WI Has Inadequate Funding for Voter ID Education Campaign

In an earlier post, WI GAB Has Only Tiny Budget to Get Out Word About New Voter ID Requirements, I described problems with getting the word out about Wisconsin’s new voter id law [corrected]. The GAB spokesperson responded with a pretty cheerful message about the adequacy of funding, but the picture seems less bright:

Governor Scott Walker’s budget, which must pass in the next few weeks, includes almost no funding for the GAB to educate voters about the new requirements. The agency had estimated it would cost about $500,000 to inform the state’s millions of voters about the law, but they were given a only tiny fraction of that amount.

“We actually made a great ad campaign. We have catchy videos in English and Spanish. But we weren’t given any money to air them,” Wolfe told ThinkProgress. “Our request for additional funding was denied.”

Due to the lack of funds, Wolfe said she could only give workshops if communities self-organize and request one, as they did in Milwaukee. She also implored the attendees to widely share the PSAs they can’t afford to get on the radio or TV.

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