
