Kennedy Questioned About Wisconsin’s Weak Election Laws

Oh, man, I would have loved to have been there.

A routine congressional hearing about how state elections chiefs can handle weather emergencies or terrorist attacks got a little more interesting Wednesday during an exchange between Kevin Kennedy, who serves as director of the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, and Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.

As the state’s top elections official, Kennedy was testifying in front of the House Administration Subcommittee on Elections about the state’s contingency plans. But McCarthy asked to introduce into the congressional record a copy of a controversial police report on the 2004 election.

The 67-page report, released this year, generated controversy because it was seen as a political report by the Milwaukee Police Department. The report, which identified problems in Milwaukee’s 2004 election, recommended that the state eliminate same-day voter registration and require voters to show photo identification before they could cast a ballot. Incoming Milwaukee Chief Edward Flynn, who did not see the report until it was released publicly, later said his agency should not be in the business of making policy recommendations.