MADISON, Wis. _ In a surprise visit to a Democratic office Tuesday, vice presidential candidate Tim Kaine said Republicans in Wisconsin were trying to make it harder for people to vote.
"Your state officials here have been trying to put barriers up to participation," Hillary Clinton's running mate told several dozen volunteers and organizers. "They've been trying to close down participation, rather than open it up."
His comments come just weeks after a judge struck down a portion of the state's voter ID law and limits on early voting that Republican legislators have approved in recent years.
"If you meet anybody who says to you, 'I don't think my vote matters,' what you tell them is, 'The other side sure thinks it matters because they've been working awful hard to try to make it harder for you to vote. And if it matters that much to them, shouldn't it matter at least that much to you?' " Kaine said.
With U.S. Senate candidate Russ Feingold at his side, Kaine made his comments during a 20-minute stop at a downtown Madison Democratic Party office before heading to a private fundraiser.
The Virginia senator's visit came the same day Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump made several stops in Wisconsin. Trump in recent weeks has claimed this fall's election could be rigged by Democrats.
Republicans have stood behind Wisconsin's voter ID law and the restrictions on early voting they have approved in recent years.
"Voter ID is a reasonable measure to protect Wisconsin voters against cheating and make sure every vote counts," said a statement this month from GOP Gov. Scott Walker, who signed the voter ID law in 2011.
U.S. District Judge James Peterson last month ruled against the state's limits on early voting and its prohibition on having more than one early-voting location in each municipality. He also ordered changes to the way the state provides voting credentials to those who have the most difficulty getting photo identification, though he put that part of his decision on hold.
Separately, U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman last month ordered the state to allow people who can't easily get IDs to vote by signing statements at the polls. That ruling has been blocked by an appeals courts for the time being.
Both cases are still before the courts so the rules could change _ possibly multiple times _ between now and the election.
Kaine's visit came as a surprise to the Democrats who were meeting at the office, with some of them gasping when he walked in the door with Feingold, who is running for Senate against incumbent Republican Ron Johnson.
Jenny Mallek, 22, a campus organizer for the Clinton campaign at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee who was at the office, described herself as in "complete and total shock" by Kaine's visit.
"This only motivates me more, this only excites me more, this only makes me want to work harder," said Mallek.
