WisPolitics Budget Blog

The confirmation that voter fraud occurred in Milwaukee has winner and loser implications for 2006. It's great material for 30 second TV ads -- think of ballots being cast by illegal immigrants, criminals on furlough, names from grave-site headstones. Then, juxtopose those images with a somber whisky voice claiming votes cast from Iraq War Veterans are cheapened by those who oppose safeguarding our electoral process.

Governor Doyle's campaign might have been able to fight this one to a draw, until newspapers gave Rep. Mark Green and Milw. County Executive Scott Walker a headline confirming fraud. What's the 30-second Doyle camp response? Score this issue as a loser for Doyle.

As much as it is a loser for Doyle, it's a winner for Scott Walker. He fought Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett's request for a gazillion pre-printed ballots leading-up to the Novermber 2004 election.

Barrett's ballot request exceeded the number of eligible voters in the city. Never mind how many names appeared on the registration lists, which Walker had already covered (and then some). Barrett wanted enough ballots to cover his city's rapid population growth since the last election (sarcasm added to highlight Milwaukee's population loss and the subsequent loss of a congressional seat following the 2000 Census).

Polling suggests the photo ID requirement to vote is a 90%-10% slam dunk, so gravity pulls both Green and Walker into the win column. However, geography and history gives Walker the bigger checkmark.

Oh, yes, and Barrett was embarrassed to return a gazillion unused ballots.