The newly minted Wisconsin Elections Commission elected officers and approved spending on an education campaign for the state’s voter ID law during its first meeting Thursday.
The commission will spend $250,000 on a public education campaign before the November election to remind people to bring an ID to the polls, and tell them how to get one if they don’t have it.
Commissioner Don Millis wants to avoid money going towards TV ads that aren’t likely to run during prime time.
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“We’re talking about one-fifth of our budget for ads that we cannot target that could be in the middle of the night and we’re not sure they’re hitting the people we’re looking for,” Millis said.
Democratic appointee Mark Thomsen was elected to serve as chair for two years. The commission is made up of six members: three appointed by Democrats and three appointed by Republicans.
The Elections Commission is one of two new partisan boards replacing the Government Accountability Board. Legislative Republicans contend the GAB was biased after it approved a John Doe investigation of Gov. Scott Walker. The state Supreme Court found no illegal activity occurred and stopped the investigation.
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