CNOW week of Feb. 21, 2022

This week's notices:

• Oppose AJR 134 & SJR 101: Prohibiting Grants that Make Our Elections More Accessible
• Oppose AB 996 & SB 941: Partisan Power Grab in the Wisconsin Elections Commission
• Oppose AB 999 & SB 939: Making It Harder to Vote Absentee
• Oppose AB 1003 & SB 936: Adding Unfunded Costs for Elections Officials
• Oppose AB 1004 & SB 935: Eliminating Resources for Elections Officials
• Oppose AB 1006 & SB 943: Interfering With Support for Municipal Clerks
• Oppose SB 214: Reducing Polling Locations
• Oppose SB 900: Selling Our Shoreline

Wisconsin Conservation Voters urges you to oppose AJR 134 & SJR 101. AJR 134 is before the Assembly Committee on State Affairs on Monday, and SJR 101 is before the Senate on Tuesday.

Our elections officials are responsible for making voting as accessible as possible. Budget shortfalls can hinder their ability to do that. AJR 134 & SJR 101 make voting access even harder by proposing a constitutional amendment that would prohibit elections officials from using donations and grants for elections administration.

Wisconsin Conservation Voters urges you to oppose AB 996 & SB 941. AB 996 is before the Assembly Committee on State Affairs on Monday, and SB 941 is before the Senate on Tuesday.

To ensure our elections are fair, we must protect the nonpartisan identity of the Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC). The staff for WEC should have their first allegiance to the voters of Wisconsin, not a political party. AB 996 & SB 941 require partisan appointment of WEC’s legal counsel, which undermines the integrity of the agency.

Wisconsin Conservation Voters urges you to oppose AB 999 & SB 939. AB 999 is before the Assembly Committee on State Affairs on Monday, and SB 939 is before the Senate on Tuesday.

Whether you vote absentee, at an early voting location, or at the polls on election day, the process should be easy. AB 999 & SB 939 make it harder to vote absentee by adding a new application process, additional photo ID requirements, and restrictions on how ballots can be returned.

Wisconsin Conservation Voters urges you to oppose AB 1003 & SB 936. AB 1003 is before the Assembly Committee on State Affairs on Monday, and SB 936 is before the Senate on Tuesday.

Elections officials work hard and have a lot on their plates. If the legislature adds to their list of responsibilities, it needs to provide new resources to help them fulfill those responsibilities. The legislature also needs to make sure that new expectations don’t disproportionately target some areas of the state over others. AB 1003 & SB 936 mandate new unfunded reporting, auditing, and documentation requirements that disproportionately target clerks in Wisconsin’s largest cities.

Wisconsin Conservation Voters urges you to oppose AB 1004 & SB 935. AB 1004 is before the Assembly Committee on State Affairs on Monday, and SB 935 is before the Senate on Tuesday.

Municipal governments are responsible for making voting as accessible as possible. Budget shortfalls can hinder their ability to expand voter access. AB 1004 & SB 935 make voting access even harder by preventing municipalities from pursuing additional funding sources and severely restricting who can be recruited as a poll worker.

Wisconsin Conservation Voters urges you to oppose AB 1006 & SB 943. AB 1006 is before the Assembly Committee on State Affairs on Monday, and SB 934 is before the Senate on Tuesday.

To ensure our elections run smoothly, nonpartisan elections experts at the Wisconsin Elections Commission need to be able to quickly distribute guidance to the 1,850 municipal clerks across the state. AB 1006 & SB 943 allow a Republican-controlled legislative committee to interfere in this process by giving them more control over what can be used as guidance.

Wisconsin Conservation Voters urges you to oppose SB 214, which is before the Senate on Tuesday.

Voters should have accessible polling locations within their communities. SB 214 would allow communities to reduce polling locations which would limit access to a large number of voters thereby reducing the convenience of voting in certain neighborhoods or communities.

Wisconsin Conservation Voters urges you to oppose SB 900, which is before the Senate on Tuesday.

Under the Wisconsin Constitution, our navigable waters belong to all of us. This means that access to our shoreline is a right that must be protected. SB 900 violates this right by turning over our shoreline to private developers.

Conservation Notices of the Week (CNOW) announces the pro-conservation positions on issues before the senate, assembly and/or governor in the week ahead to state legislators. Others wishing to follow activities in the state legislature also receive CNOW, including legislative staff, conservation voters, and media. All of these issues are tracked on the Vote Tracker. Issues in the CNOW may appear in the Conservation Scorecard.