Wisconsin Voter Guide

Make voting harder or easier?

CANDIDATES FOR U.S. SENATE

Tammy Baldwin (D) — Incumbent

Easier. Sponsored legislation to stop state- sanctioned voter suppression efforts: "The right to access the ballot box… is foundational to how our democracy… works."

Eric Hovde (R) 

Likely harder. Would "tighten up our voting process,… clean up our voting system." Addre- ssing voter fraud claims, said "Almost nobody in a nursing home," is at a point in life to vote. But says the "elderly should absolutely vote."

CANDIDATES FOR U.S. PRESIDENT

Kamala Harris (D)

Easier. Pass bills to protect voting rights and make voting and registration easier. Biden administration directed federal agencies to help people register.

Donald Trump (R) 

Harder. Has long supported stronger voter ID requirements. Sued to bar ballot drop boxes. Encouraged Republicans to vote early but said early ballots "get lost" or are "phony."

CANDIDATES FOR U.S. VICE PRESIDENT

Tim Walz (D)

Easier. Approved automatic voter registration, pre- registration for 16- & 17-year-olds, and permanent absentee voting. Restored voting rights for ex-cons.

JD Vance (R) 

Harder. Supports voter ID and ending early and "mass mail-in voting." Proposed giving parents an extra vote per child, with parents deservng more voting power Easier. Approved automatic voter registration, pre- registration for 16- & 17-year-olds, and permanent absentee voting. Restored voting rights for ex-cons. than the childless.

How to ensure effectiveness and fairness in law enforcement?

CANDIDATES FOR U.S. SENATE

Tammy Baldwin (D) — Incumbent

"Wisconsinites deserve to be safe in their communities." Secured funding for law enforcement for training, transparency, and accountability. Worked to ensure first responders can give overdose reversal drugs. Sponsored the FEND Off Fentanyl Act.

Eric Hovde (R) 

Opposes "defunding the police, " what he calls the "left's dystopian vision."

CANDIDATES FOR U.S. PRESIDENT

Kamala Harris (D)

Police are dedicated public servants. As a prosecutor increased felony convictions by one third. But "public safety requires community trust." Has supported better training, banning choke holds, and prosecuting police misconduct.

Donald Trump (R) 

Police are "under siege." Cut back active federal oversight of excess force, though supported a database to track it. Admires Chinese approach of quick trials and a death penalty for drug dealers so there will be a "zero drug problem."

CANDIDATES FOR U.S. VICE PRESIDENT

Tim Walz (D)

Funded $43 million toward combating violent crime and limited the use of no-knock warrants. Allocated $300 million for public safety aid to local governments. Banned chokeholds.

JD Vance (R) 

"Let's declare war on the violent crime on our streets." "Hire 100,000 additional cops." Keep "qualified immunity," restricting lawsuits against enforcement? police officers. They're "afraid to do their jobs."

Raise federal minimum from $7.25 an hour?

CANDIDATES FOR U.S. SENATE

Tammy Baldwin (D) — Incumbent

Yes. Sponsored 2021 legislation to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 per by 2025: "It is past time to raise the minimum wage."

Eric Hovde (R) 

No. "Minimum wage was never supposed to be a living wage." Low-wage jobs should motivate people to find better careers.

CANDIDATES FOR U.S. PRESIDENT

Kamala Harris (D)

Yes. Supports Congress raising the national minimum wage to $15. Biden administration raised to $15 for federal contractors.

Donald Trump (R) 

No. A $15 minimum wage would "eliminate jobs." Threatened to veto. Questioned need for a federal minimum wage: let the states decide.

CANDIDATES FOR U.S. VICE PRESIDENT

Tim Walz (D)

Yes. "$15 is an important place to start, but… isn't enough for families." Eliminated a lower minimum wage for small business employees.

JD Vance (R) 

Mixed. Would gradually raise to $11 by 2028. In 2016 called a $15 minimum "a medicine worse than the disease."

Loosen or tighten gun regulations?

CANDIDATES FOR U.S. SENATE

Tammy Baldwin (D) — Incumbent

Tighten. "Congress has failed to take action on gun violence and far too many lives have been lost." Supports background checks, anti- violence programs, and mental health services.

Eric Hovde (R) 

Likely loosen. No current position found. In a 2012 campaign for US Senate: "I fully support the rights of law-abiding citizens to keep and bear arms, no exception."

CANDIDATES FOR U.S. PRESIDENT

Kamala Harris (D)

Tighten. "Every person deserves the freedom to live safe from gun violence." Supported the bipartisan gun safety bill and required background checks for gun show & online sales.

Donald Trump (R) 

Loosen. To NRA, "no one will lay a finger on your firearms." Plans to roll back Biden gun restrictions. Reversed Obama-era background checks for those with mental illnesses.

CANDIDATES FOR U.S. VICE PRESIDENT

Tim Walz (D)

Tighten. "I'm a veteran, a hunter, and a gun owner… But it's about keeping our kids safe." Signed universal background checks for gun sales and a red flag law. Increased the penalty for straw gun purchases from a gross misdemeanor to a felony.

JD Vance (R) 

Loosen. "I will fight the gun grabbers." Would "ABOLISH the ATF [Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.]" Expanded background checks won't solve mass shootings.

Loosen or tighten environmental regulations?

CANDIDATES FOR U.S. SENATE

Tammy Baldwin (D) — Incumbent

Tighten. Supported the Inflation Reduction Act to "preserve our way of life, economy, and wellbeing." Called for community projects to clean up the Mississippi River. Worked to increase funding for Great Lakes restoration.

Eric Hovde (R) 

Loosen. Would roll back some environmental regulations to expand energy production and resource development.

CANDIDATES FOR U.S. PRESIDENT

Kamala Harris (D)

Tighten. Supports "environmental justice." In CA prosecuted polluters. Biden admin issued more than 100 environmental regulations.

Donald Trump (R) 

Loosen. Weakened or ended more than 125 environmental protections, including wetlands and wildlife. Will reverse Biden policies

CANDIDATES FOR U.S. VICE PRESIDENT

Tim Walz (D)

Tighten. Signed a ban on toxic "forever chemicals," one of the world's strictest. Gave Pollution Control more power to hold severe polluters accountable. Increased protection for historically polluted neighborhoods.

JD Vance (R) 

Loosen. "Environmental justice" policies are making jobs be shipped to China. Opposed EPA restrictions on steel-making emissions. Voted to limit Fisheries Service establishing critical habitat for endangered species.

Ban or legal?

CANDIDATES FOR U.S. SENATE

Tammy Baldwin (D) — Incumbent

Legal. "I am pro-choice.… Women should decide." Sponsored the 2023 Women's Health Protection Act to ensure national access to abortion; would ban state restrictions earlier in pregnancy — and later if the mother's health is at risk.

Eric Hovde (R) 

Mostly ban. In 2012 "totally opposed" legalized abortion. Supported overturning Roe v. Wade. Now supports a statewide referendum on abortion ban after 3 months. "That's more than enough reasonable time for a woman to make a choice. " (The Wisconsin constitution bars referendums.)

CANDIDATES FOR U.S. PRESIDENT

Kamala Harris (D)

Legal. "Every woman should have the right to make decisions about her own body." "This fight is about freedom." With Biden, strengthened abortion pill access and abortion patient protections, overturned Trump Planned Parenthood federal funding ban. Would sign national abortion rights bill if Congress passed

Donald Trump (R) 

Ban. "After 50 years of failure, I was able to kill Roe v. Wade." Did so by appointing three antiabortion Supreme Court Justices. It was "a miracle." States should decide for themselves, potentially monitoring women's pregnancies and prosecuting women for getting abortions. Abortion is "really not that big of an issue."

CANDIDATES FOR U.S. VICE PRESIDENT

Tim Walz (D)

Legal. Enshrined the right to abortion and reproductive health care into state law. Signed a bill to protect MN abortion access for out-of-state patients. "Freedom is on the march in Minnesota."

JD Vance (R) 

Ban. In 2022 said should be "illegal nationally." No exceptions for rape or incest. "Two wrongs don't make a right." Now says leave to the states. Opposed Biden's reproductive care privacy rule.