Quick Links:

• Legislature Passes Voter ID Amendment to Constitution
• I-41 Project Meeting
• New Website
• Ratification Day
• In the Capitol
• State Capitol Tours

Legislature Passes Voter ID Amendment to Constitution

This week I voted to enshrine our state’s voter ID law in the Wisconsin Constitution.

Voter ID has served our State well. A recent Pew Research Center Poll shows 81% of Americans favor voter ID. That is no longer a subjective sentiment. That is objective proof that the vast majority of people favor voter ID. We’ve had it for more than 10 years in Wisconsin statutory law and it works well.

My Democrat colleagues have argued that requiring voter ID disenfranchises the poor and minorities. That’s not true. A 2024 Gallop Poll found that 80% of people of color support requiring all voters to provide photo identification at their voting place in order to vote. No one can dispute that having an ID in our society is a benefit, and because of our voter ID law state IDs are now free, which they were not before.

Democrats will say this amendment to our constitution is not necessary because the requirement is already in our statutes, but as we’ve seen over the last couple years our activist Supreme Court can find very creative ways to overturn duly enacted laws. Putting Voter ID in our constitution will permanently protect election integrity in Wisconsin.

This common-sense constitutional amendment now goes to you, the voters, on the April ballot. It will further protect election integrity in Wisconsin if adopted.

I-41 Project Meeting

The Wisconsin Department of Transportation invites you to a public involvement meeting for the I-41 Project from WIS 96 (Wisconsin Avenue) near Appleton to County F (Scheuring Road) in De Pere.

A virtual meeting will be held at 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, January 22, 2025. Please use this link at the time of the meeting to sign in virtually.

Two in-person meetings will also be held: one from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, January 28 at Fox Valley Technical College’s D.J. Bordini Center in Appleton, and one from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, January 29 at Hemlock Creek Elementary School in De Pere. The presentation will start at 5:15 p.m. for both meetings.

The same information will be shared at all three meetings.

New Website

Along with the new legislative session my office has a new web site. Click on the image above or click here to visit my new web site.

Ratification Day

Tuesday was Ratification Day. It recognizes the official end of the American Revolution. The day commemorates the ratification of the Treaty of Paris on January 14, 1784, at the Maryland State House in Annapolis, Maryland, by the Confederation Congress.

In the Capitol

This week Jay Rothman, President of the Universities of Wisconsin System, visited the office to discuss the upcoming legislative session and my chairmanship of the Colleges and Universities Committee.

State Capitol Tours

The best way to experience the beauty and grandeur of Wisconsin’s Capitol building (located at 2 East Main Street, Madison, WI 53702) is to see it for yourself. It is open to the public weekdays from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and weekends and holidays from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Free tours are offered daily, year round except on the following holidays: New Year’s Day, Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Christmas. Tours start at the information desk Monday through Saturday at 9:00, 10:00, 11:00 a.m. and 1:00, 2:00, 3:00 p.m.; and Sundays at 1:00, 2:00, 3:00 p.m. A 4:00 p.m. tour is offered weekdays (Monday – Friday), excluding holidays, during Memorial Day through Labor Day. Plan on spending 45-55 minutes for a tour. The sixth floor museum and observation deck are open during the summer months. Groups of ten or more can make an on-line reservation for a tour of the State Capitol or call (608)266-0382.