Wisconsin's Democratic Gov. Tony Evers vetoed a series of six election security bills Tuesday sent to his desk by the state's GOP-...
Wisconsin's Democratic Gov. Tony Evers vetoed a series of six election security bills Tuesday sent to his desk by the state's GOP-controlled legislature.
Republicans do not have the votes to override Evers' veto, as no Democrats supported the legislation in June.
The governor also said that two Wisconsin counties should not comply with subpoenas to turn over ballots and voting equipment as part of an investigation being led by the Republican head of the Assembly elections committee.
'Hell no,' Evers said when asked if the local election clerks should comply. 'You´ve seen what´s going on in Arizona. It´s a clown show.'
Arizona's partisan election audit has been full of embarrassing revelations, the suspension of the audit's account and one of its early supporters describing the process as botched.
One of the bills would have required voters to fill out more paperwork and show ID whenever they vote absentee. Elderly and disabled voters would would have to apply for a ballot every year, rather than having one sent automatically.
Another would have limited the collection of absentee ballots more than two weeks out from an election. Others prohibited clerks from correcting mistakes on absentee ballots, a longstanding practice, making it a $10,000 offense that could warrant three years in prison.
Yet another would have required election officials to live stream the counting of the ballots and save it for 22 months.
One bill also would have allowed for only one collection site for absentee ballots, located near the local clerk's office. Republican supporters said the goal was to prevent 'ballot harvesting' by disallowing events or locations where ballots could be collected.
And another nixed bill would have made it a felony for an employee of a nursing home or other care facility to coerce an occupant to apply for, or not apply for, an absentee ballot. It would also require the nursing home to provide notice to relatives when special voting deputies planned to be on hand to assist residents with casting their ballots.
Trump lost to Biden just under 21,000 votes in the Badger State, after winning it in 2016. Numerous lawsuits brought by Trump and his allies after the defeat were rejected.
FILE - In this Aug. 27, 2020 file photo, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers speaks during a news conference in Kenosha, Wis. Gov. Evers on Tuesday, Aug. 10, 2021, vetoed bills passed by the state's Republican-controlled Legislature that would have imposed new restrictions on absentee ballots in the key battleground state. (AP Photo/Morry Gash, File)
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers vetoes Republican bills that would have made it more difficult to vote absentee in the battleground state during a news conference in the Capitol rotunda on Tuesday, Aug. 10, 2021, in Madison, Wis. (AP Photo/Scott Bauer)
Biden's victory over Trump in Wisconsin was confirmed in partial recounts that targeted the Democratic-dominated counties of Milwaukee and Dane, where Trump tried and failed to disqualify thousands of absentee votes. Trump's team took issue with 5,500 absentee ballots where election clerks filled in missing address information on certification envelopes of absentee ballots.
'Across the country the right to vote is under attack. But here in Wisconsin, I’m making sure we keep elections fair, secure, and accessible by vetoing a series of GOP bills that attack the heart of our democratic process,' Evers wrote on Twitter after the veto.
'Make no mistake, these bills disproportionately impact communities of color, senior citizens, and those living with disabilities,' he added.
Evers' veto came as Republicans in Texas moved closer to mustering a quorum to pass voting changes stymied by Democrats fleeing the state.
Still, Wisconsin Republicans have approved a review of the 2020 election by the nonpartisan Legislative Audit Bureau and Assembly Speaker Robin Vos has authorized a separate investigation led by a former state Supreme Court justice.
State Rep. Janel Brandtjen, who leads the Assembly´s elections committee, is also pursuing her own 'cyber-forensic' review of the results, with subpoenas to election clerks in two counties that demand they turn over ballots and voting equipment.
Evers predicted the subpoenas would be challenged in court. 'People need to understand this election is over,' the governor said.
Brandtjen said if Evers was confident there were no issues with the election he wouldn't fight turning over the ballots or election equipment.
'What are they hiding?' Brandtjen said.
Robin Vos, the Assembly GOP speaker, said Evers made 'another momentous mistake' by vetoing the bills.
'These bills closed loopholes, standardized procedures, established uniformity, guaranteed only the voter can correct their own ballot and protected votes of seniors in long-term care,' Vos said in a statement. 'I am very disappointed Governor Evers refuses to do the right thing.'
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