Evers vetoes 43 bills – and only signed 35. He’s not honoring the will of the people.
Gov. Tony Evers took action on 78 bills last week, signing 35 and vetoing 43. He vetoed a number of bills that would have made beneficial laws in Wisconsin. With these vetoes, Evers has set a new gubernatorial veto record for a single session. He’s vetoed 98 bills.
Several of the bills pertained to election reform. Senate Bill 942 required the Elections Commission to disclose any failures of the Commission or Departments of Transportation, Corrections, and Health Services to abide by election laws. The Department of Administration would also be required to remove positions and funding from state agencies as punishment for failure to abide by election laws.
In his rationale, Gov. Evers called the bill a “flagrant violation of the separation of powers” and a threat to “independent elections.” Ironic, no?
Election integrity is a major issue throughout our country right now, with Wisconsin in several ways leading the pack. Many voters are rightly concerned that their voice is being undermined by fraud. Had it been signed into law, SB 942 would have helped safeguard secure and transparent elections and re-instill confidence in Wisconsin voters. Unfortunately, this was not a priority for Evers.
Senate Bill 938 also would have helped safeguard fair elections. It required the Department of Transportation to mark IDs that are invalid for voting purposes. Evers claimed that “there is no evidence of non-citizens voting in this state.” That’s an interesting way to dodge the well-documented trail of evidence of voter fraud in Wisconsin in general. Regardless, this measure would have prevented fraudulent votes from being cast and boosted voter confidence.
In addition, Senate Bill 939 would have made several changes to the process of obtaining an absentee ballot such as restricting automatically sent ballots, prohibiting sending ballots before voters request them, and others. Again, the bill would have helped prevent election fraud and safeguarded our form of government in Wisconsin, but Evers blocked it from becoming law. Again, given the well-documented voter fraud in Wisconsin that involved absentee ballots and nursing homes, SB 939 should have been a no-brainer.
Fact: Governor Tony Evers has vetoed every election reform bill given to him—and there have been many since January 2021.
Throughout the pandemic, we’ve seen governors in many states, including in The Badger Srate, abuse their emergency powers and enact tyrannical Covid restrictions. To protect individual liberties, we need to place limits on such powers through legislation. We had the opportunity to do so in Wisconsin with Assembly Bill 912, which would have placed limits on emergency powers during emergencies, but again, Evers blocked it.
Assembly Bill 414 is another vital piece of legislation that Evers shot down. The bill would have banned Critical Race Theory (CRT) training for any local or state employees. CRT is a racist worldview that is plaguing education and government agencies. No employee should ever have to endure harmful indoctrination to keep their job. In his poor rationale, Evers simply claimed that he is opposing the bill because it infringes upon the executive branch. Does he need a reminder that it is the legislature’s duty to write laws?
Lastly, Evers vetoed several bills that would allocate taxpayer-funded federal Covid relief monies to specific entities with specific amounts rather than his unilateral disbursement of these funds to groups that he is paying back or that will support his re-election this fall. Unfortunately, Evers refused to ensure that Covid relief funds are used fairly and efficiently.
Evers is clearly not honoring the will of the Wisconsin people. Voters wanted to see these measures passed, and their elected representatives did so. It is Evers’ job to listen to his constituents.
Thankfully, there is an election coming up this fall, and we have the power to hold this governor accountable.
