by Benjamin Yount
Less than one month before Wisconsin’s next election, Madison’s mayor is proposing a new ban on harassing election workers.
Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway unveiled a new ordinance Tuesday that would make it a crime to “engage in violent, abusive, indecent, profane, boisterous, unreasonably loud or otherwise disorderly conduct under circumstances in which such conduct tends to cause or provoke a disturbance” against poll workers or local election managers.
Fines would start at $300, and are capped at $1,000.
Rhodes-Conway says the $1,000 fine “reflects the harm to the election system, in addition to the effect of such behavior on election officials.”
The new ordinance also allows Madison to press for a fine for each instance of harassment.
“After the 2020 election and the attack on the U.S. Capitol, election officials in Madison and Dane County and in towns and villages across the state have faced threats and harassment for merely doing their jobs,” the mayor said in a statement. “By introducing these ordinance changes, the entire City of Madison, our police and our prosecutors are standing up and saying ‘enough.’ We are going to do everything we can to protect our clerks and poll workers from threats of violence and harassment.”
Rhodes-Conway did not point to any specific examples of harassment that local election officials have received while doing their jobs.
The proposed ordinance is also a little short on specifics of just what constitutes harassment.
“With intent to harass, annoy, or offend another, sends a telecommunication message to a telecommunication device and uses any violent, abusive, indecent, or profane language or image, or any other message which tends to cause or provoke a disturbance; or while under the influence of alcohol, in a public place, engages in violent, abusive, indecent, profane, boisterous, unreasonably loud or otherwise disorderly conduct under circumstances in which such conduct tends to cause or provoke a disturbance,” is how the ordinance defines a harassment violation.
Rhodes-Conway says she has support from many of Madison’s city council members. Her ordinance is on next week’s agenda.
Voters in Wisconsin head to the polls on August 9.
Benjamin Yount is a contributor to The Center Square.
Photo “Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway” by Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway.
