How Wisconsin Democrats want to transform election law after flipping the legislature

Key Points:

• Wisconsin Democrats will gain full control of state government in 2027 for the first time in 17 years, enabling them to revise or repeal election laws enacted by Republicans.
• Key Democratic priorities include allowing election officials to begin processing absentee ballots on the Monday before elections, increasing election funding, expanding acceptable photo IDs for voting, permitting voters to spoil absentee ballots after submission, and implementing automatic voter registration.
• Democrats also plan to repeal a law requiring unique identifiers on absentee ballots to protect ballot secrecy and seek to codify and potentially expand the use of absentee ballot drop boxes.
• Republicans express cautious support for some measures like Monday processing but emphasize the need for detailed provisions to ensure security and compliance, warning that some Democratic initiatives may not endure future GOP majorities.
• Election clerks, including bipartisan representatives, generally support many proposed changes but urge gradual implementation and close collaboration with lawmakers to ensure clarity and feasibility before the 2028 presidential election.