Press Release
May 29, 2013
CONTACT:
Jay Heck – 608/256-2686
Bad Package of Campaign Finance and Election "Deforms"
About to be Unleashed on Wisconsin Voters
Today at Noon is the "deadline" State Representative
Jeff Stone (R-Greendale) has given to his colleagues to sign on to and co-sponsor hyper-partisan
legislation that would do further damage to Wisconsin's already greatly damaged campaign finance, voting and election laws.
This
package of bad public policy will likely be quickly introduced, put on the "fast track" and an attempt will be made to ram it through the Legislature and have it signed into law by Governor
Scott Walker before Wisconsinites know what hit them. And, as is usually the case with horrible public policy like this, that's the whole point of this expedited exercise.
We strongly advise legislators who are truly concerned about
real political reform and openness in state government to ignore this deadline today for co-sponsoring this soon to be-introduced legislation. Instead, we urge Representative Stone to start over and work with reform-minded legislators on both sides of the partisan divide and craft a
bipartisan package that could really fix Wisconsin's many campaign finance and election problems instead of make them worse. Together, they should craft
bipartisan reform that doesn't provide political advantage for one political party over another and that instead, benefits all of the citizens of Wisconsin. Only
bipartisan campaign finance and election reform is effective and long-lasting.
Here are some of the "low lights" of the campaign finance and election "deform" package about to be unleashed on unsuspecting Wisconsin citizens:
* Codifies into law the use of undisclosed money from outside groups by stipulating that only communications with "express advocacy" need be registered and reported. That means that unless a communication uses terms like "vote for" or "defeat" or "support" or "elect" a candidate, the donors who paid for the communication do not have to be disclosed. Undisclosed phony issue adds would multiply and Wisconsinites would know even less about who is trying to influence their vote than they do now.
This measure goes in exactly the opposite direction as does Senate Bill 166, the bipartisan electioneering disclosure legislation introduced on April 30th by State Senators Mike Ellis (R-Neenah), Jon Erpenbach (D-Middleton) and State Representative Dean Kaufert (R-Neenah) which would require the disclosure of the donors of phony issue ads and similar communications within 60 days of an election. Stone and all other legislators ought to embrace this measure instead.
* Extends the time that lobbyists may make political contributions to partisan candidates to prior to the current June 1st (of an election year) date which currently is the earliest date that lobbyist contributions can be made. Again, this measure goes exactly in the wrong direction. There ought to be less time in which to raise special interest money -- including the banning of all campaign fundraising during consideration of the state budget bill.
* Attempts to modify the current Wisconsin voter photo I.D. law that is currently not in effect because it has been blocked by the courts because it is the most extreme and restrictive voter I.D. law in the nation and is almost certainly unconstitutional. The modest modification in this measure allows for a voter to cast a vote without the proscribed form of I.D. in the current law if the voter submits a signed affidavit swearing he or she is "indigent" or for some other humiliating reason. There should be an affidavit option available without condition as there is in other states. This provision simply attempts to make the current photo voter I.D. law "more acceptable" to the courts without making it less onerous. Almost no one would submit to the demeaning conditions that this measure presents to a voter who cannot obtain the limited forms of I.D. proscribed in the current law.
* Eliminates the ability of a citizen attempting to register to vote to be able to provide electronic documentation to election poll workers. For many citizens -- particularly college students -- this is the only form of proof of residency or identification that they may possess. Fewer Wisconsin citizens would be able to register and vote if this becomes law.
* Eliminates early "in-person" voting by citizens on weekends before an election, except "by appointment" (with only the city, town or village clerk -- not another poll worker). So early voting would be curtailed even further than the current photo voter I.D. law curtails it now.
* Doubles the number of candidates from which the Governor can choose to fill vacancies on the six-member Government Accountability Board. The current process for appointment to the G.A.B. has worked fine since 2007 when the G.A.B..was established. This is an attempt to find more "partisan-friendly" possibilities to fill any of the six G.A.B. seats because some don't like the way the G.A.B. decided some of the matters that have come before them. Leave the G.A.B. alone! It is doing just fine without further partisan interference.
There are other items of concern in this package as well as some very minor improvements to current law such as raising the current dollar threshold (which has been $25 for decades) before reporting requirements are triggered. But that tiny bit of good is so overwhelmed by all the harm that this package would cause that the entire legislation ought to be scrapped.
As soon as we know it, we will pass the bill number on to you so that you can contact your legislators and urge them to kill this bill.
In the meantime, please do contact both your State Senator and your State Representative in support of the bipartisan electioneering disclosure, Senate Bill 166, introduced by Senators Ellis and Erpenbach, and Representative Kaufert.
To contact your legislators, go here. If you are not sure who your legislators are, please go here.
__________________________________________
Jay Heck, Executive Director
Common Cause in Wisconsin
152 W. Johnson St., Suite 212
Madison, WI 53703
608/256-2686
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Press Release
May 16, 2013
CONTACT:
Jay Heck – 608/256-2686
Wisconsin Electioneering Disclosure Law Needed
Now -- More Than Ever
Even Illinois and 19 Other States Unveil Outside Campaign Spending
The introduction at the end of April of
bipartisan electioneering disclosure legislation in Wisconsin has received some
media notice. But this critical measure has not yet received the public attention that it deserves. Disclosure of the donors to outside organizations who are influencing Wisconsin elections has been a top CC/WI reform priority since 1997. And it is particularly critical in Wisconsin and at the federal level since the disastrous, narrowly decided (5 to 4) U.S. Supreme Court decision
Citizens United vs. F.E.C. opened up the floodgates to allow corporation and union general treasury money to inundate federal and state elections and drown out the voices of citizens in elections.
Moreover, many other states -- including ILLINOIS -- have moved forward, either before or since
Citizens United, and have enacted effective electioneering laws so that the citizens of those states at least have the ability to find out who is behind the tsunami of outside campaign cash that is now being spent to influence elections in their states.
Yes, even our neighbor to the south -- Illinois -- has enacted into law electioneering disclosure!
So has Alaska, California, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Iowa, Idaho, Massachusetts, Maryland, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia, and to a lesser extent -- but still better than Wisconsin -- Connecticut and Maine.
In 2010, the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board (G.A.B.) promulgated a disclosure administrative rule that would require disclosure of phony issue ads (electioneering) and other similar communications. But the Wisconsin Supreme Court first blocked it (so that is was not in effect during the April 2011 Wisconsin Supreme Court election between incumbent Justice David Prosser and challenger Joanne Kloppenburg), and later dropped it's hold on the rule, but it has not been effective in requiring the disclosure of outside groups at election time. One reason is that without an actual electioneering law (like the 20 states listed above have), the rule is unwieldy and continuously under legal assault. Hence the need for electioneering disclosure legislation Senate Bill 166. While CC/WI supported the 2010 G.A.B. rule, we have always maintained that an actual law was needed in order to attain the type of electioneering disclosure that Wisconsin needs, and which would more effectively address problems like this.
A tough electioneering disclosure law in Wisconsin and the enactment into law of the federal DISCLOSE Act by the United States Congress for federal elections would also help strip away the mystery surrounding many of the so-called "social welfare" organizations that have engaged in secret electioneering in elections since the Citizens United decision in 2010, and which are now the subject of recent controversy as a result news that the Internal Revenue Service engaged in very close scrutiny of some of these organizations supporting Republicans and conservatives. Very close scrutiny ought to be applied to any and all fake "social welfare" organizations engaged in electioneering -- regardless of their partisan stripe or ideology. For more on this, go here and here.
If you have not yet done so, it is important that you inform both your State Senator and your State Representative of your strong support for Senate Bill 166.
To find out how to contact your State Senator and State Representative go here. If you are not exactly sure who your State Senator and/or your State Representative is go here.
Thanks for caring about good government in Wisconsin.
__________________________________________
Jay Heck, Executive Director
Common Cause in Wisconsin
152 W. Johnson St., Suite 212
Madison, WI 53703
608/256-2686
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Intro only...
Press Release
May 14, 2013
CONTACT:
Jay Heck – 608/256-2686
Does Your State Representative/State Senator Support
Non-Partisan Redistricting Reform?
See If Your State Legislators Support Reform or the Corrupt Status Quo
Last week, the long-anticipated, bipartisan redistricting reform legislation modeled after Iowa's system was formally introduced as
Senate Bill 163 and
Assembly Bill 185.
This ought to be a top political reform priority for
all Wisconsin citizens. CC/WI will be closely tracking public support by legislators for this legislation. Below is the listing of all of the Wisconsin State Representatives and State Senators (in alphabetical order) who have expressed public support for SB 163/AB 185 to date. The name of the legislator is followed by the Assembly or State Senate District they represent and the city/town in which the legislator resides:
If your State Representative and/or State Senator are on this list, drop them a line and thank them for their support and tell them it is a priority for you and for Wisconsin.
If your State Representative or/and your State Senator are not on the above list, please contact them and tell them to support Senate Bill 163/Assembly Bill 185!
If you are not sure who your State Representative and/or your State Senator are go here.
We will update this list every week. Please let us know what your legislators are telling you about this when you contact them about redistricting reform.
Citizens of Wisconsin: Political reform will happen because you make it happen! If you do nothing, then nothing will get done.
Note to Legislators: Call or e-mail us if you want to be listed as a public supporter of redistricting reform.
__________________________________________
Jay Heck, Executive Director
Common Cause in Wisconsin
152 W. Johnson St., Suite 212
Madison, WI 53703
608/256-2686
Read More...
Intro only...
Press Release
May 7, 2013
CONTACT:
Jay Heck – 608/256-2686
Support Senate Bill 163!
Redistricting Reform Legislation Formally Introduced
with Bipartisan Co-sponsorship
The long anticipated and much needed
redistricting reform legislation strongly supported by Common Cause in Wisconsin, was
formally introduced in the Wisconsin Legislature yesterday.
Senate Bill 163 ought to be one of the top political reform priorities for everyone in Wisconsin -- regardless of political persuasion and ideology. It certainly is for us.
CC/WI State Governing Board Members and staff have been in the Capitol and all over the state talking about the need for bipartisan redistricting reform for 2021 and why we need to get it done
now -- to anyone and everyone who will listen (and even to some that don't!)
And we are pleased that legislative reform leaders on this issue such as State Senators
Dave Hansen of Green Bay,
Dale Schultz of Richland Center,
Tim Cullen of Janesville and State Representatives
Mandy Wright of Wausau,
Eric Genrich of Green Bay and others united behind one redistricting reform measure and we were happy to be part of that effort.
The Wisconsin Assembly proponents unveiled the measure at a Capitol Press conference last month in which CC/WI participated. Last week the State Senate authors launched the bill which was formally announced yesterday.
CC/WI State Director Jay Heck has had opinion-editorials detailing the need for an "Iowa Model" redistricting system for Wisconsin in The Capital Times, Wausau Daily Herald, Wisconsin State Journal, Chippewa Herald, and others in recent weeks.
Now it is time for citizens to weigh in.
Please contact both your State Senator and your State Representative and tell them to support Senate Bill 163. To find out how do do that, go here. If you are not certain about who your State Senator and/or your State Representative are/is (and that would be understandable as a result of the gerrymandering of legislative districts that occurred in 2011), go here.
And please share the replies (or lack of one) that you receive from your legislators to help us track who's with us and who's not! Thanks.
__________________________________________
Jay Heck, Executive Director
Common Cause in Wisconsin
152 W. Johnson St., Suite 212
Madison, WI 53703
608/256-2686
Read More...
Intro only...
Press Release
May 1, 2013
CONTACT:
Jay Heck – 608/256-2686
Bipartisan Electioneering Disclosure Legislation Introduced
Support for this Common Sense Measure is a No-Brainer
and Ought to be Overwhelming
Much anticipated and sorely needed legislation that would require the disclosure of the donors to outside spending groups trying to influence the outcome of state elections, was introduced yesterday in the Wisconsin Legislature. The measure -- which CC/WI has been pressing to have enacted into Wisconsin law since 1997, was authored by State Senators
Michael Ellis(R-Neenah) and
Jon Erpenbach (D-Middleton) and co-sponsored by State Representative
Dean Kaufert (R-Neenah). This is a bipartisan reform that ought to be embraced by everyone of all political ideologies.
Senate Bill 166 would require outside groups who send widely-disseminated communications (primarily broadcast ads and mass mailings) that are really campaign communications masquerading as issue advocacy during the period 60 days or less prior to an election (primary or general) to disclose their donors. Currently in Wisconsin, outside special interest groups escape state disclosure, reporting and registration requirements by avoiding the use of what are known as "magic words" such as "vote for," "defeat," "support," and the like. Obviously there are many other ways to engage in electioneering without using those express terms. The donors behind these phony issue ads -- which have escaped basic disclosure for years -- would finally be revealed to the public if Senate Bill 166 were enacted into law.
Three years ago, the narrowly decided (5 to 4) U.S. Supreme Court Citizens United vs. F.E.C. decision opened up the floodgates for unlimited corporate and union treasury money to be used by supposedly "independent" expenditure groups (or individuals) to influence the outcome of federal and Wisconsin elections. But that same Court opined 8 to 1 that Congress and the states ought to strongly consider passing disclosure legislation or administrative rules so that voters would have some idea about who is behind the torrent of special interest campaign cash about to be dumped on them.
There was a torrent of this outside money dumped in Wisconsin during the recall elections of 2011 and 2012 and the 2012 general election. Most of the multi-million dollars spent was by entities that did not disclose their donors and Wisconsinites were largely left in the dark about who was trying to influence their votes. Millions of dollars poured in from outside of Wisconsin -- to decide our elections. And to this day we have no idea who was behind that money.
Candidates are required by law to tell us who their donors are. Senate Bill 166 is necessary so that outside special interest groups -- who now vastly outspend the candidates -- tell us the source of their campaign cash. This reform is simple, straight forward and would not cost an additional dime to enact into law and put into effect. Powerful special interest groups oppose the legislation but there is not a single voter or legislator that ought to.
It is important that you inform both your State Senator and your State Representative of your strong support for Senate Bill 166. Write them a letter and "snail mail" it with a stamp! Call them! E-mail them!
Better yet, do all three!
To find out how to contact your State Senator and State Representative go here. If you are not exactly sure who your State Senator and/or your State Representative is go here.
It is up to we the people to make this happen. So let's do it.
__________________________________________
Jay Heck, Executive Director
Common Cause in Wisconsin
152 W. Johnson St., Suite 212
Madison, WI 53703
608/256-2686
Read More...
Intro only...
Today at Noon is the "deadline" State Representative Jeff Stone (R-Greendale) has given to his colleagues to sign on to and co-sponsor hyper-partisan legislation that would do further damage to Wisconsin's already greatly damaged campaign finance, voting and election laws. 
This measure goes in exactly the opposite direction as does Senate Bill 166, the bipartisan electioneering disclosure legislation introduced on April 30th by State Senators Mike Ellis (R-Neenah), Jon Erpenbach (D-Middleton) and State Representative Dean Kaufert (R-Neenah) which would require the disclosure of the donors of phony issue ads and similar communications within 60 days of an election. Stone and all other legislators ought to embrace this measure instead. 
