America First Policy Group Calls On Wisconsin Legislature To Follow Election Integrity Reforms

The America First Policy Institute (AFPI), a nonprofit organization, wrote to the Wisconsin legislature urging them follow two recommendations by Special Counsel Michael Gableman concerning election integrity.

Ken Blackwell, AFPI’s Center for Election Integrity Chairman, stated that Gableman’s suggestions are “much needed, pragmatic solutions that will eventually create conditions in Wisconsin to make it easy to vote, but also hard to cheat.”

Gableman is a Wisconsin Republican who was formerly a Wisconsin supreme court justice. He was appointed Special Counsel to investigate the 2020 presidential elections amid concerns about voter fraud and irregularities.

Gableman provided 26 recommendations to the state legislature in an interim investigative report that included 26 recommendations for “transparency and political accountability.”

Gableman’s suggestions were made one week after Robin Vos (R), Wisconsin Assembly Speaker, held what he believed was the last legislative session of the year.

AFPI’s letter urged state legislators to convene an “extraordinary session” for the sole purpose to use the “constitutional amendment joint resolution mechanism” in order to implement Gableman’s two recommendations.

AFPI suggested that the legislature adopt Gableman’s proposal to create a single, publicly accessible voter registration database.

County clerks and other personnel who are responsible for stewarding their data’s integrity and security shouldn’t have to manage multiple databases and access systems. Accessibility and data quality are crucial to restoring voter confidence in Wisconsin’s elections systems. Future analysis of past data sets will likely yield a more complete and accurate accounting.

The institute also asked the legislature to establish a government office that would audit and supervise the state’s elections.

This step is necessary for long-term improvements in election administration. It will instill transparency, accountability, and facilitation of future statewide votes. And, perhaps most importantly, it will make a significant contribution to the restoration of voter trust in Wisconsin.

Lastly, AFPI suggested that the state legislature adopt a voter identification bill.

“Finally we recommend reconsidering the language embedded in Assembly Joint Resolution 133 to add a photo identification requirement for the Wisconsin Constitution (which didn’t pass both Chambers during this last session),” said the letter.

A substantial majority (85%) of Americans support photo identification. It is a common-sense proposal that we believe will help to ensure safe and secure elections.