​The Cure for the Ills of Democracy is Indeed More Democracy

For release: Thursday - June 5, 2025

Image: We Power: democracy is our common cause

After more than four months of national political chaos, confusion, economic disruption and uncertainty, Wisconsinites of good will have every right to feel as if they have been battered and abused by the latest iteration of MAGA and Trumpism as it slashes and burns its way through our state, country and the world. But while these have been extremely difficult and trying times for most of us, there is also cause for hope and optimism in our mutual quest to preserve and protect our democracy and basic human decency. Why? Because we have pushed back and fought back hard against those who seek to diminish our voice and our vote. In just the past year we have helped advance the cause in support of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for all of us, not just for a selected few and to the exclusion of the many as Donald Trump has sought to do. Consider, if you will that:

• CC/WI was a leading voice in the statewide education of Wisconsin voters and in the opposition to the unprecedented interference in Wisconsin's nationally significant Wisconsin Supreme Court April 1st election by the world's richest person, Elon Musk, who poured more than $30 million in support of one candidate and in attacking the other. CC/WI published a very widely read and circulated guest editorial on this matter: Commentary | Elon Musk invades Wisconsin (March 14, 2025 - Jay Heck, Wisconsin Examiner) and we were interviewed extensively in the state and national media including this segment on national CBS News: How Wisconsin's high court race became the most expensive in U.S. history. The candidate backed by Musk and by Donald Trump lost by 10 percentage points in an election that was considered the first barometer of voter sentiment about Musk and Trump's first few months back in the Presidency. It also effectively drove Musk out of national power, at least for now.

• The $100 million judicial election has ignited campaign finance and judicial reform effort in Wisconsin led by CC/WI: Commentary | Will $100M Supreme Court elections be the new normal in Wisconsin? It shouldn’t and doesn’t have to be that way.

• As a result of the fair state legislative voting maps championed by CC/Wisconsin which were enacted into law in early 2024, CC/WI took a major role in educating Wisconsin voters about the new districts and challenged state legislative candidates to pledge support for redistricting reform before the 2030 Census occurs. As a result, last November ten Wisconsin Assembly seats and four State Senate seats were "flipped" from the previous Republican super majority-gerrymandered voting maps and the composition of the new Wisconsin Legislature is now much more equal and reflective of the 50/50 divide that makes our state one of the most closely contested in the nation.

• Last Summer and Fall CC/WI filed an amicus brief in support of a successful lawsuit that overturned a state prohibition on the utilization of secure ballot drop boxes in order to provide voters casting absentee ballots with a means of returning their ballots on time to be counted instead of having to solely rely on the US Mail or having to hand deliver absentee ballots to the county election clerk's office. As a result, thousands of absentee ballots that were not counted because of the prohibition in place in 2022, were counted in 2024 and 2025, thus increasing voter participation rates in Fall and Spring elections.

• CC/WI was a leader in helping to establish clear rules for election observers which after a two-year process were adopted recently with bipartisan support by the Wisconsin Elections Commission and thus far, by the Legislature.

So, in the face of an all-out assault by Trump and MAGA to undermine us, CC/WI and many others have stood tall and have contained much of the damage being heaped upon us, but we have also advanced some democratic reforms to a better place than they have been in many years or ever. Here are some other things you can do in the weeks and months ahead to strengthen democracy and combat the forces of suppression and intolerance:

Stop the SAVE Act: Tell Senator Baldwin and Senator Johnson to REJECT the anti-voter SAVE Act. Sign here.

Join a “No Kings” Rally near you on Saturday, June 14th. There are over 43 events being planned in Wisconsin! From city blocks to small towns, from courthouse steps to community parks, we’re taking action to speak out – and show the world what democracy really looks like. We’re making it clear: We reject Trump’s authoritarian actions and corruption – and are coming together to build something better. Find an event near you.

Support The People’s Promise. It’s a nationwide call for a livable economy—one that works for everyday people, not just CEOs and campaign donors. Sign here.

Wisconsin’s most celebrated and effective political figure, Governor and U.S. Senator Robert M. (“Fighting Bob”) La Follette, Sr. famously and very accurately exclaimed more than a century ago: “The real cure for the ills of democracy is more democracy.” And it remains so for us today. To counter evil we must work to accomplish good and the work that we the people are doing is what will restore our democracy and faith in our state, nation and the world. Rather than despair, take action and be active and do your part to make us better. It works!

On Wisconsin. Forward!

Jay Heck, Executive Director 

Common Cause Wisconsin

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Jay Heck

608/512-9363 (cell)

Common Cause in Wisconsin
152 Johnson St, Suite 212
Madison, WI 53703

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Will $100M Supreme Court elections be the new normal in Wisconsin? It shouldn’t and doesn’t have to be that way

For release: Monday - May 5, 2025

Image: Billionaire businessman Elon Musk arrives for a town hall meeting wearing a cheesehead hat at the KI Convention Center on March 30, 2025 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The town hall is being held in front of the state’s high-profile Supreme Court election between Circuit Court Judge Brad Schimel, who has been financially backed by Musk and endorsed by President Donald Trump, and Dane County Circuit Court Judge Susan Crawford. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Guest Commentary by CCWI Director Jay Heck

Published by the Wisconsin Examiner - May 5, 2025

On April 1 Wisconsin voters decisively voted against unprecedented, massive outside interference in our state Supreme Court election by the nearly $30 million from the richest and second (to Donald Trump) most egotistical person in the world – Elon Musk. In handing Musk’s endorsed candidate, Brad Schimel, a more than 10 percentage point, 269,000-vote drubbing, Wisconsinites rendered the nation a great service by humiliating Musk here and thereby driving him from the corridors of power and influence in Washington D.C. where he has been savaging vital U.S. government services and programs that helped the poorest people in our nation and in the world.

Wisconsin also opted to preserve recent democracy reforms in our state by maintaining the current 4-3 progressive majority on the Court. Fairer and more representative state legislative voting maps and the restoration of the use of secure ballot drop boxes for voters will be preserved and the possibility of new and enhanced political reform is possible in the years immediately ahead either through upholding reforms passed legislatively, through court action, or both.

But what can be done about the obscene amount of political money raised and spent to elect a new Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice in 2025 – as much if not more than $105 million – by far the most amount ever spent in a judicial election in the history of the United States? Wisconsin faces new state supreme court elections every April for the next four years and a continuation of such frenzied and out of control spending for the foreseeable future seems both unbearable and unsustainable.

Voluntary spending limits for Supreme Court candidates with the incentive of providing them with full public financing if they agree to statutory spending limits is a possibility. Wisconsin actually had such a law in place for exactly one Supreme Court election in 2011. The Impartial Justice Act was made possible by passage with overwhelming bipartisan majorities in the Wisconsin Legislature and enactment into law in 2009. In 2011, both candidates for a seat on the high court agreed to the voluntary spending limits of $400,000 each and received full public financing. That campaign was robust, competitive and the result was close, which is what you would expect in Wisconsin. And it cost just a tiny fraction of the more than $100 million that was spent in 2025.

Unfortunately, later in 2011, then-Gov. Scott Walker and the Republican-controlled Wisconsin Legislature defunded the Impartial Justice Act and all other public financing for elections. Four years later, Walker and the GOP completely eviscerated and deformed Wisconsin’s campaign finance laws. They did away with limits on what political parties and outside groups can raise and spend in elections, increased individual campaign contribution limits and, most alarmingly, legalized previously illegal campaign coordination between so-called issue ad spending groups and candidates, which greatly increased opportunities for corruption and undue influence through campaign spending. Disclosure requirements were weakened and, in some instances, dismantled altogether.

In just four short years, Wisconsin was transformed from one of the most transparent, low spending and highly regarded election states in the nation to one of the worst, least regulated special interest-controlled political backwaters in the nation, akin to Texas, Louisiana or Florida.

This current corrupt status quo will remain in place for the upcoming state Supreme Court elections in 2026, 2027, 2028 and 2029 unless the governor, Legislature and the Wisconsin Supreme Court take action and do the following:

• Re-establish an “impartial justice” law for the public financing of state Supreme Court elections modeled after the 2009 law which was in place for only one election before it was repealed. Update and revise it to better fit current times and circumstances including more realistic spending limits and higher public financing grants.
• Establish clear recusal rules for judges at all levels in Wisconsin that clearly decree that if a certain campaign contribution is reached or surpassed beyond a certain threshold amount, then the beneficiary of that contribution (or of the expenditure against her/his opponent) must recuse from any case in which the contributor is a party before the court.
• Restore sensible limitations on the transfer of and acceptance of campaign funds and make illegal again campaign coordination between outside special interest groups engaged in issue advocacy with all candidates for public office — particularly judges.
• Petition the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse the disastrous 2010 Citizens United vs F.E.C. decision which ended over 100 years of sensible regulation of unlimited corporate, union and other outside special interest money in federal and by extension state elections, unleashing the torrential flood of campaign cash drowning democracy today.

These are common-sense, achievable reforms that, if enacted into law, would go a long way toward restoring desperately needed public confidence in the fairness, impartiality and trust in Wisconsin’s courts and in particular, our Wisconsin Supreme Court which was regarded as the model for the nation and the best anywhere a quarter century ago. But it will take determined action by all three branches of Wisconsin’s state government working together with the voters to uphold election integrity and curb corruption in a way all of us can embrace.

Ultimately, of course, it’s up to us, the voters, to hold our governmental institutions accountable and ensure that they work for us instead of for their own narrow interests  and those of the donor class. In this critical season of resistance and defiance against tyranny — speak up, make noise and ensure that your voice is heard. Demand real reform and an end to the corruption of our representative government.

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Jay Heck

608/512-9363 (cell)

Common Cause in Wisconsin
152 Johnson St, Suite 212
Madison, WI 53703

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Spring Has Finally Arrived in Wisconsin and With It — Required Action on the Democracy Front at both the State and Federal Level!

For release: Friday - April 25, 2025

  Image: Wisconsin Capitol with a banner overlaid "Holding Power Accountable"

We have been busy here at Common Cause Wisconsin (CC/WI) in the aftermath of the historic and pivotal April 1st election — with its unprecedented campaign spending, record voter turnout and decisive rejection of the richest person in the world, Elon Musk, and his failed attempt to buy our Wisconsin Supreme Court election with more than $25 million. CC/WI is proud to have played a leading role in informing Wisconsinites about Musk's outside interference in our state election, and in driving him to step down from his destructive position as the genesis of "DOGE" and all the cruelty and misery that DOGE has caused in our state, nation and around the world.

Since then, CC/WI has been actively participating in advising and advocating for the very much needed and critical Wisconsin Election Commission Election Observer Rule over the past two years before the Wisconsin Legislature. Why? Because election observers need clear rules in order to carry out their critical tasks at polling locations and currently the rules are very vague and uncertain. Having this rule in place will help ensure the safety of voters, observers, and election officials. The rule strikes a careful and important balance between the election officials being able to carry out their jobs, an observer’s access and ability to be able to view the voting process, and a voter's right to privacy and confidentiality while casting a ballot. This past Tuesday the Joint Committee of Review for Administrative Rules held a public hearing as they now consider adoption or rejection of the rule. Here is my testimony on that rule and why we need it.

Also, as the Wisconsin Legislature's all powerful Joint Committee on Finance wraps up its public hearings (the final two meetings are this coming Monday and Tuesday), CC/WI has submitted the following testimony in support of funding election administration and operations in our state. The Wisconsin Election Commission, as well as county and municipal clerks, need the necessary resources to meet the increased demands on their staff and to their workloads so that they can carry out their jobs and to strengthen confidence in state elections. The request for election funding is modest and ought to be fully supported by the full legislature. Here is my testimony.

Earlier this month the US House of Representatives passed the so-called SAVE Act - a harmful anti-voter bill that will put millions of currently eligible voters’ registration at risk and lose their voting rights and access to the ballot. This piece of legislation is now being scheduled for a vote by the full US Senate. Please join the thousands of Americans all over the nation who have signed this petition to demand that Wisconsin US Senators Tammy Baldwin and Ron Johnson know that this bill must be resoundingly rejected, by voting NO on the SAVE Act. Common Cause will continue to track the harmful ramifications of the SAVE Act and let you know what actions can be taken next, so be on the lookout for more to come. Thanks for speaking out and signing on!

Finally, our partners at the Wisconsin Conservation Voters are hosting a lobby day at the Madison Capitol on May 6, 2025, and would like to invite you to join them. Their advocacy includes many pro-voter and pro-democracy issues that we champion with them. For more information and to sign up go to https://conservationvoters.org/events/cld-2025.

As I said at the outset, Spring has finally arrived in Wisconsin. Hurray! Take time to enjoy it, get outside and find some joy! For me, it is hiking through the beautiful and quiet environs of Cherokee Marsh, just northeast of Madison. Take care of yourselves and each other. Thanks for your continued dedicated vigilance and action in support of our democracy.

On Wisconsin,

Jay Heck

Executive Director, Common Cause Wisconsin

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Jay Heck

608/256-2686 (office)
608/512-9363 (cell)

Common Cause in Wisconsin
152 Johnson St, Suite 212
Madison, WI 53703
www.commoncausewisconsin.org

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The State Budget Must Fund Elections in Wisconsin

For release: Thursday - April 24, 2025

  Image The Wisconsin Budget Logo 

Statement from Common Cause Wisconsin to the Joint Committee on Finance regarding the 2025-2027 Biennium State Budget

TO: Members of the Joint Committee on Finance 

FROM: Jay Heck, Executive Director of Common Cause in Wisconsin

DATE: April 24, 2025

RE: Common Cause Wisconsin on 2025-27 Biennium State Budget

Chairs Born, Marklein and Members of the Committee,

Common Cause in Wisconsin (CC/WI) -  the state’s largest non-partisan citizen’s political reform advocacy organization with more than 9,000 members and activists in every county and corner in Wisconsin - is pleased to be able to share our thoughts with the members of the Joint Committee on Finance as you consider items for inclusion in the 2025-27 biennium budget.

Wisconsinites from across the ideological spectrum agree that our election processes need to be continually improved and strengthened in order to ensure that all eligible Wisconsinites will be able to participate in and have full confidence in our state’s long tradition of free and fair elections. The state agency that oversees elections, the Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC), as well as county and local election officials, deserve sufficient financial support from the state to continue to carry out critically important election functions and tasks.

On February 18th, Gov. Tony Evers released his 2025-27 biennium budget proposal which reflects modest and sensible requests for much needed funding for election related items. These budget items include such areas as technology updates to our election systems with enhanced security measures, properly compensating election officials and staff including the hard-working citizens who step up as poll workers, replacing outdated election equipment, providing accessible accommodations for voters with special needs, and strengthening WEC’s ability to educate and provide full services to the voting public. In order for WEC to be able to function the way the Wisconsin Legislature intended, and in the manner voters of Wisconsin have every right to expect, additional financial resources are necessary to address these needs in order for public confidence in our elections to be elevated. Successful, accurate, and secure elections can occur only with sufficient funding to get the job done.

To that end, CC/WI strongly supports these specific proposals in Gov. Evers’ budget which ought to and should receive bipartisan support:

• Office of Election Transparency and Compliance: the addition of 10 WEC positions to meet the exponentially increased public demand for information and the vastly increased number of inquiries to WEC about election-related issues.  

• Funding for Information Technology: to update existing information systems and training to keep them current.

• Support for Ongoing Programs and Other Commission Costs: to maintain existing capacity to provide voter services.

• Grant Programs for Local Election Offices: modest support to better enable local election clerks to serve their voters, including to purchase electronic poll books.

• Funding for Special Elections: to shift the burden of election administration costs from counties and municipalities to the state which calls for a special election that is within these counties and municipalities.

• Automatic Voter Registration (AVR): Modest funding to enable the WEC to work with the Wisconsin Department of Transportation to initiate automatic voter registration of all eligible electors at DMV sites. About half the states in the nation have adopted AVR with bipartisan support including our neighbors Michigan, Minnesota and Illinois.  

The Governor's budget proposals align with what has been proposed and requested with strong bipartisan support from the WEC Commissioners with both Republican and Democratic appointments advocating for many of these improvements to our state’s election administration. It is worth remembering and reminding Wisconsinites that in 2015, the WEC was created by Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, then Republican State Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald and then Republican Governor Scott Walker. WEC's establishment received the votes of every Republican state legislator in both chambers in 2015 and WEC's recommendations, together with those of Gov. Evers ought to be supported now. 

The unfounded and specious claims of a small but vocal group of election deniers and conspiracy theorists who oppose these sensible policy enhancements should not be outweighed by the needs and demands of the overwhelming majority of Wisconsin voters seeking the maintenance and strengthening of public confidence in our elections. Do not allow the loud noise and false claims of a vocal few to thwart the will of the vast majority of voters who are far more deserving of your support and vote.

Additionally, in April 2024, the Wisconsin Legislature saw to it that outside private funding for election administration was banned. Now, the legislature has an opportunity and the duty to help fill the gap created by that measure and provide the state funding necessary to administer elections that are truly and fairly conducted with genuine integrity and without partisan advantage in Wisconsin. 

We believe that all of these measures will help every voter in Wisconsin and that they merit the support of the members of this committee and of all legislators, regardless of political party affiliation. Our democracy and representative state government can exist only if our election system is free, fair and accessible to all Wisconsinites who are eligible to vote. We hope that the Joint Committee on Finance and the Wisconsin Legislature can set partisan differences aside and work with Gov. Evers to embrace and implement these improvements to our election system in Wisconsin. 

Thank you for your consideration.

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Jay Heck

608/256-2686 (office)
608/512-9363 (cell)

Common Cause in Wisconsin
152 Johnson St, Suite 212
Madison, WI 53703
www.commoncausewisconsin.org

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