Wisconsin midterms could reset path for election laws

Unified control could end a stalemate

November’s elections could end Wisconsin’s divided government and give one party a clearer route to changing election law. Democrats are seeking to keep the governor’s office while winning both legislative chambers; Republicans are seeking to retain the Legislature and win the governorship.

For eight years, Republican lawmakers have advanced stricter voting rules while Democratic Gov. Tony Evers has blocked multiple proposals. With legislation stalled, courts have become a central venue for challenges involving election rules. The election could change that balance before the 2028 presidential contest, as outlined in Votebeat’s Wisconsin coverage.

Unified control would not guarantee sweeping changes. Barry Burden, a University of Wisconsin-Madison political science professor who leads the Elections Research Center, said the largest Republican priorities were enacted during the party’s unified control from 2011 through 2018.

Constitutional rules narrow the options

Voter ID requirements and a prohibition on private funding for election administration are now in the Wisconsin Constitution. That makes those policies more difficult for a future Legislature and governor to reverse through regular legislation.

With unified control, Democrats could consider making voter ID rules more accommodating, establishing automatic voter registration or allowing people with felony convictions to vote while on parole.

Democratic state Sen. Mark Spreitzer said immediate priorities would include allowing officials to process ballots on the Monday before Election Day. He also identified measures addressing absentee-ballot tracking, ballot drop boxes, spoiled absentee ballots, standards for correcting ballot mistakes and identifying numbers placed on certain absentee ballots.

Republican control could provide a path for stricter voting proposals that previously encountered Evers’ vetoes. Any changes would still have to comply with election provisions already written into the state Constitution.