Wisconsin Governor Vetoes Discriminatory Poll Tax Bill

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D) vetoed a bill Friday that would require voters with felony convictions to pay all outstanding legal fees before their right to vote is restored — a requirement that voting rights advocates slammed as a discriminatory poll tax. 

“In Wisconsin, when an individual completes their court-ordered sentence, their constitutional right to vote is restored without any additional barrier or process,” Evers said in a statement on his vetoing of Assembly Bill 87. “This bill would create additional barriers to make it harder for individuals who have completed their sentences to have their right to vote restored. My promise to Wisconsinites has always been that I will not sign legislation that makes it harder for eligible Wisconsinites to cast their ballot.”

The Republican-controlled Wisconsin State Assembly passed AB 87 in March, as part of a slate of criminal justice-related bills aimed at imposing stricter punishments and revoking the rights of those charged with crimes. Along with withholding the right to vote from people convicted of felonies until all outstanding financial obligations from their conviction were paid, the bill also required a person convicted of child trafficking to pay restitution immediately, and authorized the seizure of assets in lieu of payment.

When AB 87 was first introduced in the state Assembly, the ACLU of Wisconsin slammed the bill as a modern day poll tax. 

“The ultimate goal of legislation like this is to make it harder for over-policed and over-criminalized groups – disproportionately Black, Indigenous and other people of color, people with disabilities, and people in poverty – to exercise their constitutional right to vote,” the group said in a statement.

The Wisconsin Assembly voted 53-44 to pass AB 87, with every Democrat voting against the bill. 

In a statement, the Wisconsin chapter of the pro-voting group All Voting is Local praised Evers’ veto.

“Governor Evers stood up for democracy today by using his veto power to protect Wisconsin voters with felony convictions from a discriminatory poll tax,” All Voting is Local Action Wisconsin State Director Sam Liebert said. “Our country and our state are at their best when we have systems in place that allow returning citizens to properly rehabilitate and become civically engaged, whether for the first time or once again. Being able to vote without paying a restitution fee is essential to maintaining a healthy democracy.”