Senate majority leader proposes big change for GAB

Senator Scott Fitzgerald said today he thinks the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, which oversees elections in our state, has become a "rubber stamp" for staff proposals, which he perceives as favoring one political party. Back in 2007 Fitzgerald joined all other members of the Senate in supporting the creation of the GAB, but now he suggests that changing the appointment process to have political appointees on the board would "strike more of a balance."

Currently, the GAB is made up of six former judges, who are nominated by a panel of Wisconsin Appeals Court judges, appointed by the Governor and then confirmed by the Senate. The appointment process has been praised by a national election law expert as a method "designed to promote impartiality."

Meanwhile, local elections officials have joined other voting rights advocates in opposing Governor Walker's proposal to end Election Day Registration. The Appleton City Clerk noted that same-day registration not only encourages people to vote but also is "the most cost-effective model" for our elections. The League of Women Voters defended same-day registration in a recent newspaper column and on the Joy Cardin Show on Wisconsin Public Radio.