Congratulations to all you Wisconsin citizens who treasure more democracy, not less – and who value the rule of law and of an independent judiciary, not defiance of them.
On Thursday morning, Governor Scott Walker and State Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald (R-Juneau) realized they lacked almost any support from Wisconsin citizens, faltering support from their own party's state legislators, and adamant opposition from independent and impartial judges, to defy long-standing Wisconsin law stipulating that special elections needed to be called as soon as possible following the resignation of two Republican legislators last December to take high-paying political patronage jobs in the Walker Administration.
Fearing the loss of one or both of these seats in a special election, Walker and Fitzgerald teamed up to try to deny elected representation to the citizens of the 1st State Senate District and the 42nd Assembly District for more than a year. Their "rationale" for doing so was not credible or believable. And you, the citizens of this state, were not having any of it.
After the Dane County Circuit Court and State Court of Appeals rejected his case to postpone the elections to fill these two vacancies until November – in the strongest possible terms – Walker wisely threw in the towel and did what the court ordered him to do: call for a special election in the two vacated legislative districts for June 12th, following May primaries.
And Fitzgerald, who scheduled an "Extraordinary Session" of the Legislature for this coming Wednesday, April 4th, for the sole purpose of ramming through a hyper-partisan rewrite of the special election law, costing taxpayers thousands of dollars to underwrite legislative action that would continue to deny elected representation to about 228,000 Wisconsin citizens, cancelled the session when Republican State Senators, hearing from hundreds of their constituents opposing the measure, began to waver in their support for it.
Thank you for making your voices heard. They heard you and fear your increasing power and strength. Celebrate this victory this weekend and cap off this win for democracy and the rule of law by exercising your most powerful and precious instrument to weigh in on the direction our democracy takes – your vote, this Tuesday, April 3rd in a very important election to fill a vacancy on the Wisconsin Supreme Court and on other matters.
To read CC/WI Director Jay Heck's testimony in opposition to the measure changing the long-standing special elections law before the State Senate Elections Committee on Wednesday, go here. It was also reprinted in The Capital Times and in Urban Milwaukee. To view the public hearing on this measure form Wednesday, you can go to Wisconsin Eye. (Jay Heck's oral testimony begins at 02:18:57).
Remember, your voice and your vote both make a big difference. Never give up. On Wisconsin!
And Happy Easter and Spring.
CONTACT:
Jay Heck
608/256-2686 (office)
608/512-9363 (cell)
Common Cause in Wisconsin
152 W. Johnson St., Suite 212
Madison, WI 53703
608/256-2686
Want Good Government?
Join Common Cause in Wisconsin!
www.CommonCauseWisconsin.org
Tyranny of the Legislative Majority May Yield Short Term Partisan Gain
But it Will Seriously Undermine Democracy & Citizen Confidence in State Government
The recent machinations by Governor Scott Walker and the majority party in the Wisconsin Legislature were not rushed to the forefront of state government consideration to "save taxpayer dollars" or to "avoid confusion." There is not a single person in the Capitol – and very few outside of it – who believe that to be the case for a second.
Everyone knows that this measure to dramatically change the decades-old law governing the responsibility of the Governor to call for a special election to fill, as soon as possible, the seat of a State Senator or State Representative who leaves office prior to the completion of her or his term, is being undertaken for purely partisan reasons. Namely, the fear that the majority party may lose one or both of the two currently vacant legislative seats – one in each chamber – because of the current state of the political "atmosphere" in Wisconsin and in much of the rest of the nation.
The biggest losers in this obvious exercise of partisan political muscle are the citizens of Wisconsin's 1st State Senate and 42nd State Assembly Districts, who will have been robbed of elected representation in the Legislature for over a year and thus have had no voice as the Legislature considers and votes on critical legislation such as this proposed, ill-advised measure.
This legislation also undermines the rule of law by circumventing explicit court orders for the Governor to call special elections that could easily be held in June to fill both vacancies.
Whenever one or two of the three branches of government take aim to defy and circumvent the lawful decisions issued by the remaining branch, our democratic institutions are shaken and citizen confidence in all three branches is diminished.
Certainly the Legislature has the right to make new laws. That is their function. But when the law serves only the narrow, partisan political interest of the majority party while undermining the greater public interest, as this measure irrefutably does, then citizens must resist.
This has occurred, in similar ways, in too many matters over the last eight years. Enactment of one of the nation's most extreme and restrictive voter photo ID laws, the most partisan political gerrymander of state legislative districts in the nation in 2011, the destruction of the non-partisan Government Accountability Board, the exemption of only politicians and political crimes from investigation under the state's effective John Doe law, the retroactive decriminalization of campaign coordination between candidates and so-called independent special interest groups engaged in phony issue advocacy, the elimination of almost all meaningful disclosure of outside campaign spending, the elimination of limits on money flowing to legislative campaign committees and political parties. The list goes on and on.
And now this. The majority party may gain some small, temporary partisan advantage by enactment of this misguided measure to change the rules governing special elections. But at some point soon, the day of reckoning will come for this, and for all the other measures that have diminished democracy and undermined the ability of citizens to expect and attain a responsive and responsible state government that serves the public interest instead of the self-serving, partisan interest that currently dominates public policy in Wisconsin.
CONTACT:
Jay Heck
608/256-2686 (office)
608/512-9363 (cell)
Common Cause in Wisconsin
152 W. Johnson St., Suite 212
Madison, WI 53703
608/256-2686
Want Good Government?
Join Common Cause in Wisconsin!
www.CommonCauseWisconsin.org
With just one week remaining before next Tuesday's Spring Election, we are urging Wisconsin voters to do what they can right now to ensure their voices are heard at the ballot box.
In Wisconsin's April 3rd Spring Election voters will elect a new State Supreme Court Justice to replace retiring conservative, Justice Michael Gableman. Voters will also choose Court of Appeals and Circuit Court judges – along with local officials and school board members in areas across the state. A Constitutional referendum to eliminate the Office of State Treasurer is also on the ballot.
So if you think a Spring election doesn't matter, think again – every election matters. And, because Spring elections tend to have a much lower turnout than those taking place in the Fall, individual voters can actually have an even greater influence on the outcome of these elections.
Do NOT sit this one out!
Before you head to your polling place next week, look over the information below to make sure you have what you need to cast your ballot.
When you vote, you will need to present one of the acceptable forms of photo ID for voting pictured left.
If you already have a Wisconsin driver license or one of the other acceptable forms of ID for voting, then you're "ID ready." Just remember to bring it with you when you head to your polling place! What if you don't have an acceptable ID for voting on Election Day?
You can ask for AND vote with a provisional ballot. But, for your ballot to be counted, you MUST either come back to your polling place with an acceptable form of ID before it closes at 8:00 pm on Election Day OR bring your ID to your municipal clerk's office by 4:00 pm the Friday after the election (April 6th).
For more information about voter photo ID – and how to get a free ID if you don't have an ID acceptable for voting – see our downloadable voter ID fact sheet. Or visit the Wisconsin Election Commission's voter photo ID website: Bring It to the Ballot.
If you do not have an acceptable ID for voting and need help getting one, contact one of these statewide Voter ID Hotline numbers: 608/285-2141 or 414/882-8622. Are you a college student planning to use your student ID for voting?
If you do not have one of the other forms of photo ID pictured above, and you are a college student hoping to use your student ID and a proof of enrollment document as your "voter ID," look up your school NOW on the appropriate list linked below to see if your current student ID is an acceptable form of ID for voting. If your student ID cannot be used for voting, you can find out if a separate school-issued "voter photo ID" is available and how to get one.
To find out where to go to cast your ballot, visit the "Find My Polling Place" page on the Wisconsin Election Commission's My Vote Wisconsin website and type in your address. What's on your ballot?
Visit the Wisconsin Election Commission's "What's on My Ballot" page and type in your address to see a sample ballot. What if you can't get to your polling place on April 3rd?
Former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justices and Citizens Address the Issue
Wisconsin has the 47th weakest recusal rules in the nation for judges at all levels who receive campaign contributions or benefit from spending from outside spending groups with no threshold or limit.
A Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice could benefit from election spending of hundreds of thousands, or even millions of dollars from a special interest group or individual and not have to recuse her or himself from a case involving that interest group under the current recusal rule, which was written by Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce and the Wisconsin Realtors Association and adopted verbatim by the WI Supreme Court in 2010.
This lack of strong recusal rules has undermined the impartiality, credibility and public confidence in the Wisconsin Supreme Court. This problem is so urgently in need of a strong remedy that it has emerged as a central issue in the current election to fill a vacancy on the Court which will occur on April 3rd.
A 5 to 2 majority on the Court rejected a strong and sensible proposal put forth by 54 retired jurists of all levels last April without so much as a public hearing. CC/WI organized three public hearings around the state last October to educate the public about the retired jurists' petition.
Today, we release two videos on the issue which will be disseminated widely to help educate Wisconsinites about this critical and vitally important matter. We invite you to share them widely as well – with family, friends and anyone who might or should care about a fair, independent, transparent and impartial judiciary and the need for more equal access to justice under the law.
View the video featuring retired Wisconsin Supreme Court Justices Louis Butler and Janine Geske:
View the video "starring" five Wisconsin citizens sharing their impressions about the issue:
Wisconsin deserves to have a judicial system worthy of its citizens!
CONTACT:
Jay Heck
608/256-2686 (office)
608/512-9363 (cell)
Common Cause in Wisconsin
152 W. Johnson St., Suite 212
Madison, WI 53703
608/256-2686
Want Good Government?
Join Common Cause in Wisconsin!
www.CommonCauseWisconsin.org
Step Up the Pressure on Legislators and Sign the Online Petition
In what can only be described as a giant rip off of Wisconsin taxpayer dollars, the Speaker of the Wisconsin State Assembly (Robin Vos) announced at the end of February that "his" chamber is done for the year. And the State Senate Majority Leader, Scott Fitzgerald has said "his" chamber will meet for one more day this month before calling it quits for the year. What a great gig. Two months of work with a full year's salary and a "Cadillac " package of benefits – all paid for by you.
Wisconsin is by far, the smallest state (population-wise) in the nation with what is considered a "full time" Legislature but obviously there is nothing full time about it. And there is so much that the Legislature hasn't even considered or held a public hearing on that the citizens of this state have been clamoring for – for years.
At the top of the list is the legislative leadership's continued blocking of redistricting reform, fair voting maps legislation which has been introduced, ignored and smothered by Vos and Fitzgerald every year since 2013. Senate Bill 13 and Assembly Bill 44 is reform legislation that would transform Wisconsin's current hyper-partisan, highly secretive, extremely costly (to we, the taxpayers) redistricting process to one like Iowa's – where a neutral, nonpartisan state agency draws state legislative and congressional voting maps every ten years. This is a system that has the overwhelming support of all of that state's voters, both political parties and even of the legislators because it's fair, transparent, impartial and provides voters with real choices in general elections. And it costs taxpayers next to nothing. Wisconsin's current system has none of those qualities or characteristics.
So, before Wisconsin state legislators quit to go campaign for re-election this year while being paid a full-time salary with benefits, demand that they come back into either a "Special Session," which Gov. Scott Walker must call, or into "Extraordinary Session," which Vos and Fitzgerald can call for. Demand that they hold public hearings on Senate Bill 13 and Assembly Bill 44 and act on it this year so that Wisconsin voters will know where they stand.
And, another effective way you can help us pressure the Legislature is by signing our online petition in support of the fair voting maps legislation, but only if you have not yet done so. We are very close to having 4,000 signatures and need just a few more to reach that significant threshold. So please sign, or if you have already, urge friends and family members to do so!
The Wisconsin Legislature will have to come back into session anyway, to act on a number of measures Gov. Walker is pushing to get done, such as gun safety legislation and closing the Lincoln Hills School, as well as a few other "loose ends."
Furthermore, the Legislature may have to come back into session to vote on new voting district maps for the 2018 elections if the Supreme Court of the United States upholds a November, 2016 federal court decision that determined that the hyper-partisan state legislative district maps drawn by the Republicans in 2011 were unconstitutional. If that occurs – and there is a very good chance that it might – Senate Bill 13 and Assembly Bill 44 would be the perfect solution to this horrific injustice.
So please contact your state legislators, sign the petition and step up the pressure of this "do nothing" Legislature.
Never surrender. Never give in. On Wisconsin! Forward!
CONTACT:
Jay Heck
608/256-2686 (office)
608/512-9363 (cell)
Common Cause in Wisconsin
152 W. Johnson St., Suite 212
Madison, WI 53703
608/256-2686
Want Good Government?
Join Common Cause in Wisconsin!
www.CommonCauseWisconsin.org
For a list of the Wisconsin candidates in 2024 who reported to CC/WI their support for nonpartisan independent redistricting reform:
About Us
Common Cause in Wisconsin(CC/WI) We are a non-partisan, non-profit citizen's lobby that focuses on campaign finance, election, and lobby reform, open meetings law and other issues concerning the promotion and maintenance of "clean," open, responsive and accountable government.
