The new advisory committee will include voting rights advocates, poll watchers, municipal clerks and political party representatives. The panel will offer perspectives on how to balance the needs of election workers and poll watchers before the commission drafts new guidelines. The bipartisan election commission voted unanimously to establish the committee.
NO ERRORS FOUND IN WISCONSIN'S LARGEST VOTING MACHINE AUDIT
Poll watchers were a top concern nationally in the midterms, as political parties led unprecedented efforts to recruit and train volunteers to ensure election workers adhered to the law. Reports of partisan observers intimidating poll workers fueled election officials' worries about safety.
A panel of voting experts will be consulted in the creation of new poll watcher guidelines in Wisconsin.
Election commissioners began the process of reviewing Wisconsin's rules for poll watchers in September. A commission attorney estimated it could take up to two years to enact new rules.
The Nov. 8 election passed with few of the incidents election officials feared. In the weeks that followed, however, poll watchers began reporting grievances to the election commission. They alleged some polling locations didn't offer them chairs and others limited their access to on-site bathrooms. Many poll watchers were dissatisfied with how far they had to stand from scanners and voting booths.
WI JUDGE ORDERS GREEN BAY CLERK TO GRANT POLL WATCHERS GREATER ACCESS TO IN-PERSON ABSENTEE VOTING
"We need an observer bill of rights," said Kathy Burgert, a citizen who spoke Thursday during a public comment period ahead of the commission's vote.
On the other side of the issue were concerns about voter privacy and the safety of workers who have been threatened.
"Election workers need to know they are supported by a clear set of rules and will not have to endure the threat of intimidation or attack by observers who do not follow those rules," Jay Heck, executive director of watchdog group Common Cause Wisconsin, said in a statement sent to the commission.
Commissioners asked Common Cause Wisconsin to appoint a member to the new committee, as well as voting advocacy groups including Souls to the Polls, Forward Latino and the Wisconsin Election Integrity Network. As the four parties with ballot access in Wisconsin, the Democratic, Republican, Constitutional and Libertarian Parties were each also asked to appoint a member.