The Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee (File photo: WRN)
Lawmakers will consider a request next week for funding to promote the state’s voter ID requirement.
The Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee has scheduled a hearing for next Tuesday on a request from the Government Accountability Board for just under $461,000. The agency wants to use the already-appropriated money to run a public awareness campaign on the state’s voter ID requirement, which will be in effect for the November 4th elections. A federal appeals court said last month that Wisconsin could enforce the law, which had been on hold for over two years because of court injunctions.
A joint statement from the Republican co-chairs of the committee says they look forward to the agency’s presentation, and that they are encouraged the request did not include adding state employees to help with implementation of the voter ID law.
The GAB plans to use many of the same materials that were prepared in the initial roll-out of the voter ID law in early 2012, which were pulled after the first of several court injunctions were issued blocking further enforcement of the requirement. The agency says it has updated materials to reflect changes ordered in a state Supreme Court decision on the law earlier this year.