WISCONSIN LEGISLATURE
P. O. Box 7882 Madison, WI 53707-7882 |
January 24, 2013
Senator Robert Cowles, Co-chair
Joint Legislative Audit Committee
Room 118 South, State Capitol
Madison, Wisconsin 53702
Representative Samantha Kerkman, Co-chair
Joint Legislative Audit Committee
Room 315 North, State Capitol
Madison, Wisconsin 53702
Dear Senator Cowles and Representative Kerkman:
As lawmakers, we understand fair and efficient elections are critical in maintaining the health of our democracy. It is important that every citizen is assured of the integrity of the electoral process.
Within Wisconsin the Government Accountability Board (GAB) is ultimately in charge of administering and enforcing federal and state election laws. Recently, however, some have questioned how well Wisconsin elections comply with these laws.
Therefore, we are writing as Chairs of the Senate Committee on Elections and Urban Affairs and Assembly Committee on Campaigns and Elections, to respectfully request the Legislative Audit Bureau (LAB) be directed to conduct a review of compliance with election laws, including a full performance and financial evaluation of the Government Accountability Board.
This audit would include an evaluation of Election Day processes and practices, a review of the complaints the GAB receives about voting irregularities, and an assessment of the GAB’s procedures for investigating and resolving these concerns.
Further, in its elections audit issued November 2007, the LAB made several recommendations for improving address verification card procedures and promoting better data matching in the Statewide Voter Registration System (SVRS). Any new audit should determine whether these recommendations were successfully implemented and the concerns related to SVRS have been addressed.
Most important, the audit should include a thorough review of the SVRS as a whole to ensure our registration rolls are maintained at a high level of accuracy and include only registrants properly and legally registered. Areas of potential concern include maintaining current and complete information about: residential addresses; full legal names; birthdates; driver's license numbers; and social security numbers. Further, the audit should ensure proper procedures are followed to flag and remove non-citizens, felons, and deceased voters.
Finally, the audit should also include a review of the instructions and training GAB provides to local election officials and GAB’s efforts to ensure election laws and procedures are followed, such as through monitoring of polling places. LAB staff could also observe polling places on Election Day to determine whether election law and procedures are followed.
As we stated earlier, fair elections are the backbone of democracy. This audit is designed to improve the electoral process in this state and promote confidence in election outcomes. Thank you for considering this important issue.
Sincerely,
(copy) (copy)
Mary Lazich Kathy Bernier
State Senator State Representative
Senate District 28 Assembly District 68
copy: Joint Audit Committee Members
State Auditor Joe Chrisman