A state lawmaker wants the Secretary of State to take over the business of running elections. State Representative Gary Sherman (D-Port Wing) says lawmakers need to separate the running of elections from the proposed Government Accountability Board, which would be created under an ethics bill Governor Doyle is expected to sign.
Sherman says control of state elections doesn't belong in that agency, because they have no functional relationship to ethics concerns. The Port Wing Democrat says it also gives the public some way of holding officials accountable for poorly run elections. The proposal would put the administration of elections under the power of the Secretary of State. Such a system is already in place in 35 other states.
Opponents of the bill have already expressed concerns about putting control of elections in the hands of a partisan office. Sherman says he hopes lawmakers can look beyond political concerns and realize that his proposal makes structural sense.
Legislation is currently being circulated at the Capitol to make the change.