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MADISON, Wisconsin (AP) — A lawsuit filed Tuesday by Wisconsin’s criminal justice advocacy group seeks to block two Republican-backed bills from making it into the April ballot, threatening the right election officials. Claiming it was not submitted on time.
What you need to know
- A lawsuit filed Tuesday by a Wisconsin criminal justice advocacy group seeks to block two Republican-backed bills from appearing on the April ballot.
- Alleging it was not submitted to the correct election authority on time
- One issue is a constitutional amendment that would allow judges to consider more factors when setting bail for violent offenders.
- The other is an advisory referendum that asks voters whether they think healthy, childless welfare beneficiaries should look for work.
One issue is a constitutional amendment that would allow judges to consider more factors when setting bail for violent offenders. The other is an advisory referendum that asks voters whether they think able-bodied childless welfare recipients should look for work.
Congress passed the bill on January 19. State law requires that ballots be “presented to the official or agency responsible for preparing the ballot” at least 70 days before the election. This brings his January 25th deadline to submit these questions.
Legislature submitted the ballot measure to the state board of elections on January 19. The commission told the clerk that he should submit them to the county’s elections office on January 26 and take action on the April 4 ballot.
The Commission addressed questions about the proper place to submit such questions in a memorandum to the Clerk certifying the measures of the ballot. said to be the only institution capable of
The lawsuit was filed against the Election Commission in Dane County Circuit Court by EXPO Wisconsin and WISDOM. EXPO stands for Ex-Incarcerated People Organizing. This is an affiliate of He WISDOM, a statewide faith-based organization. Both groups work with people who have spent time in prison to combat mass incarceration. Both groups opposed the ballot measure.
Their lawsuit alleges that the bill should have been submitted to the county clerk and the Milwaukee County Elections Commission by January 25. It is the state elections commission that prepares the ballots, not The lawsuit alleges that he is a local official.
The lawsuit alleges that “the resolution was not submitted in a timely manner and is therefore ineligible for inclusion on the ballot for the April 4, 2023 spring election.” It asks the court not to allow them to appear on the ballot.
In a Jan. 26 memo substantiating the action, the Electoral Commission alleges that the 70-day deadline was met when Congress submitted the question to the commission on Jan. 19.
A spokesperson for the committee, Riley Vetterkind, did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment on the lawsuit.
The Criminal Justice Group is represented by lawyers from Law Forward and Stafford Rosenbaum Law Firm, both of which have challenged many of the laws made by Republicans in recent years.
Republicans moved quickly to pass the bill in a poll on April 4 after the legislative session began on January 2. These were the first measures taken and passed this year.
The Bail Amendment, debated for years, was approved in the last Congress and passed this year with bipartisan support. Constitutional amendments must pass through Congress on two consecutive occasions before being put to the ballot for final approval.
Republicans also quickly passed a welfare referendum, introducing it in January and passing it a few days later. Gov. Tony Evers and other Democratic lawmakers denounced the move as nothing more than a ruse to boost conservative voter turnout in the April election.
A Wisconsin Supreme Court battle on April’s ballot will determine whether conservatives will retain control of the court or turn to liberals, and issues ranging from abortion to re-election will be at stake. Courts will also be set up for and shortly after the 2024 presidential election.
All four candidates running for the Supreme Court — two liberals and two conservatives — support the bail amendment. Supporters have been working to get it through since 2017. Their efforts gained momentum in 2021 after Darrell Brooks Jr. drove his SUV into the Waukesha Christmas parade, killing six people. Brooks had put $1,000 in an earlier case, just two days before his parade.
Under the proposed amendment, judges could consider potential risks to public safety, such as a defendant’s criminal record, when setting bail. Cash bail is currently set only as a means of ensuring that the person appears in court. Democratic opponents argue that the amendment could create further inequities in the criminal justice system by making it easier for wealthy defendants to get out of prison.
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