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The Senate will vote in an “extraordinary session” TOMORROW (Friday, Nov. 6) on two bills that would make it harder for individual citizens to vote while making it easier for big money to influence our elections. The State Assembly has already approved this legislation and could approve any amended versions as early as Friday. Here are the bills:
AB 388/SB 294. Wisconsin’s Government Accountability Board (GAB) is a national standard in nonpartisan election administration. Yet politicians interested in nothing more than their own political future are set to replace the GAB with a panel of partisan appointees four months before a presidential election. Talk about wreaking havoc… this proposal is a prescription for chaos in our fall 2016 elections!
The GAB oversees elections and government ethics. This proposal would replace the agency with two separate panels of partisan appointees, similar to the dysfunctional Federal Elections Commission and the former Wisconsin ethics and elections boards. These are proven failures that certainly should not be reinvented through secretive, fast-tracked legislation. If you want to see the effect of an agency created through a similar process, you need look no further than the troubled Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC).
There is talk that the bill will be amended to add two judges to the ethics board, but we don’t know for sure, because the amendments were agreed upon in a secret majority caucus meeting outside the Capitol earlier this week. Anyway, that is nowhere near enough to counteract the disastrous effects of this legislation.
AB 387/SB 292. This bill would make a mockery of our campaign finance laws. It would let candidates coordinate with so-called independent organizations, which would be allowed to run ads that could expressly advocate for or against a candidate. That means big donors could have more influence by contributing to an organization that can act at the direction of a campaign, not be hampered by contribution limits and offer anonymity for the donors.
Public opinion polls have shown that Wisconsin citizens do not want more money to flow into our elections. People certainly don’t wish for confusion for our local election officials and voters alike in a big election. So where do these proposals come from? These bills have one purpose only, and that is to make it harder for individual citizens to vote while making it easier for big money to influence our elections. That makes it easier for a political party in power to maintain its position.
Contact your State Senator and Assembly Representative TODAY and urge them to vote NO on the GAB and campaign finance bills.
Don't know who your representatives are? Go to: http://legis.wisconsin.gov/ and enter your address near the map of Wisconsin under the heading "Find My Legislators."
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