For Immediate Release
November 9, 2015
Contact: 262.393.1618
The GAB Elimination is Good, Another Board is NOT
In extraordinary session the Wisconsin State Senate passed Senate Bill 294 (an amended version of Assembly Bill 388) that will eliminate the Government Accountability Board (GAB). Based on the failures of the GAB over the past 8 years we at Restoring Wisconsin are happy with the decision to separate the ethics from the elections process but are troubled by the continuation of more boards that do not answer to the people of Wisconsin.
For 40 years we have tried using political appointees to run our elections with the latest attempt calling itself "non-partisan" due to its use of retired judges. Now we have legislators willing to say that the GAB needs to be replaced due to its "hyper-partisan" nature but they are doing so with more political appointees. This has proven to be a failed strategy.
Here in Wisconsin, 71 of 72 counties elect our Chief Elections Officer, the person solely responsible for oversight and duties related to our elections, this partisan elected official is none other than our County Clerk. They hire staff that serves at the will of the office to ensure that our elections are not only handled properly but fairly. We as voters have the ability to elect, reelect and, if need be, recall this person from office if they fail in their mission or they begin to bias our elections process.
Thirty-nine (39) States elect their State Elections officer and up until 1974 we did so as well here in Wisconsin.
We can all be happy with the death of the GAB but until we return the power of our elections to the hands of the people of Wisconsin we are just putting true election reform on the calendar for future legislation.
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Restoring Wisconsin is a group devoted to returning duties to the elected offices of State Treasurer and Secretary of State in order to provide real transparency and tax savings to the voters and taxpayers of Wisconsin.
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