Wisconsin Republicans are more zealous than ever in their march against democracy.

MADISON --  Voting rights are under attack by Republican politicians in Madison and across the country. From the Supreme Court to state legislatures and election boards, Republicans are pursuing a radical agenda aimed at restricting the right to vote and undermining our democracy.

In a new op-ed from Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Ben Wikler, the stakes of this fight are laid bare: how the GOP broadsides against the Voting Rights Act and obstruction in Congress could leave Gov. Tony Evers as democracy’s last line of defense in Wisconsin.

Read more from Chair Wikler on Crooked here, or find excerpts below:

Democrats in other states were excited to stop worrying about Wisconsin and Arizona for a few years. 

I have bad news.

Last week, the Supreme Court heard a case that is ostensibly about specific changes to Arizona’s voting laws. In practice, however, experts fear that the Court’s 6-3 conservative majority will use it as a vehicle to gut what remains of the Voting Rights Act. 

H.R.1., the urgently-needed For The People Act, would repair the damage—but faces challenging prospects. If the Court strikes and H.R. 1 doesn’t pass, Gov. Tony Evers (D-WI) will likely be the last line of defense against Republicans’ assault on democracy in Wisconsin and, with it, America. …

“The grim reality is that there are many states, including the Electoral College swing states of Arizona and Georgia, where Republicans control both houses of the state legislature and the Governor’s office. Last week, the House of Representatives passed H.R.1, which would safeguard voting rights around the country. But that bill appears to face an uphill battle in the Senate, where Democrats might have to find 50 Senators willing to vote to reform or eliminate the filibuster. If H.R.1 stalls, new voter suppression bills will almost certainly become law in states where Republicans hold trifectas. …

“We still live with the consequences of Wisconsin Republicans’ war on free and fair elections today. In the 2016 presidential election, thanks in part to new voter ID laws, Wisconsin turned red for the first time since 1984, helping deliver the White House to Donald Trump. Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-WI) even admitted that was the point of the restrictions. And because of the 2011 gerrymandering, Republicans have near-supermajorities in the Wisconsin Assembly and Senate, even though our state is among the most perfectly purple in the nation.

Across lines of race, class, geography, and even political party, we should all be able to agree that Wisconsin and our country are strongest when our government reflects voters’ wishes. For the last two years, Evers has been a bulwark against the further erosion of that core principle. Today, Wisconsin Republicans are more zealous than ever in their march against democracy, and with the Arizona case now under review, the Supreme Court seems poised to further clear the path. 

The conclusion is simple: If we believe in a representative government of, by, and for the people, we must make it our mission to re-elect Evers and his fellow midwestern Democrats in 2022.”