Wisconsin lawmakers don’t really believe in local control

Not long ago, we heard of the ideal of local control. But those days are long gone. More and more, Madison has passed laws that restrict the authority of local governments to effectively serve their citizens. Well, they’re at it again. In the lamest of lame duck special sessions, state legislators passed laws to restrict the powers of Governor-elect Tony Evers. But they also voted to restrict opportunities for early voting. Early voting has become more and more popular, which is a good thing. We saw record turnout in the most recent election in Wisconsin.  We should all share the goal of working to ensure that we make it easy for everyone to participate in our democracy. But our elected officials want to limit opportunity for early voting to two weeks before the election. Among the arguments is that it makes the rules consistent among Wisconsin’s 72 counties. But why does it need to be consistent? Local clerks know best. Meeting the needs of voters varies by region. Dane and Dunn counties are different. Some counties are small with fewer voters. They probably don’t need two weeks to vote and count ballots. But Madison and Milwaukee need more time. We don’t need a one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to voting. Let’s let the local clerks, the ones who actually run the elections, the proper time to do their jobs. And our lawmakers should stop pretending they really believe in local control.