Written Testimony of Jay Heck Executive Director of Common Cause Wisconsin to the Wisconsin Assembly Committee on Campaigns and Elections Tuesday, November 4, 2025
TO: Members of the Assembly Committee on Campaigns and Elections
FROM: Jay Heck, Executive Director of Common Cause in Wisconsin
DATE: November 3, 2025
RE: Common Cause Wisconsin Statement for the 11.4.25 Public Hearing on AB599, AB560, AB426, AB595, and AB312
Chair Maxey and Members of the Committee,
Elections in Wisconsin have long been safe and secure and continue to be so. We can always make improvements to be more efficient and to increase accessibility as well as continually engage in updating processes and technology. Legislation that provides uniformity, security, clarity, accessibility, and ease of election administration processes should be a priority for all lawmakers.
Unfortunately, only one of the measures under consideration today by the Assembly Committee on Campaigns and Elections is written to better serve voters and improve election administration (AB 312). The crafting of the rest of these measures before the committee rely not on the reality of how election functions are actually carried out in Wisconsin but instead on disproven election lies and conspiracy theories. Misperceptions about elections and election administration continue to be fertilized and infect our state because of misguided legislation like today’s bills that give them some oxygen and legitimacy. These damaging and ill-considered bills do nothing other than needlessly increase restrictions on the voting rights and access to the ballot of duly qualified Wisconsin voters.
Here are Common Cause Wisconsin’s (CC/WI) positions and brief commentary on the measures under consideration by the committee today:
Assembly Bill 599 - Oppose
Relating to: allowing voters to automatically receive absentee ballots for every election, eliminating the indefinitely confined voter status for receiving absentee ballots, and providing a penalty.
By changing the law requiring photo ID and creating a permanent list, many voters will be disenfranchised, and the ensuing new statute will almost certainly be litigated. Those voters who are not able to secure an ID, from the very restrictive list of photo IDs acceptable for use to vote, are the voters who most need the exceptions that are currently in statute for indefinitely confined voters. This bill as written would exclude many of these eligible voters from their right to vote. The permanent list as described in the current bill language also is not so permanent when voters must provide an ID that when the ID that they possess expires, so does their access to the absentee mailed ballot. Currently in statute, most IDs can be used when they expire as long as they "expired after the date of the most recent general election." No one is “grandfathered” into the new statute - everyone has to reapply which places the burden on voters already forced to overcome considerable challenges to be able to cast a ballot. There is also vague and extremely restrictive language about who can assist voters who require assistance with this process. Experts from the disabled community and clerks should be consulted in the drafting of legislation such as this and it is our understanding that they were not. The current bill seems designed to reinforce and address a misconception and misleading view about how many indefinitely confined people are able to vote rather than addressing any significant problems with the current process.
Assembly Bill 560 - Oppose
Relating to: prohibiting the use of absentee ballot drop boxes for any election.
We strongly support the utilization of secure drop boxes for the timely return of mailed absentee ballots. Wisconsin has long permitted this commonsense practice which makes even more sense after the Wisconsin Legislature — in a very partisan vote some years ago — changed law to require that all absentee ballots must be received by election clerks by 8 PM on Election Day in order to be counted. Prior to that misguided and unreasonably restrictive measure being passed and enacted into law, absentee ballots could be counted if postmarked by Election Day and received up to three days after election day — a practice which is still permitted in many neighboring states. CC/WI strongly opposed the banning of most election drop boxes in 2022 and submitted an amicus brief in support of the restoration of drop boxes by the Wisconsin Supreme Court in July of 2024.
Instead of trying to restrict the ability of voters to be able to return absentee ballots more conveniently and in time for them to be counted, let’s provide voters and election clerks with clear, realistic and uniform guidance about the implementation and utilization of secured election drop boxes with increased input from and collaboration with election clerks.
Assembly Bill 426 - Oppose
Relating to: election observers and providing a penalty.
This bill as written interjects vagueness which will cause confusion and possible chaos for election observers, election officials, and voters by mandating that the law “shall provide election observers uniform and nondiscriminatory access to all stages of the election process.” It also creates misguided and extreme punishment for election officials through the imposition of fines or even imprisonment. This very wrong policy framing assumes the election official is always at fault and the observer is never at fault in the event of a dispute at the polling place. Overall, this bill offers no substantive value to improving or clarifying the election observer role.
Assembly Bill 595 - Oppose
Relating to: compliance with the federal Help America Vote Act, voter registration data sharing agreements, removing ineligible voters from the official voter registration list, and fees for obtaining the official voter registration list.
We have grave concerns about all that is contained within this single bill package and how each section will be applied to the Wisconsin Elections Commission, clerks, and voters in real life. Additionally, there are concerns about the timeline to implement major database requirements for data sharing and areas of uncertainty about how voter privacy and confidentiality will be maintained. While some of the ideas in this bill may be worth exploring, more input should be taken from the agencies involved, municipal and county clerks, and voting rights experts about how the implementation, management, and practicality of these processes are carried out. There is merit to making improvements to the voter registration list or implementing data sharing but not how they are laid out in this legislation. The two areas of most concern in this large bill are the sections on the citizenship verification audit and removing ineligible voters from the official voter registration list. Much of these two sections are sloppily written with vague references, are based on misunderstandings about how the current voter registration system is maintained and used, and contain unreasonable timelines for voters to take action.
Assembly Bill 312 – Support as amended
Relating to: hours for voting by absentee ballot in person at the office of the municipal clerk or an alternate site.
This legislation provides voters with more consistent opportunities that are clearly communicated within the municipalities and reliably notify voters with dates and times of in-person absentee voting hours. The bill, as amended, takes into consideration the size of a municipality’s voting population and the number of mandated in person absentee voting hours required. The legislation also includes funding to support the additional work and staff time required to provide in-person absentee voting opportunities. Support to counties and municipalities for increased election security through a grant program is also a welcomed measure.
In sum, we are very disappointed with four of the five bills that are being considered today and urge that none of those four measures (AB599, AB560, AB426, AB595) be favorably considered and advanced by the members of this committee for consideration by the full Assembly. We support the advancement of AB312 as amended.
Thank you for your consideration of our views.
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Madison, WI 53703
