ICYMI: The Cap Times: Wisconsin election protections in good shape, research finds
This week, The Cap Times highlighted Informing Democracy’s new comprehensive state report outlining the processes that will govern Wisconsin’s 2024 general election and the officials at every level of government who help administer those elections. As The Cap Times’ Andrew Bahl notes, Informing Democracy’s report is helping fight misinformation and build confidence among voters that Wisconsin’s elections are largely well-run.
The comprehensive report includes:
A timeline for the processes for vote counting and certification
An overview of anti-democracy trends and the potential impact on WI’s election
Below are key excerpts from Bahl's piece on the efforts to improve voter confidence in the Wisconsin elections:
“The report from Informing Democracy, a research group focused on election law […] found Wisconsin’s election laws are clear and says the state has adequate safeguards to protect the integrity of vote counting in November. Still, researchers found potential areas of concern that could loom large as voters cast their ballots in a hotly contested presidential race where Wisconsin could prove decisive.”
“‘We nonetheless remain concerned about just a general environment that is somewhat supportive of those (election misinformation) efforts, and so it is still critical to monitor and ensure that that movement is not gaining traction,’ said Jenny Gimian, legal director for Informing Democracy.”
“Fears have roiled many other swing states that officials, raising concerns over election integrity, will refuse to sign off on the election results — but that is unlikely to happen in Wisconsin. No local election officials in Wisconsin have attempted to block the certifying of the state’s election results. And state law provides multiple safeguards to ensure officials can validate the election outcomes without issue.”
“A sizable number of local election officials have yet to manage a presidential election, creating fears of human error [...] In a state with thousands of local clerks administering elections, the odds increase that a human error could be used to cast doubt on the election results, researchers say.”
“Wisconsin lawmakers declined to pass a law allowing clerks to prepare absentee ballots to be counted before Election Day, which would have speeded up the vote counting process. The resulting delays could also be fertile ground for misinformation, researchers said.”
“But Peter Bondi, managing director for Informing Democracy, said he believes Wisconsin voters should feel confident heading into November. ‘If there are any efforts to interfere with the elections in Wisconsin, we think the system is well set up to ensure that those efforts fail,’ Bondi said.”
