Wisconsin Right Now

Wisconsin’s governor is asking the state Supreme Court to allow ballot drop boxes ahead of this November’s election. Gov. Tony Evers filed a brief with the court, asking the new liberal-majority to overturn a ruling from 2022 that said ballot drop boxes are not allowed under state law. “At the very heart of our democracy is the fundamental freedom to vote. In Wisconsin, we must work to protect that freedom and to empower our clerks and election administrators working hard at the local level to make decisions that are right for their communities. Drop box voting is safe and secure, and there is nothing in Wisconsin’s election laws that prohibit our local clerks from using this secure option, absent an incorrect ruling by our courts,” Evers said in a statement. Wisconsin law does not specifically allow for ballot drop boxes anywhere other than the local clerk’s office. The then-conservative-majority court based its ruling that banned ballot drop boxes on that fact. But Evers ...

California lieutenant governor Eleni Kounalakis urged state secretary Shirley Weber to “explore every legal option” to remove former president Donald Trump from the 2024 primary ballot, claiming “California must stand on the right side of history,” and that “this is a dire matter that puts at stake the sanctity of our constitution and our democracy.” On Tuesday, the Colorado Supreme Court voted 3-4 to block former President Donald Trump from receiving votes on the 2024 presidential primary ballot, saying he is disqualified because he “engaged in an insurrection,” a reference to his role in the Jan. 6 Capitol protests gone awry. Noting the list of certified candidates for the 2024 primary must be certified by December 28, the letter from Kounalakis cited the Colorado decision, which she says is “about honoring the rule of law in our country and protecting the fundamental pillars of our democracy,” as the impetus for her call for Weber to act. The Colorado decision does not take...

Wisconsin’s governor is making it clear he’s not going to sign off on the end of the Wisconsin Elections Commission. Gov. Tony Evers was a guest on Upfront on Milwaukee TV over the weekend and said he will veto the Republican-backed plan to get rid of the elections commission and shift its powers to the secretary of state’s office. “Under no circumstances, simple as that,” Evers said. Republican Rep. Ty Bodden, R-Stockbridge, introduced the plan last week. He said moving the responsibility for managing Wisconsin’s elections to the elected secretary of state will help restore faith in the state’s electoral process. “The Wisconsin Elections Commission and its makeup has been a disaster for the state of Wisconsin. The Government Accountability Board was a failed agency and WEC was another failed experiment that replaced it. Let’s not try to reinvent the wheel, but rather give the responsibilities back to the secretary of state, the position that administers elections in 38 other...

Wisconsin’s governor is criticizing Republican lawmakers for not following science and what he is calling an “antipathy” toward LGBTQ people. The governor said in an interview with WisEeye he will veto the Republican-backed plan to ban sex change operations and hormone therapy for children in Wisconsin. “I didn’t realize that the legislature had the ability to know more about that issue than the physicians that are with those kids,” Gov. Tony Evers said. Both the Wisconsin Assembly and the State Senate this month passed legislation that would ban transgender procedures for children. Wisconsin Right Now published a  multipart series exploring gender treatments in Wisconsin hospitals. Republicans said the idea is to give young people and their families time to “hit the pause button.” “What this bill does is it grants minors the time for their minds to develop in order to make the right choice for them at the appropriate developmental age,” Rep. Scott Allen, R-Waukesha, sa...

Wisconsin’s governor wants abortion 100% legal or nothing at all. Gov. Tony Evers on Tuesday told the crowd at the Rotary Club of Milwaukee that he would not sign a new law allowing for abortions in Wisconsin in cases of rape or incest. “I wouldn’t sign it because it leaves the underlying law in place,” Evers explained. The governor has made abortion the centerpiece of his re-election bid. He has spent millions of dollars, and seen millions more from outside groups spent on campaign commercials calling Republican Tim Michels “radical.” “[Abortion] shouldn’t be a politician's choice. And that’s where I absolutely disagree with my opponent,” Evers explained. Michels, for his part, said even though he is pro-life, he would sign a law allowing women who are the victims of sexual assault or incest to get an abortion. “I am pro-life and make no apologies for that. But I also understand that this is a representative democracy. And if the people, in this case, the legislature...

The governor on Saturday offered thoughts and prayers, but didn’t offer any plans after Milwaukee’s violent weekend. The Republicans running for governor in Wisconsin are promising more cops, more prisons, and say they'll fire prosecutors who don’t get tough on crime after a violent weekend in Milwaukee that saw more than two dozen people shot. Milwaukee Police say Friday night’s deer district shootings wounded 21 people. Another of those shootings saw 17 people shot. A string of shootings on Sunday saw another five people shot, including two people who died. Monday saw the Republicans running for governor promising to get tougher on crime if elected. [caption id="attachment_81346" align="alignleft" width="220"] Rebecca Kleefisch[/caption] “The simple points are to put 1,000 more cops on the street. Bail and sentencing reform to stop these bad D.A.’s and these bad judges. Fire [Milwaukee County] District Attorney John Chisholm on day one....

Florida’s former governor and current U.S. senator, Rick Scott, and eight other Republican senators introduced the TRUCKERS Act bill to exempt all non-U.S. citizen commercial truck drivers from vaccination requirements as a condition to transport goods into the U.S. It was filed one month after the Department of Homeland Security’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for all foreign travelers entering the U.S. became effective Jan. 22. Canada also began requiring proof of vaccination for all essential travelers, including truck drivers crossing the Canadian-U.S. border, on Jan. 15. “Starting on January 22, 2022, the Department of Homeland Security will require that non-U.S. individuals entering the United States via land ports of entry or ferry terminals along our Northern and Southern borders be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and be prepared to show related proof of vaccination,” DHS Sec. Alejandro Mayorkas said when announcing the mandate. “These updated travel requirements reflect th...

(The Center Square) – The field of Republican candidates for governor in Wisconsin is getting smaller. Former Northwoods Congressman Sean Duffy told New Talk 1130 WISN’s Jay Weber on Thursday that he is not going to run. “You have to be able to give 110% to a race, and right now with my kids it’s just not the right time,” Duffy said. Duffy and his wife Rachel have nine children. They live in New Jersey because both Duffy and his wife are Fox News contributors. Duffy started with Fox News after nearly five terms in Congress representing Wisconsin. “You have to raise strong, good, Conservative Christian kids if we're going to be successful and save them from the pressures of this woke culture,” Duffy said. “And that’s my number one job.” Duffy never said he was thinking about running for governor, but former President Donlad Trump jump-started the rumor mill when he issued a statement in October urging Duffy to run. "Working hard to get very popular and capable Forme...