Gov. Tony Evers vetoed legislation Tuesday passed by the state’s Republican-controlled Legislature that would have imposed new restrictions on absentee ballots and would affect election administration in the state of Wisconsin.
“Since November 2020, we’ve watched Republican governors and legislators around the country work quickly to add more hurdles to voting, to discredit the good work of our election officials, and to try and cast doubt on an election just because they didn’t win,” said Gov. Evers in a statement. “They’re trying to stack the deck so they get the results they want next time, and they’re trying to make it harder for every eligible person to cast their ballot.”
Evers has long signaled that he would veto the bills — Senate Bills 203, 204, 205, 210, 212, and 292, in addition to Assembly Bill 173 — which are part of a nationwide push by conservatives to reshape elections and voting after Republican President Donald Trump lost a second term to Democrat Joe Biden.
“Democracy isn’t something that just happens for us, we choose to make it every day. When I ran for this office, I promised that I’d work to protect the right of every eligible person to vote,” Evers says. “That’s why we will keep working to protect the right of every eligible voter to cast their ballot and to make sure it is easy and accessible for them to do so, and that’s why I vetoed these bills today.”
