Governor should refuse to release Wisconsin voting records

Voting is a very private matter. Our voting records are kept secret. We never have to tell anyone who we voted for. We don’t even have to vote at all. But now, the federal government thinks states should hand over the confidential information of voters. The newly-formed Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity is demanding Wisconsin and all other states release to them our sensitive voter information. Our dates of birth, partial social security numbers and even our political preference all would be publicly released to the federal government if Wisconsin were to comply. Many states have refused, and the leaders of the Wisconsin Senate and Assembly have written letters to the state Elections Commission urging the agency to refuse to turn over this confidential information. But Governor Walker has not taken a public stand on whether he will stand up to the federal government, like our neighbors in Minnesota have done. Walker should make it clear that Wisconsin won’t release our voter records, that to do so is banned by state statute. The last thing we need now is even less confidence in the integrity of our elections.