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Madison — After being blocked by Democrats a day earlier, Republican state senators narrowly approved bills Wednesday to end weekend voting before elections, allow lobbyists to make political donations earlier in the political season and curb lawsuits by those exposed to asbestos.

Under one bill, approved by a one-vote margin, early voting in clerks' offices could occur only on weekdays between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. Clerks would not be able to hold early voting during all of that period, however, because they would be limited to allowing a total of 45 hours of early voting a week.

Democrats told Republicans they saw the move as an effort to suppress voting by their supporters.

"I feel like I'm in 1906, fighting the fights that people who came long before me had to fight," said Sen. Lena Taylor (D-Milwaukee), who is African-American. "I would argue it screams of backward-thinking mentality, all the way back to Jim Crow, and you should be ashamed."

Republicans did not speak on the merits of the bill during Wednesday's debate, but Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald (R-Juneau) told reporters after the vote that the measure would level the playing field for urban and rural areas because rural clerks don't have the staff to keep the long hours that cities do.

"It's difficult for people to turn on Channel 6 in Milwaukee ... and there's a shot of someone voting during a time when it's not available to people in rural areas," Fitzgerald said.

The bill — as with all others approved Wednesday — passed on a 17-16 vote, with Sen. Dale Schultz (R-Richland Center) joining all Democrats in opposing the measure.

The early voting bill now goes to the Assembly, which already has approved a different version. Fitzgerald said he did not know how the measure would fare in that house because the Senate amended the bill to have the state pay half the expenses for rural municipalities offering early voting. That provision would cost about $200,000, and Assembly leaders have not signed off on it, Fitzgerald said.

Gov. Scott Walker declined to say whether he would sign the bill if it gets to him.

Republicans first took up the early voting bill and other measures Tuesday, but Democrats blocked them with procedural maneuvers. Republicans then scheduled Wednesday's session as they speed toward the end of the legislative session early next month.

It is the second set of limits on early voting Republicans have pursued since taking control of state government in 2011. That year, Walker and GOP lawmakers cut back the early-voting period from three weeks, including three weekends, to two weeks, including one weekend.

Democrats said the bill would make it harder for minorities, veterans, senior citizens and students to vote and would create longer lines on election day. The goal of the bill is to reduce turnout in Democratic areas, they argued.

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett called the measure "mean-spirited," and an attempt to disenfranchise voters in heavily Democratic cities.

"This is all about suppressing the vote in Milwaukee and Madison," Barrett said at a news conference Wednesday, just hours after the Senate passed the measure. "This is about suppressing the vote for people of color, people with disabilities and for low-income people."

Scot Ross of the liberal group One Wisconsin Now said that if the bill becomes law, his organization might sue to overturn it on the grounds that it discriminates against minorities.

Lobbyist donations. Under another bill the Senate approved Wednesday, lobbyists would be allowed to give campaign donations to lawmakers and other state candidates starting April 15 of election years — moved up from June 1. Supporters say the change is needed because partisan primaries are now held in August instead of September, lengthening the campaign season.

Republicans have backed off from another change that would have allowed lobbyists to pass on campaign checks from others during the legislative session.

The measure now goes to the Assembly.

Asbestos lawsuits. Trials for those exposed to asbestos would be slowed underanotherbill the Senate approved Wednesday.

Long used for fireproofing and insulation, asbestos can cause cancer and other illnesses. Many of the companies that manufactured products with asbestos have gone bankrupt and set up trust funds to pay victims.

Victims can file claims against those businesses, as well as lawsuits against companies still in business. The bill would require plaintiffs to disclose any claims against trusts they have filed or plan to file. Once they made those disclosures, their trials could not start for six months.

Sen. Fred Risser (D-Madison) noted many of those exposed to asbestos are Navy veterans who served during World War II and are now in their 90s.

"The essence of the bill is to delay action, hope these people die off," Risser said.

"How can you be so cruel as to turn around and tell our veterans ... that you can't have your day in court?"

Sen. Glenn Grothman (R-West Bend), the bill's sponsor, said the measure was aimed at requiring plaintiffs to disclose other lawsuits they might be engaged in because some of them do not reveal they are seeking money from bankrupt businesses' trust funds while also suing solvent companies. Those plaintiffs are "hoping for double recovery," Grothman said.

The Assembly passed a different version of the bill in May, and the measure now returns to that house.

Election observers. Electionobservers could come three to eight feet from the table where voters announce their names and addresses and are issued voter numbers, or from the table where voters register to vote, under another bill the Senate passed Wednesday.

Democrats argued the bill could lead to voter harassment, with Sen. Tim Carpenter (D-Milwaukee) saying observers would be "breathing down the necks of poll workers."

"What we're basically doing is empowering people to be bad actors," he said.

The bill now goes to Walker.

Poll workers. Another bill approved Wednesday would allow poll workers to come from anywhere in the county where they live, rather than just from the municipality or ward where they live. It now goes to the Assembly.

Minimum wage and redistricting. Also Wednesday, Republicans blocked attempts by Democrats to hold votes raising the minimum wage and changing the way the state draws legislative districts.

Critics have said both parties have abused the system of drawing legislative districts in attempts to maximize their political advantage.

The Senate barred taking up the minimum wage on a party-line, 18-15 vote. Republicans prevented taking up the redistricting bill, 17-16, with Schultz joining Democrats in trying to get the bill to the floor. Two-thirds votes were required to consider the bills.

Jason Stein of the Journal Sentinel staff contributed to this report.

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