For more information, contact: Jordan Krieger, (608) 266-7745
(MADISON) – Today, the Wisconsin State Legislature voted to usurp executive branch powers, restrict early voting, and enact new limitations on local control.
The bills taken up by the Legislature include over 40 separate proposals, most of them aimed at reducing the incoming governor and attorney general’s powers. One proposal requires the attorney general to seek legislative approval to withdraw from litigation and allows the legislature to intervene in certain legal proceedings. Another proposal restricts when early voting can begin. In 2016, a federal judge ruled against a similar early voting limitation, stating that it was an attempt to “stifle votes for partisan gain.”
Following the extraordinary session, Senator Patty Schachtner (D – Somerset) offered the following remarks:
“We were sent to Madison to represent the people, not undermine their will,” said Sen. Patty Schachtner (D – Somerset). “It is unfortunate that instead of respecting the prerogative of Wisconsin voters, Madison Republicans are serving themselves by gutting checks and balances and consolidating their own power.”
