This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

In November, Democrats in Wisconsin won the governor’s mansion and the race for attorney general after closely fought elections. In December, they find themselves preparing for an unexpected but equally fierce political fight.

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Republicans controlling the state legislature are preparing an unusual lame-duck session, in which they will aim to pass measures to weaken Democratic governor-elect Tony Evers and attorney general-elect Josh Kaul before they take office next month.

Bills up for public hearing and committee vote on Monday, setting the stage for legislative action on Tuesday, would move the 2020 presidential primary in order to help a conservative state supreme court justice; restrict early voting in way a federal court has disallowed; and allow the legislature to sidestep Kaul in legal fights.

Republican governor and former presidential candidate Scott Walker, who will leave office on 7 January, therefore has one last chance to reshape state government.

There has not been a lame-duck session in Wisconsin since 2010, when Democrats tried unsuccessfully to approve union contracts before Walker took office.

Evers, who beat Walker by just over 1%, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel he would take “any steps possible” to stop the legislature, including lawsuits.

“I view this as a repudiation of the last election,” Evers said. “I will take any steps possible to assure the people of Wisconsin that I will not invalidate those votes. And frankly, I’m encouraging citizens across the state of Wisconsin to help me in that effort.”

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Republicans worked on the proposals in secret for weeks, discussing portions of their agenda only once they were leaked. They did not make the bills public until late on Friday, after scheduling a Monday hearing before the joint finance committee.

That panel, controlled 12-4 by Republicans, planned to vote immediately. That would make the bills available for both the senate and assembly on Tuesday. Once passed, bills would head to Walker.

Last month, he voiced support for ideas including moving the 2020 presidential primary from April to March. Democratic turnout is expected to be high, so moving the vote would boost the prospects of Dan Kelly, a conservative state supreme court justice up for election in April.

The bill would create three elections in three months: a February state primary, a March presidential primary and an April state general election. Sixty of the state’s 72 county election clerks have come out against it, saying it is impossible to administer so many contests in such a short period and would cost about $7m.

The legislation also would limit in-person early voting to a two-week window. Similar limitations were found unconstitutional by a federal judge in 2016. Democrats have threatened legal action again.

Other bills scheduled for the lame-duck session would: