4-3-14 election bills

Gov. Scott Walker has signed a bill that allows election observers to stand as close as three

feet away from the table where people register to vote and where they receive their ballot.

The bill Walker signed Wednesday changes current law, which lets the chief inspector or

Municipal clerk designate areas for election observers to stand.  Fond du Lac County Clerk Lisa Freiberg has concerns about allowing election observers closer to poll workers on election day.  Freiberg says she is concerned voters' privacy may be compromised and says there may be added pressure on poll workers trying to do their job.  Walker also signed a bill requiring that an equal number of people nominated by the Republican and Democratic parties serve as poll workers.  A third bill Walker signed allows election officials to stop counting most names entered as write-in candidates. Current law requires every vote be counted but election officials say

that can be a time-consuming process.  The new law requires in most cases that write-in candidates only be counted for registered candidates.