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February 20, 2007

Re: Oppose to LRB 1279/2, Limiting the Number of Ballots Printed

The League of Women Voters was founded to support fair, open elections. Since 1920, we have advocated for an electoral system that is accessible to voters; that is efficiently run; and that inspires confidence among the electorate.

The League of Women Voters of Wisconsin strongly opposes LRB 1279/2, which would limit the number of ballots that a first class city could print for a given election. We do not believe this measure addresses any of the problems currently facing our electoral process. We do believe that such provision would lead to increased problems at the polls, creating more work for election administrators and disheartening voters.

Currently, the county clerk or board of election commissioners of each county is responsible for printing ballots. It is the job of these officials to evaluate their precincts and determine an appropriate number of ballots. This is not a task that should be administrated from the State Capitol.

While more ballots than necessary have been printed in some municipalities for past elections, no problems have ever been associated with this overestimate. There has never been a case of voter fraud associated with excess ballots.

On the contrary, there have been problems at a number of polling places when too few ballots were printed. Voters are allowed up to three ballots in the case that the scanner does not accept the ballot as marked. If lines are not correctly drawn, if too many or too few votes have been cast on a ballot, voters will receive a new ballot to remark.

Too few ballots available at a polling place results in long lines and confusing among voters. Election officials must then deal with a volatile situation on their busiest day of work, and voters who are asked to wait for ballots may become discouraged with the voting process or simply leave the polls without voting.

LRB 1279/2 addresses a problem that does not exist; namely, threats to the electoral process resulting from too many ballots. LRB 1279/2 has the potential to exacerbate the problems that currently plague our electoral process: long lines, complex administration and mass confusion with high voter turnout.

The League of Women Voters of Wisconsin urges you to oppose this bill.