Legacy Thread

[basserdan]

Wisconsin GOP Lawmakers Pass Bills to Restrict New Democratic Governor

By Erica Snow
Today 11:25 AM ET

Wisconsin's Republican-led legislature on Wednesday passed bills that would strip some powers of the incoming Democratic governor and curb early voting.

Tony Evers, the state schools superintendent who narrowly defeated Republican Gov. Scott Walker as he pursued a third term, promised to fight back, possibly with lawsuits. The bills now await Mr. Walker's signature, who has expressed support.

The bills will reduce the governor's influence over the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp., the state body responsible for creating jobs that was instrumental in the multibillion-dollar incentive package that helped lure a big Apple Inc. supplier, Foxconn, to the state. The bills will also hinder the governor's power in administering state benefit packages and implementing state laws.

The legislature, which will remain in Republican control, called the special session to consider bills that would greatly restrict Mr. Evers' powers. The final package included a bill tightening early-voting deadlines, part of a push by Republicans in the state to reduce voter turnout, said Scott McDonell, the legislative chairman of the Wisconsin County Clerks Association, a bipartisan group.

"I don't know why in a democracy we would want fewer people to vote," said Mr. McDonell, a Democrat.

Republicans have called the changes an effort to balance legislative and executive power.

"I respect the fact that Tony Evers is [going to be] the governor...but he's not the governor today," Republican Rep. Robin Vos, the speaker of the Wisconsin State Assembly, said in a news conference Tuesday. "That's why we are going to make sure that the powers of each branch are as equal as they can be."

Mr. McDonell said that the early-voting restrictions would likely be decided by a federal judge, because one ruled in 2016 that certain similar limitations in the state were unconstitutionally designed to suppress votes by racial minorities.

Separately, a Republican plan to move the date of the 2020 presidential primary didn't make it out of committee following stiff opposition from 65 of the state's 72 county clerks. Democrats said the move was designed to protect the seat of a conservative state Supreme Court justice by holding it on a day with lower voter turnout.

County clerks called the plan "extraordinarily unwise" and "needlessly onerous" in a statement. Moving the presidential primary would have cost about $7 million and confused voters, election officials said.

Write to Erica Snow at [e-mail]
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 05, 2018 11:25 ET (16:25 GMT)

https://invest.ameritrade.com/grid/p/site#r=jPage/https://research.ameritrade.com/grid/wwws/markets/news/story.asp?docKey=1-DN20181205006103-1PKP49JV9IVHV90716DPIC40DA&c_name=invest_VENDOR