Ask before you vote, for a more just Wisconsin!

What would a state platform for peace and justice look like?

The Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice's work groups and members have a few ideas. Wisconsin National Guard troops wouldn't be sent overseas for illegal wars. State drivers' cards would be available to all, regardless of immigration status, to improve public safety. Wisconsin would boost its energy efficiency and use of clean renewables, while maintaining its restrictions on new nuclear reactors.

In this election year, it's fair to ask candidates where they stand on these important issues. So that's what we did.

The five questions in the Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice's first-ever state candidate survey are listed below.

If you want to know your local candidates' answers before you vote, please ask them to fill out our survey.

We sent our survey to all candidates for state Assembly, Senate, Lieutenant Governor and Governor, with a response deadline of September 1. (September 14 is the primary election.)

If you're not sure who all the candidates are, the fabulous League of Women Voters website allows you to look them up. Simply type in your address and click "find my races." (You can choose candidates to compare, or just page through the list without selecting any.)

Please call or email your local candidates for state Assembly and Senate. Encourage them to respond to the WNPJ survey by September 1, and tell them that these peace and justice issues are important to you.

Thanks for taking action, and stay tuned! We'll be publishing all the candidate responses we receive before the September 14 primary.

WNPJ survey for state-level candidates

Note: WNPJ is a non-partisan, non-profit organization and does not endorse candidates.

1. Before a new nuclear power reactor can be built in Wisconsin, current law requires that the Public Service Commission find that it makes economic sense for state ratepayers and that a federal waste repository will be available to handle high-level radioactive waste from the plant.

   Do you support or oppose maintaining the current law on licensing requirements for new nuclear reactors?

 

2. Under Wisconsin law, prospective gun purchasers are required to show identification and undergo a criminal background check only when purchasing a gun from a licensed firearm dealer. Unlicensed dealers and individuals sell approximately half of all guns in Wisconsin.

   Do you favor closing the loophole that allows gun buyers to evade a criminal background check when they purchase a gun from an unlicensed dealer or individual?

 

3. A 2005 change in Wisconsin law tightened the standards for the issuance of drivers’ licenses to require that any applicant for a driver’s license or identification card must present documentary proof that the person is either a United States citizen or legally present in the United States. Federal law allows states to also implement an alternative driving certificate as long as the certificate is different in color or design from a regular license and indicates on its face that the license may not be accepted by any federal agency, as federal identification, or other official purposes. Many local law enforcement officials around the state, as well as Wisconsin Chiefs of Police Association and the Wisconsin Troopers Association, support the issuance of a driver’s card based on their concerns about the threat to public safety posed by the large increase in unlicensed drivers in our state caused by the 2005 change in licensing standards.

   Do you support or oppose Wisconsin issuing a driver’s card, as permitted under federal law, that could not be used for federal identification purposes but would serve as limited purpose driver's licenses for undocumented and legal immigrants whose cases are pending with immigration?

 

4. Wisconsin law bars individuals with felony convictions from voting while incarcerated and while on probation, parole or extended supervision. Of the over 42,000 disfranchised Wisconsin citizens, more than 75% live outside of Milwaukee County. Other states are reconsidering their restrictions on voting rights. In 2006 Rhode Island, whose law was similar to Wisconsin’s, enacted legislation to restore voting rights upon release from incarceration. A bill introduced in the last legislative session, the Wisconsin Democracy Restoration Act, would restore the right to vote to individuals immediately upon release from incarceration, returning voting rights to men -- and, increasingly, women -- from all walks of life, races, religions, and political backgrounds who have been deemed safe enough to return to our communities, but continue to be barred from the ballot box.

   Do you support or oppose legislation to restore the right to vote immediately upon release from incarceration?

 

5. Some constitutional experts have raised questions about the legality of federal orders for deployment of National Guard troops overseas, especially to Iraq, arguing that the basis for the 2002 Congressional Authorization for Use of Military Force in Iraq -- to secure Iraqi weapons of mass destruction and to remove Saddam Hussein from power -- has expired and Congress never voted to reauthorize the mission to Iraq on any other basis. Wisconsin currently has no process in place to respond to questions about the legality of a Guard deployment and to protect Wisconsin Guard troops from future unlawful deployments.

   Do you support or oppose legislation that would require the Governor to review all federal orders for deployment of the Wisconsin National Guard and to refuse any deployment determined to be unlawful?