These tips will help you save time at the polls and be sure your vote is counted.  Printer-friendly, half-page version to share with others:   LWV 2008 Voting Tips Flyer

Civic groups in five Great Lakes states are calling on more than 700 judicial candidates to follow new campaign conduct guidelines that help them steer clear of special interest pressures and political agendas.  A nine-page memo, mailed to candidates in Wisconsin and four other states warns of the dangers posed by rising campaign costs, angry and misleading television ads, and growing ethical quandaries over what to say on the campaign trail about cases that might land in court.  It offers advice on how judicial candidates can and must negotiate these challenges to promote continued public confidence that courts are fair, impartial and accountable to the law.  Read the press release here.  See the memo here. 

The League of Women Voters of Wisconsin Education Fund, Common Cause in Wisconsin and Wisconsin Democracy Campaign have released the responses of candidates for the Wisconsin Legislature (Assembly and Senate) to six questions on issues central to honest, accountable government.  Read an analysis of the candidates' response in our press release.   To view the State Legislature Voter Guide, broken down by districts, click here.
 

The League also has released a separate 2008 Congressional Voter Guide with responses from Wisconsin candidates for U.S. House of Representatives on issues including campaign finance, healthcare reform, immigration, and use of fossil fuels.

Wisconsin has become a poster child for the changing face of - and increasing influence of money in - Supreme Court elections.  Yet we are not alone.  This special report from the Justice at Stake Campaign shows how five midwestern states—Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin—have become caught up in America’s “New Politics of Judicial Elections.”

The U.S. Supreme Court ruling upholding Indiana's strict voter ID law was a blow for fair elections, and it should not be used to support restrictive measures in Wisconsin.  We have a record of clean elections, with no evidence of impersonation at the polls.  There is no reason to impose restrictive election laws, which invariably place a higher burden on certain groups of eligible citizens.  Mary Wilson, President of the League of Women Voters of the United States, called the ruling "a disgraceful decision by a court that has no credibility on election issues."  Read the Wisconsin League's statement here:  Voter ID statement 04-29-08.pdf

Proponents of Voter ID are citing a report which rolled out old findings that appear to point to widespread illegal voting in Milwaukee in the 2004 election. The truth is that virtually all of the irregularities identified in the 2004 election have already been debunked or found to be simple errors; the study identified no reports of anyone impersonating anyone else at the poll. It is not clear who really is responsible for this report, which came as a surprise to the Milwaukee Chief of Police when it was released. Read More...