Majority Speaker Rep. Robin Vos, R-Rochester, hand delivered a letter to Gov. Tony Evers Friday asking him to change the date of the special election called to address U.S. Rep. Sean Duffy’s, R-WI, recent resignation.
Vos’ letter pointed to a religious conflict with the date set for the potential primary election, the last night of Hanukkah, and encouraged Evers to “treat people of all faiths with the same dignity and respect.”
“You may not have realized that Monday, December 30th is the final day of Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights. It is considered one of the most joyous Jewish holidays and the final day is the culmination of the eight-day celebration,” Vos wrote. “It is unnecessary to require Wisconsinites to exercise their civic duty on a day they have set aside for religious practice.”
The unanticipated vacancy in Congressional District 7 opened September 23, the same day Evers called for a special election to be held on Monday, January 27 to replace the seat.
This action caused frustration across the Republican party, who claimed this was a strategic move by Evers to keep rural voters from the polls.
“Gov. Tony Evers called for a special election on a Monday over the holidays in order to shield his party from rural voters during the spring election,” Executive Director of the Republican Party of Wisconsin Mark Jefferson said. “This desperate move shows just how terrified Democrats are of rural Wisconsin voters, their level of hypocrisy and the lengths they’ll go to benefit their own party.”
Not only Republicans are putting the heat on Evers to re-think the dates of the special election. The Executive Director for Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, a non-profit, non-partisan “watchdog group,” released a commentary article Friday condemning Evers.
“Having a primary during the holidays just isn’t cool,” Matthew Rothschild wrote. “That’s precisely the point here: Evers has made a decision that is anti-democratic, small “d.” Because of his decision, the turnout is likely to be one of the lowest in Wisconsin history.”
However, former Madison Ald. Scott Resnick, District 8, addressed this concern on Twitter in response to Vos’ letter.
“As a Jew originally from the 7th Congressional District, this is a non-issue,” Resnick tweeted. “Does anyone else feel differently about this? Hanukkah isn’t a High Holiday. No synagogue in the CD holds services on that day.”
There has been no word from the Evers’ administration thus far regarding his intention to keep or change the date of the special election.
