Americans do not have a constitutionally mandated right to vote, U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Madison, said at a Legislative Affairs committee meeting Monday.
The problem without having this clear right, he said, is that it makes denying voting privileges much easier.
Pocan discussed this and several other issues with committee members, including the government shutdown, immigration reform and financial aid restructuring.
Pocan said he plans to work on putting voting rights in the constitution, which would prevent legislation such as voter ID laws that he said minimize voting access for groups such as students and seniors.
“Instead of voters selecting their elected officials, elected officials want to select their voters,” Pocan said.
Pocan also mentioned the need for immigration reform, and discussed possible legislation to reform financial aid.
However, he said due to government being “held hostage by a very small number of people” in the shutdown, there has been little progress moving new bills forward.
Also at the meeting, Chair Morgan Rae said she met with Police Chief Susan Riseling to discuss Responsible Action, a bill she spearheaded that would prohibit police from issuing underage drinking citations when a dangerously intoxicated student or their friend contacted authorities to request help.
Riseling had previously expressed concerns that students in need of assistance could potentially continue to drink dangerous levels in the future if they did not receive drinking penalties.
Among other ideas, Riseling suggested changing the bill so only students with blood alcohol levels above .28 could receive citations. Rae said she would like to explore alternative modifications, as students this intoxicated especially need to seek help.
Rae said instead she may add language to the bill that would give students immunity from citations for their first emergency, but would not protect them in any consecutive instances. According to Rae, Riseling said she would consider the idea.
Legislative Affairs intern Madison Laning also updated the committee on her project aiming to eventually pass legislation that would allow 19 and 20-year-old Wisconsin residents to purchase permits to drink.
Laning also emailed a survey to the student body Sunday and said she hopes to look at the results and determine whether students would support such a bill.
