Wisconsin’s Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, who is up for reelection in November, on Friday vetoed a package of bills passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature that would have made a series of changes to the battleground state’s election laws.
Republicans who fast-tracked the bills don’t have the votes to override his vetoes. The bills are part of a nationwide Republican effort to reshape elections following President Joe Biden’s victory over Donald Trump.
The bills were quickly passed earlier this year amid Trump’s insistence that the 2020 election was stolen from him and that there was widespread fraud, despite no evidence to back up his claims. Courts, recounts, independent audits and partisan reviews have all upheld President Joe Biden’s nearly 21,000-vote victory.
In vetoing the eight bills, Evers told lawmakers that “The right to vote is fundamental to our democracy; it should not be subject to the whim of politicians who do not like the outcome of an election.”
