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The Wisconsin State Capitol building in Madison. (Photo via Vijay Kumar Koulampet/Wikipedia Commons)
MADISON, Wis. (CN) Republicans in the Wisconsin Legislature passed multiple new election laws Tuesday that place more limits on absentee voting and bar private funding for local officials to facilitate their elections.
The push in the Badger State to toughen voting statutes comes as Republicans nationwide including in statehouses in Florida and Georgia are working to correct what they say are unlawful or unfair election laws and procedures after a chaotic 2020 general election that ended in incumbent Donald Trump losing to President Joe Biden.
Biden narrowly won Wisconsin four years after Trump won the state by roughly the same 20,000-vote margin. Efforts by Trump and Republican sympathizers to sue to overturn the results due to a variety of alleged frauds failed in state and federal courts, and a recount Trump demanded in two populous, liberal-leaning counties reaffirmed Bid
Yet again. And passes election law changes. Evers likely to veto all of it. //end headline wrapper ?>Wisconsin State Capitol. File photo by Dave Reid.
Republicans in the state Senate voted Wednesday to approve a number of high-profile bills, including Republicans’ plans for federal COVID-19 stimulus money and several proposed changes to Wisconsin election laws.
The 11 bills outlining Republican priorities for spending the federal funds passed the Senate on mostly party-line votes, with Republicans voting in favor and Democrats against. Sens.
Roger Roth, R-Appleton, joined Democrats in voting against several of the bills. The state Assembly approved the plans, also along party lines, Tuesday.
Directing funds
Senate Republicans followed the Assembly s lead a day earlier passing nearly a dozen bills that would direct how $3.2 billion in federal funds from the latest stimulus package are spent.Â
Some of the spending may not be allowed under federal rules, according to the nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau. Republicans, however, have pushed forward with the legislation, saying the people s representatives should have a say over allocating the money instead of one person. Republicans have also criticized Evers for providing too little detail on how he plans to spend the billions of dollars in funding.Â
Republicans in the Legislature have advocated for oversight of those funds for several months now and on Tuesday passed bills aimed at directing the governor to spend about $2.7 billion, including $1 billion on property tax cuts, $200 million on small business aid, $75 million on tourism grants, $308 million on road projects and $150 million on nursing home aid, amo