Hamilton Political Tidbits – August 13, 2021

In 2022, Wisconsin will host at least two key congressional races affecting the political balance of power in Washington, D.C. First, one of the state’s two seats in the U.S. Senate will be on the ballot statewide. The seat is currently held by Republican Senator Ron Johnson, who has yet to announce whether he will seek a third term.

So far during the 2021 session, the Wisconsin Legislature has passed eight bills related to election law and administration, all of which have been vetoed by Governor Tony Evers. On August 10, Gov. Evers announced that he had vetoed six election bills in a public ceremony at the Wisconsin Capitol Building. On August 12, the U.S. Census Bureau released the full set of national census data that it collected in 2020, allowing state and local governments to begin drawing new maps of their political districts.

On July 27, the Wisconsin Assembly met in extraordinary session to vote on a veto override of Assembly Bill 336. The bill would have ended Wisconsin’s participation in federal programs to provide or supplement unemployment benefits. On July 26, one day before the Assembly met to attempt a veto override for AB 336, Gov. Evers announced that he had issued an executive order calling a special session of the Legislature to consider his proposal on education spending.