This week's survey

This week, instead of a traditional survey, I wanted to better understand the issues of greatest importance to you and your families. As such, I ask that you rank your top priorities, with one being the most important and ten being the least important.

A comment section will be made available for issues not included. Feel free to contact me with your comments, questions, or concerns; I am happy to schedule in-district meetings as well. 

Please, take a minute to provide feedback on your legislative priorities. 

Click here for my survey

Election Audit 

Last week, following the Legislative Audit's Bureau's release of its report on the 2021 election and press conference by the Racine County Sheriff regarding its investigation into illegal activity surrounding absentee voting at long-term care facilities, I called for the termination of Wisconsin Election Committee Administrator Meagan Wolfe, her entire staff, and a fundamental transformation of the agency. Furthermore, I called for legal action to be taken against those who knowingly violated state election laws. 

The more than one-hundred-page Legislative Audit Bureau report provided thirty recommendations for improving the administration of Wisconsin elections and eighteen issues for legislative consideration. Many of these initiatives have been vetoed by Governor Evers this session. 

The Legislative Audit Bureau's recommendations for legislative action included:

• Modifying statutes to require clerks to complete the initial training before administering an election.
• Modifying statutes to require DOT to provide additional information to WEC when DOT attempts to verify the personally identifiable information provided by registrants. 
• Modifying state statutes to require the Wisconsin Elections Commission to regularly obtain Electronic Registration Information (ERIC) Center data and use that information to improve the accuracy and completeness of the WisVote website. 
• Modifying statutes to specify the particular address components that a witness must provide on a certificate.
• Modifying statutes to clarify the extent to which municipal clerks are permitted to correct errors in witness addresses or add missing witness information. 
• Modifying statutes to prescribe circumstances when clerks are not required to send special voting deputies to long-term care facilities and homes, as well as the procedures clerks must follow in mailing and considering absentee ballots in such circumstances.
• Modifying statutes to specify the actions and responsibilities for consultants at polling places and central count locations on Election Day.
• Modifying statutes to allow new polling places to be quickly established in certain situations, such as in a public health emergency or if a fire or natural disaster were to damage a polling place to the extent it could not be used on Election Day. 
• Modifying statutes to require clerks to notify WEC's administrator if they rent electronic voting equipment. 
• Modifying statutes to explicitly require materials related to the pre-election tests of electronic voting equipment for twenty-two months after a federal election. 
• Modifying statutes to reflect the current federal standards for an acceptable equipment error rate during a post-election audit.
• Modifying statutes to require WEC to conduct risk-limiting post-election audits.
• Modifying statutes to require WEC to report certain information about election-related concerns every six months. 
• Modifying statutes to require that only certain types of costs could be charged for recount elections. For example, it could stipulate that petitioning candidates not be charged costs associated with facilities, certain types of equipment, and the salaries and fringe benefits of government employees.
• If the legislature wanted to limit the total recount costs charged to petitioning candidates, it could modify statutes to determine the amount that could be charged. 

The report published the non-partisan and highly-respected Legislative Audit Bureau outlined innumerable examples of election law violations committed by WEC. 

It is unacceptable for the agency responsible for overseeing Wisconsin elections to blatantly and repeatedly violate state election laws. Safe, free, and fair elections are bedrocks of our republic. Legal action must immediately be taken against WEC employees and commissioners who were in direct violation of state election laws.

Last week, Racine County Sheriff Christopher Schmaling announced that staff at Ridgewood Care Center may have illegally voted on behalf of eight residents who lacked the cognitive ability to cast a ballot. Through Schmaling's investigation, it was found that employees of the nursing home were following guidance provided to the Wisconsin Elections Commission that violated state law.

Under current law, the only individuals who are allowed to assist voters in long-term care facilities are family members or special voting deputies. Special voting deputies are appointed by the local clerk. Representatives from both major political parties must be appointed. In the past, WEC has attempted to limit special voting deputies from entering care facilities without legislative approval. 

In February, the Joint Committee on Review of Administrative Rules voted to require the Wisconsin Elections Commission to codify in administrative rules, their guidance regarding legislative review; they refused. Doing so would have allowed for legislative review. 

Earlier this session, legislative Republicans passed a comprehensive election-reform package to address many of the issues brought forth in the Legislative Audit Bureau's report. Several of these bills were vetoed by Governor Tony Evers, whereas others await committee votes. The following are some of the bills passed by legislative Republicans, earlier this session:

• Senate Bill 207, which was passed by the senate and awaits a floor vote in the assembly, prohibits local clerks and election officials from applying for or receiving private funds for the purposes of administering elections. Additionally, the bill requires ballot tabulators to take an oath of office like every other election official and prohibits employees of political campaigns from serving as poll workers.
• Senate Bill 206, of which I am a cosponsor, and was rejected 2-3 by the Senate Committee on Elections, would have strengthened Wisconsin's indefinitely confined law by requiring a statement of indefinite confinement be made under oath with a medical professional verifying the statement. What is more, the bill stipulated that a pandemic or communicable disease is not grounds for an individual to claim this status; required voters to renew their presence on the indefinitely confined list every two years; directed municipal clerks to remove a person from the list once they receive reliable information that the individual is no longer indefinitely confined; and directs WEC to remove from the indefinitely confined list any voter who joined between March 12, 2020, and November 3, 2020. 
• Senate Bill 203, which was passed by both houses and vetoed by Governor Evers, prohibited ballot harvesting and stated that any event hosted by a municipal clerk at which absentee ballots are returned, may only be held during the period of in-person absentee voting. 
• Senate Bill 205, which was passed by both houses and vetoed by Governor Evers, protected nursing home and long-term care facility voters' freedom of choice by prohibiting an employee for influencing a voters' decision to cast or not cast a ballot, or for which candidate to vote. Additionally, the bill directs the administrator of a long-term care facility or retirement home to notify the next-of-kin of each resident of the time and place at which special voting deputies will be conducting in-person absentee at the facility.
• Senate Bill 204, which was passed by both houses and vetoed by Governor Evers, required WEC to prescribe a uniform absentee ballot request form; ends the automatic mailing of absentee ballots and instead; allows for indefinitely confined voters to be mailed an absentee ballot application; all voters to enclose a copy of their photo identification when applying for an absentee ballot; increased transparency in the counting of absentee ballots by requiring municipalities to, hourly, post the total number of absentee ballots sent and the number still needing to be counted; and prohibited the pre-printing of a municipal clerk's initials on any certificate or absentee ballot. 
• Senate Bill 209, which passed in the senate and awaits a vote in the assembly, allows communities to designate one secure drop box at the location where the clerk's office is permanently located. 
• Senate Bill 212, which was passed by both houses and vetoed by Governor Evers, clarifies that voters, not clerks are responsible for curing ballots. 
• Senate Bill 211, which was passed out of the Senate Elections Committee and is awaiting further action, requires the Wisconsin Elections Commission to develop a uniform statewide absentee ballot application request form. 

In recent days, my office has received several correspondences from constituents asking the legislature to decertify the 2020 presidential election. Several of my colleagues and I reached out to our attorneys at the nonpartisan Wisconsin Legislative Council for information regarding the decertification process. According to a memorandum prepared by two of their election law attorneys, Wisconsin Legislative Council found, "There is no mechanism in state or federal law for the legislature to reverse certified votes cast by the Electoral College and counted by Congress. Instead, except in the case of presidential incapacity, impeachment is the only mechanism for removing a president."

The memorandum continued, "The Wisconsin legislature enacted statutes establishing the process for selecting and appointing presidential electors, which involves the political parties each nominating a slate of electors, and the results of the popular vote for president in Wisconsin determining which slate will be appointed. The legislature could change this process, but it would require amending state law and Governor Evers' signature. There is no procedure under Wisconsin law for 'decertifying' or 'pulling back' a slate of presidential electors who have been appointed pursuant to state statutes. 

If you are interested in obtaining a copy of this memorandum, please contact my office. 

As this e-update was being written, former Supreme Court justice Michael Gableman was presenting the results of his audit before the Assembly Committee on Campaigns and Elections. Information specific to his audit will be included in an upcoming e-update.

Survey Results

Thank you for answering last week's two-part survey question regarding constitutional and concealed carry. In total, 117 individuals responded to last week's survey questions. Sixty-five respondents expressed support for current law, allowing individuals to openly carry a firearm, whereas just forty percent supported allowing individuals to carry a concealed firearm without a permit. Additionally, seventeen percent of respondents voted "other" (both questions combined).

Responses to question one included:

"As long as they passed a background check and follow other public spaces laws."

"The constitution gives that right to a well-regulated militia."

"It should only be permitted if individuals have taken a gun safety course."

"Citizens should have the right to carry even under clothing or hidden in a vehicle."

Responses to question two included: 

"I think it is important for individuals to know the ramifications and responsibilities of using a firearm."

"Only if they first complete intense training courses to know what the consequences are if they do have to protect themselves and someone else."

"While I do not open carry, if a person is to carry, I would like to see the firearm and know they have it."

"I support concealed carry and open carry, but a level of training should be required. That does not mean a permit should be required, however."

Bipartisan rejection of Governor Evers-backed maps

This week, I joined seventy-seven of my colleagues, Democrats and Republicans alike, in rejecting the "People's Maps Commission's" flawed legislative reapportionment proposal. Seventeen Republicans joined every Republican in opposing this proposal.

Several of my Democratic colleagues exuded bravery, particularly Representative Sylvia Ortiz-Velez, of Milwaukee, who, in her maiden speech, elucidated the innumerable shortcomings of this proposal, particularly its disregard for majority-minority districts. I commend all seventeen of my Democratic colleagues who put the best interest of Wisconsin ahead of ideology. 

Assembly Substitute Amendment 1 to Senate Bill 621 was rejected seventy-seven to twenty-one. While the "People's Maps Commission's" legislative reapportionment proposal was soundly rejected, the Assembly approved its own plan to redraw legislative districts by a vote of sixty to thirty-eight. The legislature's reapportionment proposal has been sent to Governor Evers. 

I commend my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for working collaboratively on this issue and placing the best interests of constituents ahead of party orthodoxy. I hope Governor Evers signs the maps sent to him by the legislature, as they incorporate feedback and suggestions from citizens in all ninety-nine districts and of all political persuasions. The maps approved by the legislature were truly the "people's maps," as they were actually based on constituent feedback. 

Floor Session

In addition to the redistricting bills, Assembly Bills 624 and 625, the legislature voted on several consequential pieces of legislation. The following are some of the bills passed during this week's floor session:

Assembly Bill 501: Clean Water Loan Programs

Assembly Bill 501, which passed unanimously via voice vote, would improve the Safe Water Loan Program and the Clean Water Fund Loan Program by lessening the administrative burdens on water and wastewater utilities. 

Over the past thirty years, both programs have been successful in providing below-market interest rate loans to help fund water and wastewater utility projects that are necessary to comply with state and federal regulations. While local utilities continue to utilize these programs to complete projects throughout Wisconsin, the Department of Natural Resources has acknowledged the need to update state statutes to give applicants more clarity.

The changes implemented by this bill include:

• Repealing the requirement that an applicant submit a notice of intent to apply for the SDWLP and CWFP at least six months prior to the beginning of the fiscal year.
• Repealing the SDWLP requirement that an applicant submit their application by June 30 of the prior state fiscal year, instead requiring the DNR to establish application submittal instructions at least annually. 
• Repealing the requirement that an applicant submit an engineering report before receiving SDWLP assistance, instead allowing the DNR To have discretion over whether engineering reports must be submitted for a particular project.
• Repealing the stipulation that applicants are not allowed to submit more than one application for the same project within the same year for the SDWLP or twelve-month period for the CWFP, instead allowing applicants to withdraw and resubmit applications when necessary.
• Repealing the requirement that DOA release assistance allocated to a project if the applicant has not closed the loan by June 30 following the year the award was made.

Assembly Bill 622: OCI Tech Bill

Assembly Bill 622, which was approved unanimously via voice vote, modifies various insurance statutes administered by the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance.

The bill requires OCI to maintain accreditation with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners; allows the agency to adopt minimum education and certification requirements for job classifications that monitor the financial solvency of insurers to meet NAIC accreditation; and modifies the penalty for violations of insurance rules and statutes. 

Senate Bill 71: Storage and Processing of Sexual Assault Kits

Senate Bill 71, of which I am a cosponsor, had widespread bipartisan support and was approved unanimously via voice vote. 

The current backlog in rape kits nationwide underscores a devastating gap in the criminal justice system. During the last decade, hundreds of thousands of rape kits--which include physical and DNA evidence gathered from rape victims--have gone untested because law enforcement agencies around the country are not prioritizing their testing or do not have the resources to do so. The testing of these kits is crucial to identifying perpetrators by demonstrating an individual's culpability in sex crimes.

Under current law, there is no statutory procedure for the collection and processing of sexual assault kits. This lack of standardized processes led to a backlog of kits not being submitted to the state crime laboratory for testing. 

Victims, if this bill is passed, would be afforded the opportunity to report to law enforcement, following collection of the sexual assault kit by a law enforcement official. If a victim chooses not to report to law enforcement, the healthcare official will be required to notify law enforcement within twenty-four hours after collecting the sexual assault kit. The law enforcement agency then has seventy-two hours to collect the kit from the healthcare professional and fourteen days to send the kit to the state crime lab for analysis. 

After the kit has been processed, it will be sent to a law enforcement agency and store for fifty years. 

Senate Bill 94: Tracking of Sexual Assault Kits

Senate Bill 94, which had broad bipartisan support and was approved unanimously via voice vote, develops an online tracking system for sexual assault kits. The system will be survivor-centric, meaning survivors will have access to real-time information related to their sexual assault kits.

Sexual assault victims will be able to anonymously track the status and location of their sexual assault kit throughout the criminal justice process, from the time of collection until disposal. The system will be privacy-protected and allow health, forensic, law enforcement, and legal professionals at each step of the process, enter information and track the status of these kits.

Events

The following events will be held this week in the 60th Assembly District. If you have any upcoming events you would like included in my e-update, please contact my office.

Enneagram Workshop, November 13, Saukville

2021 Holiday Makers Market, November 14, Port Washington

Modern Cartonnage with Joyce Gitter, November 14, Cedarburg

One Square Mile: My Neighborhood, November 14, Cedarburg

5th Annual Italian Family Dinner Night, November 14, Waubeka

Washington Arms Collectors Gun Show, November 13-14, West Bend

Stay up to date

One of the best ways to date with what is happening in Madison is to sign up for the legislature's notification tracking system. This service affords you with the opportunity to track legislative activities in Madison. Upon creation of a free account, you can sign up to receive notification about specific bills of committees as well as legislative activity pertaining to a subject (i.e., health care, education, etc.).