The head of the Republican-led legislative rules committee is demanding that the state elections board issue rules on drop boxes and absentee ballots. 

The joint committee for review of administrative rules voted on party lines on Monday to order the Wisconsin Elections Commission to issue rules for review within 30 days on absentee ballot dropboxes and ballot fixing.

Senator Steve Nass says the committee has the authority to prevent the elections commission from issuing directives on these matters. Previous Republican attempts to pass laws that would limit dropbox usage and change how absentee ballots are handled were vetoed by Governor Evers.

Senator Tammy Baldwin says enough is enough, and that attacks on elections by Republicans need to stop.

She says that an audit from Wisconsin Republicans is just part of a nationwide effort to make it harder to vote in America. “Gableman’s audit, which was is being paid for by the taxpayers of Wisconsin is nothing more than an effort to draw into question the election, to perpetuate Trump’s big lie, and to harass and intimidate our state election officials.”

Baldwin says that in Wisconsin, the presidential election has already survived recounts and audits. 

“Every stage of this was with high transparency and accountability and all reiterated that Biden had one in Wisconsin by a little over 20,000 votes.”

Baldwin and her Democrat colleagues are hoping to pass voting rights and election protection bills, but those efforts are being blocked by Republicans in the Senate.

State Assembly Democrats have picked a new leader. Racine Representative Greta Neubauer will now lead the caucus.

Neubauer says Democrats will need to continue to hold to their ideals heading into the next elections.

“We are here because we believe the government should grow with the people, that our democracy should fight for all of us who live here. We believe that Wisconsin should be a state where everyone can thrive.”

“In the face of Republican efforts to divide and conquer, the next year will be critical to building a stronger more Equitable Wisconsin.”

Neubauer will replace outgoing Minority Leader Gordon Hintz, who’s stepping down at the start of next year. 

Governor Tony Evers and Legislative Republicans are sparring over a new set of redistricting maps.

After the State Supreme Court ruled that they want to see maps with the ‘least amount of change’ in the upcoming fight over redistricting, Governor Tony Evers office released a new set of maps that would still reduce Republican control over the legislature while conforming to the request from the Supreme Court.

Evers says that it’s a compromise and that he’s still in favor of his older maps that wildly deviated from Republican plans.

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos chided the Governor for drawing up maps in secret, something that Democrats have campaigned against Republicans.