Common Cause, a nonpartisan political advocacy group, released a report Monday examining the election laws of 10 swing states and gave Wisconsin the most positive review.
Sam Oliker-Friedland, a co-author of the study, said the group researched news articles and government reports, and interviewed election officials to find out how states handle elections and how they can prevent problems from happening in November.
Wisconsin was rated highest for its law regarding voting machine allocation, which sets standards for the number of voting machines at each voting locality. This law helps prevent voters from waiting in long lines before they reach the polls.
Debby Anderson Meyer, the outreach director of the watchdog group Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, said the last couple of elections have seen an increase in voter turnout and Wisconsin's turnout is historically very high.""
Meyer said Wisconsin's same day voter registration law is beneficial.
""[Citizens] can walk in and vote the same day '¦ most states don't have that,"" Meyer said.
The report gave Wisconsin an ""exemplary"" rating in voter identification and mixed reviews in registration by mail, and it found statewide compliance with the Help America Vote Act ""inconclusive.""
HAVA requires a series of checks to ensure new voter information matches information provided in public databases and to prevent voter fraud and unlawful voting.
This report was released just seven days after Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen filed a lawsuit against the Government Accountability Board for its failure to comply with the HAVA.
Despite Wisconsin's high rating from Common Cause, Kristen Kukowski, communications director for the Republican party of Wisconsin, said there are problems of voter credibility in the state.
""Because we have seen so much voter fraud activity in our state, we need to see some progress on the voter ID aspect of things to make sure our election results are correct,"" Kukowski said.
Meyer said confusion, not voter fraud, was what caused problems during the 2000 presidential election.
""The solution shouldn't cause more problems,"" Meyer said. ""To institute a program of checks seems like taking a sledge hammer to a problem that only needs a tap.
