MADISON, Wis. — Lawmakers on the Wisconsin Assembly’s Committee on Campaigns and Elections don’t disagree as much as you might think.
The ability to count absentee ballots early has been an issue broadly discussed by both sides of the aisle. Now, it seems there could be some movement soon on legislation to allow a jump-start on processing those ballots sooner, to prevent the public from getting the wrong idea about how election night results work.
“2 a.m., ballots being counted—people have perceptions,” State Rep. Scott Krug, R-Nekoosa, who chairs the committee, said. “Whether they agree or disagree on what actually happened, 90% of what we’re doing right now is counteracting perceptions versus reality.”
“We’re trying to get it to a place where both sides have something that they are comfortable with, and we can move it forward because we know how important that is to the perception of our elections having integrity and being secure,” State Rep. Lee Snodgrass, D-Appleton, added during a WisPolitics luncheon hosted in Madison on Thursday.
Another topic where the lawmakers see eye to eye is over the controversy involving Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC) Administrator Meagan Wolfe, who has faced criticism from Senate Republicans in the wake of the 2020 election.
“I think where we’re at with the Meagan Wolfe situation, first, she’s not the only person in the state of Wisconsin that could do the job, but what’s happening right now is a distraction from getting things accomplished that need to get done,” Krug explained.
“I think it sort of sets up what was probably an anticipated divide,” Snodgrass replied. “But once again, we agree that it’s a distraction.”
GOP leaders recently admitted that the Senate firing Wolfe from her post last month had no legal effect.
Now, Republicans want a judge to order WEC to make an appointment for the administrator role. The next hearing in that lawsuit is scheduled for Monday, Oct. 30.