Wisconsin Senate approves GOP-backed elections amendments to the state constitution
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Republican-controlled Wisconsin Senate voted Tuesday to approve three proposed amendments to the state constitution addressing conservative concerns about elections administration.
The proposed legislation would outlaw private funding for elections administration, enshrine existing voter photo ID requirements in the state constitution and specify that only U.S. citizens are eligible to vote in state and local elections.
Republican lawmakers have increasingly to make it harder for people to get out of jail bail before trial.
Tuesday’s votes along party lines were the Senate’s second round of approval for the proposals to in local elections. GOP leaders have said they plan to put those amendments before voters in the statewide April and November 2024 elections, respectively.
The Assembly was scheduled to vote Thursday on all three amendments advanced by the Senate.
Conservatives were for states to specifically make clear that only U.S. citizens can vote in state and local elections. Some cities and towns across the country have earlier this year. The state’s voter ID requirement, enacted in 2011, is one of the strictest in the country. There is no current legal challenge to the law, but other election-related lawsuits are likely to end up before the Supreme Court.
Supporters of photo ID requirements say they ensure that only qualified voters are able to cast ballots, but opponents argue that the requirements make it more difficult for people to vote, especially the elderly, those with disabilities and those without driver’s licenses.
Harm Venhuizen is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.