On Wednesday, the Chairwoman of the Senate Committee on Elections held an educational presentation on Wisconsin’s election process. The presentation featured bipartisan county clerks, Wisconsin Election Commission staff, and voting machine manufacturers who shared information, demonstrated processes and took questions from attendees about their roles in Wisconsin elections. The hearing was quite informative and questions very direct and pointed. 

You can watch the hearing here. (registration required) 

As you know, the Legislature passed several election integrity bills in June to clean up the problems and loopholes we saw in the last election. Unfortunately, Governor Evers vetoed those bills, and Republicans do not hold a veto-proof majority in either house. 

In addition, the forensic auditors at the Legislative Audit Bureau should be releasing their audit of the 2020 election in the next month or so. In addition, former Justice Michael Gableman's investigation is just beginning. 

Anyone driving in Wisconsin can see the poor condition of many of our license plates. Some are literally unreadable, with only the imprint of the letters visible. This causes problems for several different groups. Police and sheriff groups cannot easily identify vehicles with our current plates. When a car ignores a school bus stop sign, the bus driver can’t report the car to authorities, or worse, will report the wrong vehicle to authorities. Automatic plate readers from parking lot gates, law enforcement, and curbside takeout have a difficult time identifying the proper vehicle.

I authored SB 429 to correct this problem. This bill solves license plate problems in two ways: First, it takes a provision from the Governor’s budget to require all license plates that are currently issued be replaced in the next 7 years. Going forward, all new plates will be replaced on a 7 year time frame. The bill also specifies standards for the sheeting of the license plates to improve their quality.

Finally, the bill increases the fee for license plate replacement. Under current law, the state currently LOSES at least $1.25 per license plate. So this bill increases the replacement fee to cover the expected costs of the license plate. To be clear, the state will not be profiting from this increased fee, but it will no longer lose money either.

The Pleasant Prairie Fire & Rescue Department is hosting its annual Safety Day in the Prairie event on Saturday, September 11, between 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. The event is free and open to the public at Pleasant Prairie Fire Station #1, located at 3801 Springbrook Road.

Safety Day in the Prairie will feature a 100-foot aerial platform fire truck and other emergency vehicles, including the Flight for Life helicopter. In addition, there will be tours of the fire station, live demonstrations involving confined space rescue, Pleasant Prairie Police Department K9 demonstrations, and a Safety House to teach families what to do in case of a fire. There will also be presentations from all Village of Pleasant Prairie safety entities, including police officers, fire & rescue members, emergency dispatchers, lifeguards, and public works staff.

In addition, the Kenosha County Heath Department will be providing COVID-19 vaccinations from 10:00 a.m. – noon. Complimentary refreshments will be available throughout the day.