MILWAUKEE -- The Milwaukee County Board Committee on Finance, Personnel, and Audit on Thursday, October 29th approved a budget amendment that requires the Milwaukee County Transit System to develop a proposal to arrange free bus rides for people traveling to receive voter identification documents or registering to vote.
“Voter suppression is real in Wisconsin, and we need to do everything we can to ease the burden on those who want to vote,” said Supervisor Khalif Rainey, sponsor of the amendment. “By providing free bus rides for people to get proper voter ID or to register to vote, we will enhance the chances that those people will be able to take part in the democratic process. Providing free transportation will help people exercise their right to vote without undue financial burden.”
The plan is to be submitted to the County Board no later than February 1, 2016.
The Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors will host a public hearing on Monday, November 2nd, on the 2016 recommended budget and the amendments adopted by the Committee on Finance, Personnel, and Audit throughout the month of October.
The board’s public hearing on the budget begins at 6:30 p.m. and will be held at the Mitchell Park Domes, 524 S. Layton Blvd.
The hearing at the Domes is in addition to the public hearing and meetings already held by the Finance Committee during their deliberations on the annual budget.
The Committee on Finance, Personnel, and Audit will meet again on Wednesday, November 4th to consider any budget amendments resulting from the board’s public hearing.
The County Board is scheduled to adopt the budget for next year at its Monday, November 9th meeting, which begins at 8:30 a.m.