Donald Trump-tied group pushing for voting changes in Wisconsin

The Wisconsin Republicans are working together with a group initiated to support former president Donald Trump’s policies to place a measure on the ballot to change voting laws in the state.

The American Legislative Exchange Council, a conservative advocacy group, held a private meeting in Wisconsin, which one attendee recorded and leaked to The Associated Press.

During the meeting, Hogan Gidley, Trump’s former White House spokesman and a leader of the Center for Election Integrity, told attendees that he has been working with Wisconsin businesspeople and politicians to determine the best course to bypass Wisconsin’s Democrat Governor Tony Evers in order to implement conservative policies. “We feel as though the governor can’t do anything about it and it will become law,” Gidley said.

He was reached for comment, where he said he would soon provide more information on his work in Wisconsin, but said little else. Common Sense Wisconsin policy board leader Bill McCoshen said he met with Gidley over a month ago to speak about  getting an election proposal on the ballot. “I think they thought it was a good idea,” McCoshen said. “They haven’t made a commitment to us one way or the other.”

McCoshen’s proposal would regulate the elections in such a way that every election across the state would have to be run the same way, in terms of when voting would begin and the way absentee ballots are counted. However, it would also prevent donations to go to bigger cities, which tend to be run by Democrats, from private groups.

In Michigan, a similar petition is going around after the bill passed in the state legislature, but was blocked by Democrat Governor Gretchen Whitmer. Many believe these potential changes are a direct result of Trump’s presidential loss last year and the widespread belief among conservatives that the election was fraudulent.