RandyMelchert.com

As I ranted earlier, (and even made WisOpinion for my rant), the state election laws are horribly out of date in regards to independent expenditures. I won’t rehash my personal story but suffice it to say if you spend $30 supporting a candidate you can be in trouble if you don’t fill out half a dozen forms.

Unless, you are willing to take them to court:

In Spring, 2008 the following events occured:

Swaffer is a resident of the Town of Whitewater, a so-called “dry” town in Walworth County, Wisconsin. On April 1, 2008, residents of the Town of Whitewater were asked to vote, via referendum, on whether to turn the town wet and allow liquor sales and licensing of liquor vendors. Swaffer alleges that he opposed the referendum, and wanted to mail postcards to fellow residents urging them to vote against the liquor proposals on the April 1, 2008, ballot.2 Swaffer also wanted to make yard signs advocating against passage of the referendum. Plaintiffs estimated the cost of producing and distributing the postcards and signs to be approximately five hundred dollars. Plaintiff Rasmussen, a resident of nearby Waterford, Wisconsin, alleges that he sought to contribute to Swaffer’s effort to offset the cost of producing and distributing the postcards and signs.

On March 16th, 2009, John Swaffer, a Town of Whitewater resident won a summary judgment against the Government Accountability Board (GAB), because the GAB requirements were unconstitutional.

Now, in a letter from the GAB to State Sen. Lena Taylor, chair of the Senate Committee on Campaign Finance (and other stuff), we find that “The most recent litigation cost the state $70,000 in legal fees paid to the plaintiffs.”

The GAB is seeking to raise the threshold from $25 to $750, before reports are due.  This is a good move in my opinion, as it lifts restrictions on free (political) speech.

They have submitted to the Legislative Reference Bureau bill LRB 3859-1, that will codify this into state law.