Gov. Walker and Speaker Vos Make Stunningly Hypocritical Excuse for Lack of Voter ID Education Campaign

MADISON, Wis. — Gov. Scott Walker and Assembly Speaker Robin Vos have in public comments both suggested the absence of an educational campaign on the state voter ID law is in part due to the lawsuits over the law. One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross blasted Walker and Vos, driving forces behind state GOP schemes to manipulate the rules on voting for an unfair partisan advantage, for their stunning hypocrisy.

“We all know what’s going on here, and even Republicans themselves have admitted it,” commented Ross. “Gov. Walker and Rep. Vos have led the charge in Wisconsin to manipulate the rules on voting to give themselves an unfair partisan advantage. Their stunning hypocrisy and excuses for playing games with funding for a voter ID education campaign is just one more part of their scheme to make voting harder and more complicated.”

One Wisconsin Institute is a lead plaintiff in a lawsuit set to be heard in federal court in May challenging a series of election law changes made by Wisconsin Republicans including a voter ID requirement, rolling back early voting hours, creating additional obstacles to register to vote and allowing intimidating election monitoring.

Ross noted that a former top aide to Republicans in the State Senate and even U.S. Rep. and former state legislator Glenn Grothman have admitted that measures like voter ID were explicitly intended to give Republicans an electoral advantage.

Also of note are how the actions of Walker and Vos show how they are willing to spend state funds on legal costs to benefit themselves. Walker included in his 2015 budget, and the GOP controlled legislature approved, over $1 million for an office of a solicitor general to in part file lawsuits against the federal government. Politically motivated legal action brought by the state to benefit corporate special interests and Walker’s national political ambitions include trying to block efforts to slow climate change, derail immigration reform, impose new requirements for public assistance and to limit women’s reproductive rights.

Meanwhile Vos and the Republican legislative leadership doled out over $2 million in legal fees for their efforts to rig legislative districts to their advantage. In the subsequent election, Democrats received more votes for the State Assembly than Republicans, yet Democrats lost seats.

“Gov Walker and his legislative cronies have shown they’re perfectly willing to spend lavishly to advance their own political interests, but they have nothing but excuses for why they have no money for educating the people of Wisconsin on voting,” concluded Ross.