A Wisconsin legislator is proposing to make Election Day a state holiday in hopes of solving problems at the polls.

Rep. Joe Parisi (D-Madison) said his legislation would apply to all presidential and gubernatorial elections. The bill is currently being drafted, and a date for its introduction has not been set.

Declaring Election Day a state holiday would spread the vote out and help the polling process run smoother, according to Parisi.

"When you look at the problems that have occurred in Milwaukee, I think you can trace a lot of them to long lines and overworked poll workers," he said.

"And the crux of problems occurs with having to process a bunch of people in just a few hours," Parisi said.

Parisi said his bill would address both these issues because declaring a state holiday would free up more people to work at the polls and lessen the rush of people voting just before or after work.

Fourteen states currently use some form of the bill, including Ohio, Indiana and Illinois.

Some Republicans say the bill does not address the real problems facing Wisconsin voters. Chris Lato, communications director for the Republican Party of Wisconsin, said Republicans think the Voter ID bill would be more effective in solving these problems.

"I think the representative's proposal doesn't really get at the key issues," Lato said.

"I think what we're seeing in a lot of instances from the Democrats is a lot of tinkering at the edges but not getting at the concern about identity theft," Lato said.

Parisi expressed the opposite opinion, saying more voting problems arise from poor administration at the polls rather than from voter fraud.

The Democratic Party of Wisconsin did not return phone calls for comment.

Common Cause in Wisconsin, a non-partisan, non-profit organization that addresses election concerns, has mixed feelings about Parisi's bill.

"We would certainly be very supportive of making Election Day a holiday, but my guess is that this type of legislation would be very difficult to get passed," said Jay Heck, executive director of the organization.

Heck said the bill would not increase voter turnout, which is a current concern of Common Cause.

Declaring presidential and gubernatorial elections state holidays also would not affect some statewide elections that are held during the spring, he said.

"A more realistic step we would propose is moving statewide elections to November," Heck said.

"We have a statewide race for superintendent and Supreme Court in the spring, and those are very important," he said.

Parisi acknowledged his bill would likely not increase voter turnout, but also stressed that was not the legislation's intent.

Lato questioned Parisi's intents with the bill, saying making Election Day a state holiday would free up more unionized state employees who tend to favor Democrats.

"He may have the best of intentions, but it does free up a lot of Democrats to be voting on Election Day," Lato said.

Regardless of whose voting habits would be changed by election days as state holidays, Parisi listed a couple other reasons why he feels the bill is important.

"It only ends up being one day every two years; it doesn't seem like a lot to ask," Parisi said.

"I think it's important to recognize the importance of Election Day. I think it's a direction we need to start moving in," he said.

This article appeared in The Marquette Tribune on April 14 2005.