Monday, December 9, 2019

Don't overlook Wisconsin's critical Supreme Court election



For Release: Monday - December 9, 2019


By Jay Heck


Any Wisconsinite with a pulse is well aware our state is “ground zero” in the November 2020 election for president.

“As Wisconsin goes, so goes the nation,” many election prognosticators proclaim.

In 2016, Donald Trump unexpectedly carried Wisconsin by a margin of just 23,000 votes over Hillary Clinton, which guaranteed Wisconsin will be fiercely fought over next year.

Not nearly as widely known or talked about is the significance of a Wisconsin election that will be held in April 2020. A pivotal seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court is up for grabs April 7, and the outcome could be a bellwether for the presidential race in Wisconsin later in the fall.

Perhaps more important, the outcome of the spring Wisconsin Supreme Court election could determine the direction this state takes for the decade ahead — and whether big, special-interest money will continue to dictate the outcome of high court elections and court decisions.

It was not always so. Until 2007, spring elections for the state Supreme Court were relatively tame, and most decidedly nonpartisan affairs. That was because judges — especially justices on the highest state court — were considered to be nonpartisan and impartial arbiters of the law, not of ideology. Judges in Wisconsin run for election with no political party affiliation.

But then deep-pocketed special-interest groups began to participate in state Supreme Court elections, spending hundreds of thousands — even millions — of dollars, primarily on negative media ads attacking candidates they opposed.

The problem grew, in part, after the failure in 2009 of a majority of the court to adopt a proposal put forth by Justice N. Patrick Crooks. He wanted to require recusal if a justice had received substantial election support from one of the parties in the case before the high court. Recusal means the judge would not participate in deciding a case because of a potential conflict of interest.

This error was compounded in 2010. A majority of the court adopted what was essentially a non-recusal rule written and accepted, apparently verbatim, from two of the state’s largest business organizations: Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, and the Wisconsin Realtors Association.

Our state Supreme Court also has failed to adopt a sensible and stronger recusal rule at the explicit invitation of the U.S. Supreme Court in the wake of its landmark 2009 Caperton v. A.T. Massey Coal Company decision.

As a result, our state currently ranks 47th of 50 states in terms of the strength of its recusal rules, according to a survey cited by retired Wisconsin jurists in 2017. That is shocking and unacceptable.

Further, strong recusal rules are even more necessary in the aftermath of the court’s 2015 decision to strike down Wisconsin law that had prohibited campaign coordination between candidate campaigns with outside special interest groups. These groups spend vast sums of money engaging in non-express or “phony” issue advocacy, with a clear intent to influence the outcome of elections.

That controversial decision exceeded even the 2010 U.S. Supreme Court Citizens United v. F.E.C. decision in allowing coordination between so-called issue ad groups and candidates. Citizens United prohibited this type of coordination. Four of the state Supreme Court justices who voted in 2015 to decriminalize this kind of coordination had themselves been supported by one or more of the organizations engaging in that coordination during the 2011-2012 recall elections. This further underscores the urgent need for strong recusal standards and rules.

State supreme court elections in Wisconsin were relatively low-spending, nonpartisan affairs more than a decade ago. They were characterized by consideration of qualities such as judicial qualifications and credentials, temperament and impartiality. Today they have devolved into highly partisan, special-interest spending sprees, and justices fail to recuse themselves from cases where wealthy campaign contributors are parties in the cases before the court.

Special-interest campaign spending and extremely weak recusal standards have all but destroyed citizen confidence in the impartiality and credibility of the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Both of these matters will be front and center in the important election next April.

Two of the three candidates for state Supreme Court have expressed support for stronger recusal rules: Marquette University Law School Professor Edward Fallone and Dane County Circuit Court Judge Jill Karofsky. Incumbent Supreme Court Justice Daniel Kelly has said he is just fine with self-recusal and the obvious conflict of interest that comes with that weak standard.

The Supreme Court may have the final say on many critical issues in the years ahead for citizens, including partisan gerrymandering of state legislative and congressional districts. Every Wisconsinite who cares about democracy and the rule of law needs to participate in the February primary, April general and Nov. 3 elections.




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



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Sunday, December 1, 2019

In the News - December 2019




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Monday, November 25, 2019

CC/WI Urges UW Regents to Adopt Uniform Student Photo IDs Compliant with Voter ID Law for All Institutions



For Release: Monday - November 25, 2019


Only Four of the Thirteen Four-Year UW Institutions Currently Issue an Initial Standard Student Photo ID that Can be Utilized for Voting Purposes

The State Governing Board of Common Cause in Wisconsin, the state's largest non-partisan political reform advocacy organization with 7,000 members and supporters, sent the following letter to the University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents:



November 25, 2019

Andrew S. Peterson, President
Board of Regents
University of Wisconsin System
1860 Van Hise Hall
1220 Linden Drive
Madison, WI 53706

Dear President Peterson & Members of the Board of Regents,

We are concerned that many students attending University of Wisconsin institutions are currently experiencing difficulty in being able to vote utilizing photo identification cards issued by their UW institution. We believe that unnecessary obstacles hinder the ability of students to be able to exercise their most basic and important civic duty.

In April, Common Cause in Wisconsin, the state’s largest non-partisan political reform organization with more than 7,000 members and activists, sued the Wisconsin Elections Commission over this matter. In the lawsuit, we argue that the student ID requirements erect pointless barriers for casting a ballot in Wisconsin. Most students are newly registered voters and new to the voting process. The unnecessary requirements for student IDs can confuse and deter these new voters rather than making elections more accessible for them. The lawsuit challenges specific student ID requirements, not the state voter ID law as a whole.

Wisconsin’s current voter ID law singles out student voters by requiring information on college or university photo IDs that poll workers do not need or use. Under current law, a Wisconsin student may use a campus photo ID to vote if it includes his or her name, photo, issuance date, signature and an expiration date not more than two years after the issuance date. Students must also show proof of current enrollment, such as an enrollment verification letter or tuition fee receipt.

The proof of enrollment requirement makes issuance and expiration dates unnecessary for student ID cards. Other forms of acceptable voter IDs need not have expiration dates and are valid indefinitely. The current signature requirement is also unnecessary. Wisconsin’s voter ID law does not require election officials and poll workers to match the signature on an ID with the voter’s signature on the poll book or voter registration form. Other forms of accepted voter ID, such as Veterans Health Identification Cards and some tribal ID cards, do not contain signatures.

Common Cause in Wisconsin believes that the unnecessary hoops that the Wisconsin voter ID law forces students to jump through in order to be able to vote must be eliminated. Our lawsuit seeks to remove these superfluous barriers. Our litigation, however, may take many months or even years to achieve this goal. We are concerned that relief may not be forthcoming before the 2020 elections.

We therefore request that the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents act now to ensure that photo IDs issued to UW students at each of the system institutions are compliant with state law for the purpose of being able to use the student IDs to vote next year.

Currently, student photo IDs are compliant with state law for voting at only four of the thirteen four-year institutions: Eau Claire, Green Bay, Stout and Superior. At the other nine four-year institutions, the photo ID issued to students is not compliant with state law for the purposes of voting. At those institutions (La Crosse, Madison, Milwaukee, Oshkosh, Parkside, Platteville, River Falls, Stevens Point and Whitewater), students must obtain an additional photo ID for the purpose of voting.

We believe that providing all students at every four-year UW institution with a photo ID compliant with state law for voting would be a relatively simple and straightforward process at very little, if any, additional cost to state taxpayers or to students. It would make the process of voting more accessible and bring uniformity to the UW System of four-year institutions, which would be of great value and service to the citizens of Wisconsin.

Please let us know how you intend to act on this matter and how Common Cause in Wisconsin can assist you in simplifying and enhancing the voting experience for all of the students attending UW institutions.

Sincerely,

Members of the Common Cause Wisconsin State Governing Board:
Tim Cullen, Janesville (Chair)
Penny Bernard Schaber, Appleton
Sue Conley, Janesville
David Deininger, Monroe
Luke Fuszard, Middleton
Kristin Hansen, Waukesha
William Hotz, Brookfield
E. Michael McCann, Pewaukee
Kriss Marion, Blanchardville
Calvin Potter, Sheboygan Falls
Robert Schweder, Princeton
Roger Utnehmer, Wausau

Jay Heck, Madison (CC/WI Director)
Common Cause 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


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Friday, November 1, 2019

In the News - November 2019




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Monday, October 7, 2019

Momentum Keeps Building for Fair Maps



For Release: Monday - October 7, 2019


Yet another Wisconsin county — this time Sheboygan — has voted to end partisan gerrymandering of legislative and congressional voting districts.

The Sheboygan County Board last month voted 20-4 for a resolution that “strongly urges the Wisconsin legislative and executive branches to work together to enact bipartisan legislation that would create a fair and nonpartisan process for drawing legislative and congressional redistricting plans, as well as promote more accountability and transparency in the redistricting process.”

Congratulations to Sheboygan County Board Chairman Thomas Wegner of Plymouth and the vast majority of his colleagues for becoming the 48th county in Wisconsin to approve such a measure. Every county should join this bipartisan, good-government campaign so that, following the 2020 census, fair maps can be drawn by a nonpartisan agency that’s insulated from politics and tasked with strict rules to ensure a neutral outcome.

“The fact that two-thirds of Wisconsin’s 72 counties, many of them ‘red,’ are now on record in support of ending partisan gerrymandering, demonstrates the deep, grassroots support across the state for fair maps and against rigged elections,” said Jay Heck, executive director of Common Cause in Wisconsin.

He’s right. Sheboygan County favored the Republican in the last presidential election by 14 percentage points. Other conservative counties, such as Winnebago and Lincoln, have passed similar resolutions and allowed voters there to support nonpartisan redistricting in advisory referendums.

The same thing has occurred in liberal counties such as Dane, Eau Claire and La Crosse.

The U.S. Supreme Court this year left it up to the states to stop gerrymandering. In Wisconsin, that means the Legislature must pass Assembly Bill 303 (or its Senate companion, SB 288). AB 303 mirrors the Iowa model for fair maps. A nonpartisan state agency draws Iowa’s voting districts as compact and contiguous as possible, without favoring the incumbent politicians of either party. Then the Iowa Legislature approves or rejects the maps — without making changes. And if the Iowa Legislature votes the maps down, the nonpartisan agency drafts another version.

In Wisconsin, Republicans rigged voting districts after the 2010 census to help them keep control of the Legislature. In other states, such as Illinois, Democrats unfairly shaped the maps for their benefit.

The partisan games need to end so voters of all political persuasions are fairly represented and can hold their elected officials accountable.

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, and Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, have shamelessly defended gerrymandering. But a growing number of their Republicans colleagues are joining Democrats in favoring a fair process following the 2020 census. Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat, also is an advocate for the Iowa model, which saves Iowa taxpayers millions of dollars in legal fees and produces more competitive seats.

Nearly three-quarters of respondents to the statewide Marquette Law School poll said they favored nonpartisan redistricting for Wisconsin. It’s time for Vos and Fitzgerald to respect the public’s wishes and allow fair elections.





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



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Tuesday, October 1, 2019

In the News - October 2019




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Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Today is National Voter Registration Day!



For Release: Tuesday - September 24, 2019


A Reminder that Participation is Key to a Healthy Democracy

We urge Wisconsinites to take a few moments today to stop and think about what National Voter Registration Day actually means – and why now, more than ever, it's so important to take steps to honor this day.

A healthy democracy represents the views of the many, not the few.

In order for "the many" to have our say, we must have access to the the ballot box – and to do this, we must register to vote.

So make sure right now that you're registered to vote at your current address, and then ask friends, family members – anyone you come across – if they are registered, too.

To find out if you are registered to vote at your current address, go to MyVote.WI.gov and enter your name and date of birth. If you discover that you are not already registered to vote at your current residence, here are some ways you can register today:

Online. Eligible voters in Wisconsin who have a valid Wisconsin driver license or a Wisconsin DMV-issued ID can register online at MyVote.WI.gov up to 20 days before the election in which they are planning to vote.

By Mail. You can start your voter registration form online at MyVote.WI.gov – then print, sign and mail it to your municipal clerk along with a proof of residence (POR) document.

In your Municipal Clerk’s Office. You can also register in-person in your municipal clerk’s office up until the 5pm (or close of business) on the Friday before the election in which you are planning to vote. You'll need to bring a proof of residence document to complete your registration (this document can be shown electronically).

And again, don't forget to make sure that anyone you know who is eligible to vote is also registered.

Do you need help registering to vote – or more information about how to help others register?


Partner organizations – including our friends at the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin and many local Leagues – are holding voter registration events in areas across the state today and are happy to help! You can find National Voter Registration events near you by going here and entering your zip code.

Remember, National Voter Registration Day is not about paying attention for just this one day, but rather, it is a day meant to highlight an important step that all eligible voters must take to preserve and protect our democracy.





Contact:


Sandra Miller
Director of Information Services & Outreach
608/658-2109
smiller@commoncause.org

Jay Heck
Executive Director
608/256-2686 (o)
608/512-9363 (c)
jheck@commoncause.org


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Monday, September 9, 2019

The Battle Against Partisan Gerrymandering in Wisconsin Progresses This Summer



For Release: Monday - September 9, 2019

Editorial Cartoon by Phil Hands of the Wisconsin State Journal - 6/30/19

Despite U.S. Supreme Court's Cowardly Decision
to "Punt," States Move Forward

Wisconsin Fair Maps "Summit" - November 9th in Marshfield

At the end of June, Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) and State Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald (R-Juneau), who, together, have conspired to block redistricting reform and fair voting maps despite overwhelming citizens support for the past six years, must have thought they finally succeeded in strangling the increasingly powerful and growing citizen movement, working to end partisan gerrymandering in Wisconsin.

A narrow, conservative, 5 to 4 majority on the U.S. Supreme Court issued a weak, cowardly and ill-conceived decision that said federal courts should not adjudicate, on the basis of excessive partisanship, the voting maps drawn by partisan legislators after the Census every ten years, even if the maps effectively disenfranchised a majority of voters in a legislative or congressional district in order to achieve a pre-ordained, partisan outcome.

Chief Justice John Roberts, the author of the decision, readily admitted that partisan gerrymandering was unfair and undemocratic, but chose to exclude the federal judiciary from weighing in to mollify the powerful right wing interests that had elevated him to his exalted position in 2005. But he did not preclude the states from pursuing an end to gerrymandering.

That June 27th decision ended a challenge to partisan gerrymandering in North Carolina, Rucho V. Common Cause and by extension, a pending and revised Wisconsin challenge to partisan gerrymandering, Gill V. Whitford.

But Vos and Fitzgerald, as is so often the case, miscalculated the strength and commitment that Common Cause in Wisconsin members and thousands of Wisconsin citizens bring in demanding some semblance of fairness and a return to democracy to Wisconsin. As we said on July 1st, "With federal courts now out of the fight, it's entirely up to "We the People." And we explained why the U.S. Supreme Court decision did not mean redistricting reform is dead. Far from it.

In July, CC/WI Director Jay Heck and two University of Wisconsin faculty experts on this issue explained the implications of the Supreme Court's decision on redistricting reform efforts in Wisconsin on Wisconsin Eye's special program on the matter.

And, after the Supreme Court "indecision," CC/WI continued the effort to educate Wisconsin Citizens about the importance of action on the local level to mobilize citizens in support of ending partisan gerrymandering. CC/WI board chair Tim Cullen, CC/WI board member Kriss Marion and CC/WI Director Jay Heck spoke at a well attended meeting in Darlington in Lafayette County about this.

In mid July, "stand alone" redistricting reform legislation based on the Iowa system, which CC/WI united pro-reform legislators and groups behind in 2013, was formally introduced in the Wisconsin Legislature by State Senator Dave Hansen (D-Green Bay) and State Representative Robyn Vining (D-Waukesha) with CC/WI Chair and former State Senator Tim Cullen. What was very different this time was the significant Republican support and co-sponsorship of the legislation: Senate Bill 288 and Assembly Bill 303. During the past three sessions of the Wisconsin Legislature, similar reform legislation had attracted only one Republican co-sponsor. Now, it has four: State Representatives Joel Kitchens of Sturgeon Bay, Todd Novak of Dodgeville, Loren Oldenburg of Virocqua and Travis Tranel of Cuba City.

Clearly state legislators are hearing from their constituents, including many CC/WI Members. Keep on applying the pressure on your state legislators. It's working!

On September 3rd, a state court in North Carolina overturned the partisan voter maps drawn by Republicans in that state in 2011 in a lawsuit brought by Common Cause North Carolina. While the facts of the case and wording of the state constitution are different in Wisconsin, as is the composition of state courts here, there is renewed hope that a remedy to the hyper-partisan gerrymandering in Wisconsin could be remedied through state court action, as well as legislatively. In any event we will not stop pursuing our fight to bring fair voting maps to Wisconsin – now or ever.
* * *

CC/WI is one of a number of state reform organizations that are participating in, and will present at a Fair Maps Summit to be held in Marshfield on Saturday, November 9th. Any and all Wisconsin citizens are invited to attend. Mark your calendars now and plan to be there if you can!




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



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Sunday, September 1, 2019

In the News - September 2019




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Wednesday, August 21, 2019

What College Students in Wisconsin Can Do NOW to be Ready to Vote in 2020



For Release: Wednesday - August 21, 2017


Students Should Prepare NOW to Vote in 2020

With just a couple of weeks left before students return to Wisconsin's public universities and private colleges, this is a good time for students to make sure they are ready to vote in Wisconsin.

The next opportunity to cast a ballot is coming up fast. Wisconsin's Spring Primary to whittle the field of candidates for a seat on our State Supreme Court is on February 18, 2020 – followed by the Spring Election and Presidential Primary on April 7, 2020.

If you value the integrity of our state's judicial system – and want to have a say in who might occupy the White House next year, mark your calendar with these two important dates, and then get ready to vote now so you're not scrambling later.

Go to this page on our website:

Three Things College Students Need to Do To Vote in Wisconsin

There, students will find straightforward information on registering to vote and voter photo ID.

If students have a Wisconsin driver's license or Department of Transportation-issued Wisconsin ID card, then they already have an ID acceptable for voting. But, if they don't have one of these forms of ID, we provide information on alternative IDs for voting, including if the standard student ID at their school can be used to vote – and if it cannot be used at the polls, how and where to get an acceptable school-issued "voter ID" if their school offers one.

As we have in past years, we will continually update this resource as new information is received or changes. So please check back often. And share this link widely with anyone you know who is attending a college, university or technical school in Wisconsin!

Get this done now, so you won't have to worry about it later.



Jay Heck
Executive Director
608/256-2686 (o)
608/512-9363 (c)
jheck@commoncause.org

Sandra Miller
Director of Information Services & Outreach
608/658-2109
smiller@commoncause.org

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


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Wednesday, August 14, 2019

Political Reform in Wisconsin: Back to the Future



For Release: Wednesday - August 14, 2019

CC/WI Political Reform Forum in Stevens Point Attracts 250 Attendees

Progress on Democracy in the Badger State Requires a Look to the Past

By Jay Heck


When I became the director of Common Cause in Wisconsin in 1996, this state was still very much one of the bright lights in the nation when it came to honest, transparent, accountable state government and politics.

There was bipartisan consensus here that the amount of special interest money in elections was growing and that it should be curbed. The most serious ethics problem back then was lobbyists furnishing some legislators free tickets to Packers’ games and some meals. Voting was relatively easy and voter turnout at election time was second only to Minnesota, nationally. Our state Supreme Court and judiciary at all levels was revered and respected for its impartiality and non-partisanship and was a model for the rest of the country.

Then, in 2002, top legislative leaders of both chambers and in political parties were brought down in the most serious political scandal in the state’s history, the legislative caucus scandal. A new governor, Jim Doyle, promised political reform and campaigned on it, but backed off when he saw how money flowed to power.

There was some significant reform in Doyle’s second term. The non-partisan Government Accountability Board (GAB) comprised of retired judges was established in 2007, with the power to investigate corruption in the Capitol thanks to a stream of funding not subject to legislative control. It worked very effectively. Once again, we were a role model for the nation. Then, in late 2009, full public financing for state Supreme Court candidates who limited campaign spending became law in reaction to unprecedented special interest “independent” spending on Supreme Court races in 2007 and 2008.

But in 2010, Scott Walker and a conservative, anti-reform Republican majority were swept into power and early in 2011 began the systematic dismantling of any and all political reform that had been enacted into law in Wisconsin since the Progressive Era.

And as the crowning achievement, Walker and the GOP legislature, in order to ensure Republican control of the legislature for the next decade, rammed through the most partisan gerrymander of state legislative and congressional districts in the nation in 2011. It was also rated as one of the five most partisan gerrymanders nationally in the last fifty years. In the space of a couple of months there was Act 10, of course, but also the imposition of the most extreme and restrictive voter photo ID law in the nation – surpassing in severity states like Mississippi and South Carolina. All public financing of elections (full funding for Supreme Court elections and partial public financing for other statewide and legislative elections) was completely wiped out.

It has been effective beyond their wildest hopes and expectations. Virtually no legislative or congressional seats have changed partisan hands in elections since then.

But there was more. In 2015, a freshly re-elected Walker and the gerrymandered GOP majority led by Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and State Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald destroyed the non-partisan GAB and got rid of the non-partisan judges because they had the temerity to authorize an investigation into the illegal campaign coordination that occurred in the 2012 recall election between Scott Walker’s campaign and Wisconsin Club for Growth. A conflict of interest-ridden state Supreme Court facilitated this outrageous action. The Legislature also effectively, retroactively decriminalized that formerly illegal campaign coordination and for good measure exempted politicians from being investigated under the state’s longstanding and highly effective “John Doe” investigative process – which was crucial in uncovering corruption in the Capitol during the caucus scandal.

They replaced the GAB with partisan commissions to which they controlled the appointments and made any investigation of corruption, and its funding, subject to their approval. And they destroyed whatever limits still existed on special interest money, particularly that money controlled by the legislative leaders. Further, they eliminated most meaningful disclosure of third-party campaign money and transformed Wisconsin from one of the most transparent states in the nation to one of the darkest of the dark money states.

In 2018, a majority of Wisconsin voters said “enough” and threw out Walker and GOP Attorney General Brian Schimel in statewide elections not affected by partisan gerrymandering. The new governor and attorney general, Democrats Tony Evers and Josh Kaul, vowed to restore integrity and fairness to state politics and state government. More significantly, the citizens of Wisconsin have risen up and are demanding extensive and fundamental political reform.

Ten years ago, few Wisconsinites knew what gerrymandering even meant, let alone how it robbed them of genuine choices in elections. Today, overwhelming majorities of citizens of all political persuasions are demanding fair voting maps and a non-partisan redistricting process like Iowa has. County boards and citizen referendums are pressuring the Legislature to end gerrymandering and the issue is at the forefront of citizen concerns. And despite the onerous and extreme voter photo ID law that has depressed voter turnout here, citizens continue to challenge its very premise (in April Common Cause filed a suit against the Wisconsin Election Commission over the unfair restrictions placed on college and university students’ ability to vote). A vast effort is underway to help those who face high hurdles to obtain the required voter ID.

After a decade of extraordinary setbacks, the quest for genuine political reform is moving forward again in Wisconsin. With continued focus, determination and a little luck, we may get back to where we were in 1996. Then we can build on that to restore this state as the beacon of democracy for the nation that we once were.





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



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Thursday, August 1, 2019

In the News - August 2019




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Monday, July 15, 2019

"Iowa Model" Redistricting Reform Legislation Publicly Presented



For Release: Monday - July 15, 2019


Tuesday, July 16th at 10:30 AM - Assembly Parlor, State Capitol

On May 8th, Wisconsin Republican legislative leaders, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) and State Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald (R-Juneau), and their GOP minions on the Legislative Joint Finance Committee (JFC) stripped the redistricting reform provision proposal that Gov. Tony Evers had inserted in his 2019-2021 state budget proposal.

The measure is based on Iowa's redistricting process which was developed and enacted into law in Iowa by Republican Governor Robert Ray and a Republican-controlled Legislature (both chambers) in 1980.

Now, out of the state budget, the "Iowa Model" redistricting measure has been introduced, with bi-partisan support, in the Wisconsin Legislature as "stand alone" legislation and on Tuesday, July 16th, it will be formally "rolled out" by the lead sponsors at 10:30 AM in the Assembly Parlor of the State Capitol. CC/WI Chair, former State Senator Tim Cullen will speak in favor of the measure on behalf of CC/WI.

In the State Senate, the lead sponsor is Sen. Dave Hansen (D-Green Bay), who has introduced Senate Bill 288. In the Assembly, the lead sponsor is Rep. Robyn Vining (D-Waukesha), who has introduced an identical measure, Assembly Bill 303.

They will speak at the press conference with Cullen and other reformers.

You can attend the press conference, too, if you are available and would like to join us.

It is vitally important for you to do your part to help make ending partisan gerrymandering a reality in Wisconsin before 2021, when the next redistricting process will occur, following the 2020 Census. This week, contact both your state senator and your state representative and demand that they co-sponsor and support Senate Bill 288 and/or Assembly Bill 303. If you are not sure who your state senator and/or state representative is, go here.

These measures have overwhelming citizen support all throughout Wisconsin. Now, state legislators need to adhere to the demands of their constituents to defy Vos and Fitzgerald and do the right thing. Support fair maps! Some legislators and their staff may tell you the U.S. Supreme Court has now said that their current, partisan gerrymandering system is the only way the redistricting process can occur. That is a bald-faced lie! They absolutely could and should adopt the fair, non-partisan legislation (SB 288/AB 303), now ready for a public hearing and consideration by the full Wisconsin Legislature tomorrow, if they put the the public interest ahead of their narrow, partisan interest.

For your information, you can watch this very recent video (taped July 11th) about the June 27th U.S. Supreme Court decision on partisan gerrymandering and the path forward for ending it Wisconsin on Wisconsin Eye, featuring CC/WI Director Jay Heck and UW-Madison Professors David Canon and Rob Yablon.

Take action. Make your voices heard. Never, ever surrender. On 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



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Monday, July 1, 2019

In the News - July 2019




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"Iowa Model" Anti Gerrymandering Legislation Not Affected by Terrible Supreme Court Decision



For Release: Monday - July 1, 2019

Editorial Cartoon by Phil Hands of the Wisconsin State Journal - 6/30/19

With Federal Courts Now Out of the Fight, It's Entirely Up to We, The People

Last Thursday's narrow (5 to 4) but terrible decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to not inject itself, or other federal courts into the question of whether or not hyper-partisan redistricting of congressional and state legislative districts could deny voters equal protection under the law and infringe on their First Amendment right to have their votes count as much as any other voter (it can and does) was deeply disturbing, disappointing and disgusting. But it was not, in the least bit, surprising.

The June 27th SCOTUS decision in Rucho v. Common Cause was pre-ordained when moderate conservative U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy retired a year a go and was replaced on the nation's highest court by Trump's selection, the ultra-conservative, partisan, and ill-tempered Brett Kavanaugh.

But the Supreme Court did not foreclose the possibility or ability of states to end partisan gerrymandering. Indeed, Chief Justice John Roberts decried the partisan map drawing and practically begged states to enact such reforms even as he cowardly backed away from utilizing legitimate judicial power to strike down unfair voting maps.

For years, we have been working on the advancement of redistricting reform under the assumption that we cannot depend on the courts to get this done. We have always believed that it is up to we, the people, who must eventually prevail over the hyper-politically partisan bosses of Wisconsin and their minions who have defended partisan gerrymandering, voter suppression, unlimited, secret special interest money, and anything else they can do to hold on to power – at any cost to taxpayers – the public be damned.

The U.S. Supreme Court has run away to hide. So be it. Onward and upward.

In May, Wisconsin Republican legislative leaders, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) and State Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald (R-Juneau), and their GOP acolytes on the Legislative Joint Finance Committee (JFC) stripped the redistricting reform provision proposal that Gov. Tony Evers has inserted in his 2019-2021 state budget proposal.

Dozens of Wisconsinites testified in strong support of the "Iowa Model" redistricting reform measure at the four state budget hearings the JFC held around Wisconsin (in Janesville, Oak Creek, River Falls and Green Bay) during the month of April.

Nobody spoke against it.

The legislation is based on Iowa's redistricting process which was developed and enacted into law in Iowa by Republican Governor Robert Ray and a Republican-controlled Legislature (both chambers) in 1980.

Now, out of the state budget, the "Iowa Model" redistricting measure has been introduced, with bi-partisan support, in the Wisconsin Legislature as "stand alone" legislation.

In the State Senate, the lead sponsor is Sen. Dave Hansen (D-Green Bay), who has introduced Senate Bill 288. In the Assembly, the lead sponsor is Rep. Robyn Vining (D-Waukesha), who has introduced an identical measure, Assembly Bill 303.

Now, it is time for you to do your part to help make ending partisan gerrymandering a reality in Wisconsin before 2021, when the next redistricting process will occur, following the 2020 Census. This week, before the 4th of July, please contact both your state senator and your state representative and demand that they co-sponsor and support Senate Bill 288 and/or Assembly Bill 303. If you are not sure who your state senator and/or state representative is, go here.

These measures have overwhelming citizen support all throughout Wisconsin. Now, state legislators need to adhere to the demands of their constituents to defy Vos and Fitzgerald and do the right thing. Support fair maps! Some legislators and their staff may tell you the U.S. Supreme Court has now said that their current, partisan gerrymandering system is the only way the redistricting process can occur. That is a bald-faced lie! They absolutely could and should adopt the fair, non-partisan legislation (SB 288/AB 303), now ready for a public hearing and consideration by the full Wisconsin Legislature tomorrow, if they put the the public interest ahead of their narrow, partisan interest.

Here is more information about the "Iowa Model" reform measure and about the redistricting process in Wisconsin. You can also watch and listen to this video about the redistricting reform process in Wisconsin.

Above all, take action. Make your voices heard. Never, ever surrender. On 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



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Monday, June 24, 2019

Counties in 32 of 33 WI State Senate Districts & 91 of 99 Assembly Districts Back Ending Partisan Gerrymandering



For Release: Monday - June 24, 2019


Overwhelming Public Support for Redistricting Reform Statewide

Citizen voters and their local elected officials throughout Wisconsin overwhelmingly support ending partisan gerrymandering of state legislative and congressional districts, an analysis by CC/WI Board member and former state representative Penny Bernard Schaber demonstrates.

Bernard Schaber examined the 47 (of the 72 total) counties whose county boards have passed resolutions in support of ending partisan gerrymandering as well as the eight counties in which voters have supported referendums supporting a non-partisan state redistricting process. She found:

  • 32 of Wisconsin's 33 State Senate Districts contain counties in which either the county board passed a non-partisan redistricting reform resolution, or a referendum, or both. Only the 33rd District (parts of Dodge, Washington, and Waukesha Counties) contains none of the counties where the county board or voters supported redistricting reform, thus far.


  • 91 of Wisconsin's 99 State Assembly Districts contain counties in which the county board passed a non-partisan redistricting reform resolution, or a referendum, or both.

  • Earlier this year, a Marquette University Law School poll found that 72 percent of Wisconsinites support ending partisan gerrymandering and adopting a non-partisan redistricting process such as Iowa's. 62 percent of all Republicans support this, the poll found.

    "Voters and county boards across Wisconsin overwhelming support ending the current system in which elected representative choose their voters and not the other way around, as it ought to be," said Bernard Schaber, who represented Appleton in the State Assembly from 2007 to 2015.

    "Wisconsin state legislators need to heed the demands of their constituents to adopt a fair, nonpartisan system, like the system Republicans put in place in Iowa in 1980, and do it before the upcoming 2021 redistricting process begins in Wisconsin," she added.

    Bipartisan-supported, "stand alone" redistricting reform legislation to institute the "Iowa Model" for Wisconsin has just been introduced in both legislative chambers as Assembly Bill 303 and Senate Bill 288. Governor Tony Evers had included the measure in his 2019-2021 biennium state budget proposal earlier this year, but Republicans on the legislative Joint Committee on Finance removed it in May.

    Bernard Schaber's chart showing county board and referendum support for nonpartisan redistricting by State Senate districts is here, and by State Assembly districts, here.

    Citizens should contact both their State Senator and their State Representative and demand their support and co-sponsorship of the "Iowa Model" redistricting reform legislation, Assembly Bill 303/Senate Bill 288. Tell them we need fair voting maps now.

    Sign this petition in support of the Iowa Model legislation, if you haven't yet done so. If you have, urge others to sign it. We would like to present the Legislature with 5,000 signatures from all over Wisconsin in the near future. We are closing in on that number so please help us get there!

    Never surrender! On 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



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    Saturday, June 1, 2019

    In the News - June 2019




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    Wednesday, May 22, 2019

    Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice-Elect Hagedorn’s “Gratitude” to Republican Party Underscores Necessity for Stronger Recusal Rules



    Wednesday - May 22, 2018


    By Jay Heck

    Wisconsin Court of Appeals Judge Brian Hagedorn very narrowly won the State Supreme Court election on April 2nd to replace retiring former Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson. He benefited from the active organizational and financial support of the Republican Party of Wisconsin (RPW) and other partisan organizations, particularly in the last several weeks prior to the election.

    In what may be an action unprecedented in state political history, Hagedorn addressed the RPW state convention in Oshkosh last week, specifically to thank Republican activists for strongly supporting his candidacy. “When I got punched, you were the ones who punched back,” Hagedorn said to the party faithful. “When I got knocked down, you grabbed the baton and kept running with it.”

    Hagedorn says he will be impartial when he is sworn in as a justice later this Summer. But in the absence of stronger recusal rules for Wisconsin judges, will he really be impartial, objective, and beholden only to the law and not his supporters?

    Wisconsin currently has the 47th weakest recusal rules in the nation when it comes to judges having to recuse themselves if they are the recipients of significant campaign contributions or the beneficiaries of so-called “independent” election spending. Essentially, judges decide for themselves whether to recuse themselves from a case in which a party before the court has been a campaign contributor above a certain threshold.

    This very weak rule was written by two independent special interest groups – Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce and the Wisconsin Realtors Association and adopted verbatim by conservatives on the Wisconsin Supreme Court in 2010.

    Proposals to strengthen recusal rules since that time have been rejected, most recently in 2017 when conservatives rejected a petition submitted by 54 retired jurists for strong recusal rules and refused to hold even a public hearing on the matter.

    During the campaign for the Wisconsin Supreme Court earlier this year, Hagedorn indicated he was not supportive of stronger recusal rules while his opponent, Wisconsin Court of Appeals Chief Judge Lisa Neubauer said she thought stronger rules ought to be considered, and supported holding a public hearing to receive input on the issue.

    Now that Judge Hagedorn has expressed his deep gratitude to partisans for their help in his election, how can the public be confident that he will be strictly impartial in his application of the law? What assurance would a Democratic or progressive individual or entity appearing before the Wisconsin Supreme Court have that Hagedorn would be fair and non-partisan in his decision-making process?

    That’s why strong recusal rules are so important and needed in Wisconsin.

    Public confidence in the impartiality and fairness of our state courts had fallen dramatically over the last decade. Adoption of stronger recusal rules by the Wisconsin Supreme Court would help restore that necessary confidence. Judge Hagedorn could initiate that process and raise public confidence in his own upcoming first term on the court by joining the call for stronger rules.




    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



    Read More...