For release: Tuesday - January 14, 2025
Image: Wisconsin Capitol Legislative Chamber
Passage of Hyper Partisan Measure Would Add Restrictive Voter Photo ID Law to April 1st Spring Election Ballot
Last week, as the first order of business in the brand new 2025-26 legislative session, the Wisconsin State Senate rammed through a hyper partisan measure to enshrine Wisconsin's extreme and restrictive photo identification voter law into the Wisconsin Constitution by passing Senate Joint Resolution 2 along strict political party lines 17 to 15. Tuesday, the Wisconsin Assembly will consider an identical measure, Assembly Joint Resolution 1 that if passed would place the issue in the form of a constitutional amendment question on the upcoming April 1st Spring Election ballot.
This is a terrible idea on both public policy and procedural grounds and Wisconsin voters should contact their elected State Representative today and urge them to vote against Assembly Joint Resolution 1 for these reasons which we detailed last week in our release before the vote in the State Senate.
To find the contact information for your state representative go here.
Common Cause Wisconsin is actively engaged in educating Wisconsin voters about public policy issues such as voting rights and participation, fair state legislative and congressional voting maps, fair state courts and the upcoming and pivotal Wisconsin Supreme Court election on April 1, 2025 and about other democracy-related matters.
You are invited to join these upcoming, online events. Register today and share the event information with a friend.
This coming Thursday, January 16, 2025 at 1PM, I will be participating in a virtual forum presentation organized by the Wisconsin Interfaith Voter Engagement Campaign to discuss the 2025 political landscape of Wisconsin and the country. Register here.
On January 28, 2025 at 6PM, I have the honor of being on a panel with former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Janine Geske and others in a virtual forum on the upcoming Wisconsin Supreme Court election and the related issues of ethics and money organized by the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin. Register here.
We look forward to you joining these virtual events!
And please make sure your state representative hears from you on the ill-advised and misguided legislation regarding the extreme and restrictive voter ID constitutional amendment.
On Wisconsin. Forward!
Jay Heck, Executive Director, Common Cause Wisconsin
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Jay Heck
608/512-9363 (cell)
Common Cause in Wisconsin
152 Johnson St, Suite 212
Madison, WI 53703
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Monday - November 15, 2021
image from Heidi Berton / for NBC News
It has now been more than a year since the 2020 presidential election in Wisconsin. After the mandatory statewide canvass, a recount requested by former President Donald Trump's campaign, and several court decisions -- the result was the same and confirmed -- Joe Biden won Wisconsin by over 20,000 votes. It wasn't even the closest presidential election in Wisconsin in recent history. Both 2000 and 2004 were far closer and 2016 was almost as close. And yet, conspiracy theorists and "die hard" Trump supporters have refused to acknowledge the certified outcome of the election in Wisconsin and continue to try to undermine the results.
Alarmingly, these "false prophets" currently dominate the Republican Party in Wisconsin and are currently engaged in a sham, hyper partisan investigation led by extreme right wing former state supreme court justice Michael Gableman as well as pushing unproven allegations about voting in a Racine County nursing home being pushed by a rogue lieutenant and his boss, the partisan, Trump-supporting Sherriff of Racine County -- that are so outrageous that even the District Attorney of Racine County has refused to support the allegations. And on top of all of that, Republicans in the State Senate have launched their own conspiracy theory "investigation" of the 2020 election. When will it all finally end when will they move on to 2021 and beyond?
As many of you gather with family, friends and neighbors over the Thanksgiving holidays, the political differences of opinion on polarizing subjects such as Trump and the 2020 election can sometimes percolate up into the conversation with friends or loved ones. Or, if it not spoken about it can still be "the elephant in the room" with the possibility of spoiling any holiday gathering.
Our friends at All Voting is Local developed a Factsgiving informational webinar to help you navigate the tricky and even treacherous "waters" of how to talk about the 2020 elections and the continuing drama and false narratives that you may have to encounter in the weeks ahead. We hope this webinar will help you to be able to get through these challenging conversations with loved ones and help you to keep your sanity and your cool! Enjoy!
Jay Heck
CC/WI Executive Director Factsgiving 101: How to talk about WI's sham review over the holidays Thursday, 11/18, 6:30pm CT It's Thanksgiving dinner and you're gathering for the holidays. But Uncle Rob has some pretty wild theories about the 2020 election and wants everyone to hear them. How do you talk about the danger posed by Wisconsin's sham review of the 2020 election and not let Uncle Rob ruin Thanksgiving dinner? You've come to the right place — RSVP now and join us for a holiday messaging training to help you correct misinformation and speak the truth about the scam investigations into the 2020 election. Register to reserve your spot. Click the registration button below. |
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Contact:
Jay Heck
608/256-2686 (office)
608/512-9363 (cell)
Common Cause in Wisconsin
152 Johnson St, Suite 212
Madison, WI 53703
www.commoncausewisconsin.org
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Tuesday - August 10, 2021
Join Sen. Jeff Smith, Rep. Deb Andraca, Others & You, the Voters of Wisconsin!
There is just one week to go before for our special event on redistricting reform and ending gerrymandering in Wisconsin!
Common Cause Wisconsin is hosting a statewide webinar on the state’s redistricting process on Tuesday, August 17 beginning at 6:00 PM - Central Time. A panel of democracy reform leaders and elected officials, including State Senator Jeff Smith (D-Eau Claire) and State Representative Deb Andraca (D-Whitefish Bay), will discuss the introduction of redistricting reform measures this session that put people before politicians and how to end partisan gerrymandering in Wisconsin (Senate Bill 389 / Assembly Bill 395).
Additionally, Law Forward attorney Mel Barnes will present legal perspectives on the current happenings with regard to the battle for nonpartisan, transparent maps for Wisconsin and what the new Census data will mean and former State Representative Penny Bernard Schaber (D-Appleton) will share the progress and challenges of the grassroots efforts in Wisconsin to make redistricting reform a reality.
Redistricting happens once a decade. It is the process the state legislature uses to draw new congressional and state legislative districts that reflect the changing population data from the previous year’s U.S. Census count. The process is supposed to ensure that even as our communities grow and change, every citizen will have equal representation in government.
In 2011, the last redistricting cycle, state legislators engaged in partisan gerrymandering, giving their party a vastly unfair electoral advantage. A recent study found that Wisconsin is the most gerrymandered state in the nation in the last 42 years! We can and must do much better than that in 2021-22!
What: Redistricting Reform Webinar Hosted by Common Cause Wisconsin
When: Tuesday, August 17 at 6:00 p.m. CT
Who: Expert panelists include:
- Jay Heck, Executive Director of Common Cause Wisconsin
- Wisconsin State Senator Jeff Smith (D-Eau Claire)
- Wisconsin State Representative Deb Andraca (D-Whitefish Bay)
- Former Wisconsin State Representative Penny Bernard Schaber (D-Appleton)
- Mel Barnes, Attorney, Law Forward
I hope you will join us and get up-to-date information on this crucial process that will impact our state, Wisconsinites, and the issues that are important to us over the next ten years. And please share this invitation with others. This event is free and open to the public.
Thanks to you, we have made enormous progress over the last decade to advance public support for the adoption of the "Iowa Model" non partisan redistricting system for Wisconsin and for fair voting maps. We can and will prevail in this critical fight for democracy and equal representation under the law!
We are so looking forward to seeing you on August 17th!
Jay Heck
CC/WI Executive Director
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Contact:
Jay Heck
608/256-2686 (office)
608/512-9363 (cell)
Common Cause in Wisconsin
152 Johnson St, Suite 212
Madison, WI 53703
www.commoncausewisconsin.org
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Wednesday – July 28, 2021
Register Now to Participate with Legislators, Experts and Your Questions
In 2011, Wisconsin state legislative and congressional districts fell victim to one of the most partisan gerrymanders of any state in the nation. Legislative leaders, in a locked law office across the street from the Capitol, supervised the drawing of new legislative districts and made them as unfair and as partisan as was possible and accomplished this completely in secret, with no public input or inspection, in order to lock up partisan control of the Wisconsin Legislature, by rigging the outcome of elections, for a decade. They succeeded beyond even their own wildest dreams and expectations. And Wisconsin is still reeling as a result.
Now, ten years later, the redistricting process is underway again -- as the U.S. Constitution directs must occur every decade to adjust for population changes and shifts in every state legislative and congressional district in the nation. The population of every district must be adjusted and equalized to reflect those changes.
Can we in Wisconsin adopt a redistricting process that is non-partisan, fair and puts voters before politicians? And what does the redistricting process, now underway, look like?
Our special guests and speakers include the two chief legislative sponsors of redistricting reform legislation Senate Bill 389/Assembly Bill 395, which is based on our neighboring state of Iowa's non-partisan redistricting process which has been successful and in place since 1980. They are State Senator Jeff Smith (D-Eau Claire) who was elected in 2018 but who also served in the Wisconsin Assembly from 2007 to 2011, and State Representative Deb Andraca (D-Whitefish Bay), who was elected in 2020.
Also speaking will be Melody Barnes, an attorney and legal expert with Law Forward who will brief us on redistricting in the courts and former State Rep. Penny Bernard Schaber of Appleton who will talk about the critical importance of activism at the local level. I will moderate the discussion.
You, the voters and citizens of Wisconsin, will have an opportunity to ask questions.
Join this statewide CC/WI webinar that features leading state legislative reform leaders, policy and legal experts and you -- for what we hope will be a lively 90 minutes of interesting discussion and your questions. Go here to register, which you must do in order to participate in the webinar on August 17th. Also, if you have not already done so, consider assisting the effort to draw your own voting map of your local community to submit to the Governor's non-partisan Peoples Maps Commission. These maps could then be used as alternatives to the partisan voting maps Republicans in the Legislature have vowed to draw -- and are using your taxpayer money to defend. Here is how you can participate in this important effort. The deadline for submitting a voter map to the Peoples Maps Commission is Friday, July 30th, so act now!
On Wisconsin!
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Contact:
Jay Heck
608/256-2686 (office)
608/512-9363 (cell)
Common Cause in Wisconsin
152 Johnson St, Suite 212
Madison, WI 53703
www.commoncausewisconsin.org
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For Release: Wednesday - October 18, 2017
Why We Need Effective Judicial Recusal Rules in Wisconsin
Next
Tuesday evening, October 24th, Common Cause in Wisconsin is holding
the last of three town hall "public hearings" on judicial recusal. This event will take place from
6:30PM to 8:00PM in the
Grand Hall at Capitol Lakes - 333 West Main Street, Madison, WI.
Wisconsin Supreme Court Justices
Shirley Abrahamson and
Ann Walsh Bradley will join former Dane County Circuit Court Judge
Gerald Nichol as panelists. Nichol was the former Chair of the now-dissolved nonpartisan Wisconsin Government Accountability Board.
Wisconsinites would be shocked to know that our state is among the four worst in the nation with regard to the strength of recusal rules for judges receiving campaign contributions. Our current state recusal "non-standard" essentially states that justices may
decide for themselves whether to recuse in a case involving a party who contributed to them. It was written
verbatim by conservative special interest groups in 2010!
This past April, the Wisconsin Supreme Court considered a petition by more than 50 retired Wisconsin judges to establish reasonable thresholds for recusal of judges at all levels when they receive campaign contributions from a defendant or plaintiff – or if they benefited from spending by an “outside” special interest group involved in a case before their court.
Incredibly, the State Supreme Court voted 5 to 2 to reject this petition, and the Court did so
without a single public hearing.
With a Wisconsin Supreme Court election looming in early 2018 to replace retiring anti-recusal Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman, it is critical that Wisconsinites fully understand and raise their voices about this issue – which will be prominent in that election.
For more on precisely why stronger recusal rules for judges are urgently needed in Wisconsin, read this excellent analysis by Mary Bottari of the Center for Media and Democracy.
The Capital Times published this editorial on the importance of these events as well.
Press coverage of the October 11th public hearing in Milwaukee is here.
Attend this free event to learn more about this vital issue, to ask questions, and to share your thoughts.
We hope you can attend, and bring a friend or two with you! Click here to RSVP.
Co-sponsoring this event with CC/WI are the the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin, the League of Women Voters of Dane County, The Madison Institute, and the American Association of University Women-Wisconsin.
If you have any questions, please call the CC/WI office at 608/256-2686 or email me at ccwisjwh@itis.com. I look forward to seeing you in person on October 24th!
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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