Democracy Wire

As we draw near to the end of an eventful and tumultuous 2023 in Wisconsin, it's worthwhile taking a moment to look back and review some of the significant events that occurred this year in the ongoing battle for democracy and representative state government.

After more than a dozen years of pushback and struggle, the proponents of fair voting maps and ending partisan gerrymandering of state legislative districts in Wisconsin will finally get their day in court before the newly constituted Wisconsin Supreme Court.

On Thursday evening, September 14th, less than 48 hours after unveiling a massive, comprehensive overhaul plan for redistricting of Wisconsin’s state legislative districts, majority Assembly Republicans passed their legislation – Assembly Bill 415. The bill was drafted entirely in secret, with no consultation or input from Democrats or public interest groups who have long advocated for redistricting reform.

Students can look up their school on the lists Common Cause Wisconsin and Campus Vote Project have compiled to see if the current student ID at their particular public, private, technical and community campuses in the state is an acceptable form of ID for voting.

Earlier this year, the Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC) unanimously decided that clearer administrative rules overseeing the election observer system in the state were desirable and necessary to help alleviate further misunderstanding and to promote greater public confidence in the election process in future elections. CCWI is participating in this effort.

The national hype for this contest for ideological control of the State Supreme Court was justified and not over the top. It was by any measure, monumentally significant.