FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 10, 2021
Contact: Prudence Robertson, probertson@sbalist.org (240) 672-2828
Legislation Would Require Voter I.D. for Absentee Ballots
Washington, D.C. – Today S.B. 204 (A.B. 201), voter integrity legislation in Wisconsin, was vetoed by Governor Tony Evers after being advanced by the state legislature. The legislation would enact voter I.D. protections for absentee voting by requiring voters casting absentee ballots to prove their identity, restricting the automatic mailing of absentee ballots, and mandating a clear absentee ballot request process.
National Chairman of the Election Transparency Initiative and former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, who previously urged Senate leaders to bring the bill to the floor, issued the following statement:
“We are grateful to the lawmakers who championed this bill on its way to the governor’s desk. Governor Evers could have put politics aside to ensure free and fair elections where it is easy to vote and hard to cheat, but he doubled down on a system where it is easy to cheat and hard to prove. Voting-by-mail should never have fewer safeguards than voting-in-person – it’s simply common sense. We urge the House and Senate to remain vigilant and continue fighting to establish a secure and transparent process for absentee voting that every voter can trust. Why would anyone oppose correcting these shortcomings in Wisconsin’s system? Yet, sadly Governor Evers does oppose this important fix, and so much more.”
Evers has also vetoed legislation:
- Prohibiting private ideological groups, corporations, and big tech companies like Facebook from funding local elections to selectively affect turnout, a corrupt practice diluting the voice of Wisconsin voters and undermining trust and confidence in the democratic process.
- Protecting election workers and observers by providing nondiscriminatory access to all stages of the election process.
- Allowing voters the ability to check if their ballot was counted and correct any mistakes.
Wisconsin provides a free voter I.D. card for any resident who doesn’t have an existing form of I.D. but wants to vote. 2020 voter turnout in Wisconsin was at 75.8%, the highest it has been in decades.
Recent polling shows the majority of voters, including Black and Hispanic as well as urban and independent voters, overwhelmingly support voter I.D. protections and want it to be easy to vote and hard to cheat.
The Election Transparency Initiative, a partnership between American Principles Project (APP) and the national pro-life group Susan B. Anthony List (SBA List), was organized to combat H.R. 1/S. 1 and advocate for state-based election reforms that voters can trust.
###
