Here is my full column that ran in the Washington County Daily News last week. You might have noticed that Evers had another batch of terrible vetoes on Friday. He is the worst governor this state has had in my lifetime.

Last week, Gov. Tony Evers reminded us of what a terrible governor he is though a string of vetoes upholding his support of policies that lead to higher crime and dumber kids. Before the week had ended, Evers used his veto pen again to affirm his support for policies that enable vote fraud and disenfranchise every legal voter.

 

While some political junkies might give Evers some latitude for vetoing good bills for political advantage, he did it at the expense of good governance and a better Wisconsin. He is willing to have another year of sloppy, questionable, possibly fraudulent elections as long as he thinks it will benefit his political ambitions.

 

Evers vetoed seven individual bills related to elections. Irrespective of the political motivations of the Republicans or the Democrats, ask yourselves if each bill should have been signed into law based on its merits.

 

The first bill would have prohibited anyone other than the voter, immediate family member, or legal guardian from returning an absentee ballot. This is to put a stop to the practice of ballot harvesting. Taken in the abstract with the assumption of complete honesty, ballot harvesting is a convenience. But taken in light of the real world of corrupt characters, ballot harvesting is a license to organize the delivery of thousands of virtually undetectable fraudulent votes. Would you have vetoed a bill banning ballot harvesting?

 

The second bill would have clearly defined who can identify as indefinitely confined for the purpose of absentee voting. This provision of the law, intended as a convenience for those who are truly indefinitely confined due to age, illness, or disability, was widely abused during the pandemic by able-bodied voters who assumed the heavy cloak of disability to cast their votes then set it aside to go about their lives. Such appropriation of status is not only immoral, but it is a way to commit vote fraud by bypassing Wisconsin’s voter ID law. Would you have vetoed a bill that would have ensured that only those who are truly indefinitely confined can vote as such?

 

The third bill would have simply required the state to conduct regular checks to ensure that registered voters are citizens of our nation. Voting is a right of citizenship, and the bill would have simply had the state try to ensure that citizenship means something. Would you have vetoed the bill?

 

The fourth bill would have prohibited the spending of private money to administer elections. In the 2020 election, wealthy liberals offered millions of dollars to local election officials to “help” them administer elections. Several Wisconsin municipalities accepted. The bill would have ensured that elections are administered by government officials with taxpayer funds to ensure the transparency and accountability that voters deserve. Would you have vetoed the bill?

 

The fifth bill would have prohibited election clerks from filling out missing information on absentee ballots. Clerks have been taking on the guise of voters to fill out incomplete absentee forms for years. It is a practice that contributes to sloppy elections and lazy election clerks. Would you have vetoed a bill that requires voters to fill our their absentee ballot envelopes correctly and by themselves?

 

The last two bills had to do with the function of the Wisconsin Elections Commission. Unlike the previous five which should have all been signed into law, the last two are more questionable, but not for the reasons that Evers vetoed them.

 

The sixth bill would have required that the WEC hire Republican and Democratic lawyers to provide contrary legal advice instead of using purportedly nonpartisan lawyers. This bill would have provided a range of opinions for the commissioners to consider but might have driven unnecessary expenses.

 

The seventh bill would have had the Legislature own the guidance delivered to local election clerks by the WEC. This would have provided a check on the WEC doling out bad and illegal guidance.

 

The seventh bill is in the right direction but did not go far enough. The WEC has proven to be a poor and corrupt mechanism for the administration of Wisconsin’s elections. The Legislature should abolish it and looks to other states for better examples of ways to run clean, fair, open, honest, and secure elections.

 

Governor Evers has supported the wholesale subversion of Wisconsin’s election laws during the pandemic because he thinks it had benefitted Democrats like himself. His continued support for policies that enable and encourage sloppy and fraudulent election practices is a statement on his character.