Wisconsin Right Now

There was surprise the Wisconsin Supreme Court kept the Green Party on the state’s election ballot. Lawyer Lane Rhuland told New Talk 1130 WISN on Tuesday she was surprised by the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s decision on Monday not to remove the Green Party from the ballot. “I would like to think, non-cynically, that the DNC was just so wrong on the law, it was such an extraordinary relief sought by the DNC, that it was just a bridge too far for this Supreme Court,” Rhuland explained. “Others have theorized that they saw the implications for the more right-leaning parties that might take votes from Trump like the Libertarian Party, or the Constitution Party. And how if they ruled that the Green Party should be kicked off the ballot, then these parties should be as well. And that might not help the Democrats.” The court ruled the Democratic National Committee “is not entitled to the relief he seeks.” Rhuland, however, said the court didn’t explain just what that means. “The rul

A Wisconsin lawmaker wants this to be the last school year that begins with cell phones in the classroom. Sen. Dan Knodl, R-Germantown, released a column that outlines what he says is the need for a cellphone ban. “There is a push in several states to push cellphone restrictions in the classroom. From red to blue states, legislatures across the country are coalescing around the idea that too much screen time is a negative mental health outcome. More succinctly, they are a significant distraction in the classroom and lead to a loss in learning,” Knodl wrote. Currently, local schools set their own rules for cellphones in schools. Some school districts have district-wide policy, while others allow principals in individual schools to set their own rules. Green Bay Schools, for example, allow some high school students to use their phones when they are not in class. Waukesha Schools allow students to bring phones to school, but say they must be "stored out of sight" d

(The Center Square) - Following the Wisconsin Election Commission's dismissal of a complaint from a Democratic National Committee staffer, who seeks to remove Green Party candidate Jill Stein from the ballot, the plaintiff has doubled down and filed an expedited appeal with the state’s Supreme Court. Court documents reveal it accepted the case Thursday and is requesting that the plaintiff provide additional information, actions that have caused two Supreme Court justices to dissent. “The majority issues an unprecedented order directing the petitioner – within two hours – to give the court contact information for the respondents, which is currently absent from the record because no one has entered an appearance on behalf of any of those parties. How is the petitioner – an employee of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) – supposed to know the name or physical address of an ‘attorney or other representative of each respondent who is authorized to accept service of orders is

The Wisconsin Elections Commission says there won't be a recall against any Milwaukee Public School board members. Now, Milwaukee's teachers’ union wants answers. The Milwaukee Teachers’ Education Association celebrated the Elections Commission declared MPS recall organizers failed to gather enough signatures to force a recall election against four Milwaukee School Board members. “The people of Milwaukee have emphatically rejected this dishonest effort to remove good public servants from our democratically elected school board,” MTEA President Ingrid Walker-Henry said in a statement. The MPS School Board Recall Collaborative wanted to force a new election against Board President Marva Herndon, Vice President Jilly Gokalgandhi, member Erika Siemsen and at-large board member Missy Zombor because of MPS’s financial problems and the secrecy surrounding them. The Wisconsin Elections Commission found the xollaborative was short by thousands of valid signatures. MTEA said

Republicans at the Wisconsin Capitol don’t want Gov. Tony Evers to waste the chance to get a good look at Milwaukee Public Schools’ shortcomings. Evers recently called for an operational and an instructional audit of MPS. “I’m proposing today to go two steps further with two important goals: the first, to audit MPS’ programs and operations in their entirety, and the second, to audit the effectiveness of teaching and instruction of our kids in classrooms across the district,” Evers said. The governor, however, wants to keep the audit within his administration and the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu said that’d be a mistake. “I’m glad that Gov. Evers has called for an audit of the Milwaukee Public School System. Gov. Evers and DPI should work with Joint Legislative Audit Committee Co-Chairs [Eric] Wimberger and [Robert] Wittke to discuss authorizing the non-partisan Legislative Audit Bureau to audit MPS, DPI and any other invo

The Assembly Committee on Campaigns and Elections and the Senate Committee on Shared Revenue, Elections and Consumer Protection held a hearing Thursday with the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, some local election clerks and Fond du Lac County’s district attorney. “We're not trying to get anybody into a bad spot here, or in a corner, or make accusations on that level,” Sen. Dan Knodl, R-Germantown, said. “We want our clerks, who are already stressed enough, to know that we are here to be there as an assist to them.” Rep. Scott Krug, R-Nekoosa, said he wants to make sure voters have faith in Wisconsin’s electoral process. “This is one of the topics that hit our inboxes quite a bit the last three months or so,” Krug added. “We thought it’s pretty important just to vet it out, to get all the information out to the public.” The Wisconsin Elections Commission was invited to Thursday’s meeting but didn’t attend because commissioners were having a meeting of their own. Bu

The State Bar of Wisconsin isn’t ending its diversity clerkship that faced a federal discrimination lawsuit, instead it is changing the definition of diversity. The State Bar agreed to tweak the program and make it about the diversity of ideas and experiences, rather than base the clerkship on race and gender. “The settlement clarifies the definition of ‘diversity’ but makes no changes to the program,” State Bar Executive Director Larry Martin said. “The Diversity Clerkship Program, which has been creating opportunities for Wisconsin-based law students for three decades, will continue to exist and to operate in its current form.” The Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty sued, saying it’s against the law to hire anyone based on race or gender. WILL Associate Counsel Skylar Croy said they have had to make it a habit to remind people of that fact. “Defeating unconstitutional DEI programs has become WILL’s area of expertise, and we are not stopping here,” Croy said in a stat

Voters across Wisconsin said yes to a lot of things on their ballots Tuesday. Both of the state’s proposed constitutional amendments to keep outside money out of election operations passed, and a quarter-billion-dollar tax increase for Milwaukee Public Schools also likely gained approval. The first amendment, which bans so-called “Zuckerbucks,” passed with about 54% of the vote. The second question, which bans outside election workers from working in Wisconsin, passed with about 58% of the vote. Sen. Eric Wimberger, R-Green Bay, said Wisconsin voters made it clear that they want to keep out-of-state billionaires out of their elections. “Whether there is actual election tampering or not, an impression of an injustice is as detrimental to society as an actual injustice. People need policies and procedures that instill confidence in the vote result, even if they don’t like the result. These amendments help create that confidence,” Wimberger said in a statement. The amendments

The presidential contest in Wisconsin is all but decided, but voters will have some important choices on their ballots on Tuesday. The spring primary will feature two constitutional amendments, nearly 100 school referendum questions and local races in communities across the state. Constitutional Amendments Wisconsin voters are being asked to ban outside money in the state’s election in a pair of constitutional amendments. The first amendment deals with the so-called Zuckerbucks. Republican lawmakers pushed the proposal through the legislature after Gov. Tony Evers vetoed a state law that would have banned outside charities and non-profits from spending money on election operations. The move comes after the Center for Tech and Civic Life spent about $6 million in Wisconsin during the November 2020 election. Almost all of that money went to the state’s five largest and most Democratic cities. Republican lawmakers have said Zuckerbucks undermine people’s faith in the state’s

The Wisconsin Supreme Court is reopening the debate over ballot drop boxes. The liberal-majority court accepted a case that looks to overturn Wisconsin’s current ban on ballot drop boxes. The former conservative-majority court, ruled Wisconsin law does not allow for ballot drop boxes at any place except the election clerk’s office. "[The Wisconsin Elections Commission] staff may have been trying to make voting as easy as possible during the pandemic,” conservative Justice Rebecca Bradley wrote in 2022. “But whatever their motivations, WEC must follow Wisconsin statutes. Good intentions never override the law." But Democrats and activists argued state law didn’t specifically ban them, and Wisconsin’s liberal justices argued that a ban on drop boxes was tantamount to voter suppression. "Although it pays lip service to the import of the right to vote, the majority/lead opinion has the practical effect of making it more difficult to exercise it. Such a result, al

Wisconsin is considering a massive shift in how public and choice schools get their money. The Wisconsin Assembly approved the plan to decouple the Racine and statewide school voucher programs, replacing the local property tax money that currently pays for those programs with state dollars. “Currently, legacy charter schools are completely funded by [general purpose revenues]. The Milwaukee Choice program will be funded completely by GPR by 2025,” Rep. Ellen Schutt, R-Clinton, said. “What this bill does, is says that new independent charter schools, and the rest of the choice program should also be funded by GPR and not by aid-reductions from the local school district.” That would shift millions of dollars for choice schools in Wisconsin from local school districts to the state. It would also mean a steadier and more reliable stream of dollars for choice schools. “Decoupling resolves an issue that involves how the current funding mechanism affect public schools and property

The number-two in the Wisconsin Assembly says if lawmakers can’t come to terms on an early count law, it is up to Milwaukee to restore the voters’ faith in their election operation. Assembly Majority Leader Tyler August, R-Lake Geneva, said Republicans in the Senate should vote on the plan. If they don't, August said, then Milwaukee’s election managers need to act. “It's incumbent upon the city of Milwaukee to get their act together and count those ballots during the day and have that done so that there isn't constantly this question about the processes in the city of Milwaukee,” August said. Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu said he doesn’t have the votes to pass Monday Count legislation. It would allow Milwaukee to count ballots the day before election day in order to avoid an after-midnight vote dump. Milwaukee uses a central count location, and election managers in the city say that slows down the counting of absentee ballots. Many times, that leaves a lul

Republicans in the Wisconsin Assembly are taking the first step to reign in some of the governor’s veto power. Lawmakers on Tuesday took up Assembly Joint Resolution 112, which would change the Wisconsin Constitution to stop the governor from raising a tax or a fee on his own. “Wisconsin's unique partial veto is considered one of the most powerful policy tools in the country,” Rep. Amanda Nedweski, R-Pleasant Prairie, told reporters. “From Republican Gov. Tommy Thompson's infamous Vanna White veto to Democrat Gov. Tony Evers 402-year tax increase, we have seen abuse of the partial veto addressed with proposed constitutional amendments by legislatures nearly 30 times in the last century.” Nedweski said this proposed constitutional amendment would apply to Evers specifically but would apply to all future governors as well by banning the governor from single-handedly increasing taxes or creating fees. “The will of the people is the law of the land, not the will of the go

The top Republican in the Wisconsin Assembly says the legislature has done what the Wisconsin Supreme Court suggested and passed new maps. Now, he says it’s time for the court fight over redistricting to stop. Republicans in the Wisconsin Assembly and Wisconsin Senate on Tuesday approved Democrat Gov. Tony Evers’ preferred maps. The vote is part of a strategy to head off maps that do even more damage to Republicans in the state from the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos told reporters that the strategy is aimed not just at getting the least-worst maps for Republicans but also aimed at getting on with the 2024 elections and avoiding a multi-million-dollar court battle. “To actually be and we begin the campaign talking about ideas and why our side is better for Wisconsin, I think that is a better answer than drawn out court battles and going through millions of dollars of taxpayer expense when there's really no need to do so,” Vos said. The legislature sen

Former Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker says Democrats in the state continue to hate him for what he did more than a decade after he took office. But he said the current redistricting effort, and the political change that could follow, are more a reflection of the left’s hate for former President Trump. Walker told News Talk 1130 WISN’s Jay Weber the effort to flip Wisconsin toward Democrats is a direct result of last spring’s election that flipped the Wisconsin Supreme Court. And that election, Walker said, is a direct result of the Democrat’s fundraising and campaigning in the state. “It is a reflection of what happens when the left is driven largely by their hate and disdain nationally for President Trump. They see Wisconsin is a key state, which it is. And they've just been better at Republicans and conservatives at pouring money into things like the Supreme Court race,” Walker said. “It's hard to deny the enormous advantage that was held by the liberal candidate in that

Democrats at the Wisconsin Capitol want the state to help save local newsrooms. Two Democratic lawmakers, Rep. Jimmy Anderson, D-Fitchburg, and Sen Mark Spreitzer, D-Beloint, introduced three pieces of legislation they hope will save local journalism. The first would be a local journalism fellowship that would pay a handful of young reporters $40,000 to start their career in a local newsroom. The lawmakers are also pitching a 50% tax credit for newspaper subscriptions and a Wisconsin Civic Information Consortium. “The Civic Information Consortium will boost local news coverage and civic engagement across the state, with a focus on addressing information gaps in communities long underserved by the commercial news market,” Spreitzer said. “A similar model in New Jersey has already allocated more than $6 million over just the past few years, uplifting Innovative new approaches to civic media and supporting news coverage in pockets of the state that have long been ignored by mainst

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers vetoed the legislative redistricting maps that he mostly drew. Evers on Tuesday said he scuttled the 99% maps because they were too favorable to Republicans. “These maps are more the same. Republicans passed maps to help make sure Republican-gerrymandered incumbents get to keep their seats. Folks, that's just more gerrymandering,” Evers said. “Allowing politicians to move district lines so that their party can retain political power doesn't help root out gerrymandering from our democracy, it further entrenches it. And that's wrong.” The maps the governor drew moved dozens of incumbent Republicans into new districts. Republicans moved some of those lawmakers back but largely left the governor’s maps unchanged. Evers has denied he gerrymandered Wisconsin with his maps that would give Democrats control over the state legislature. Instead, he calls them fair maps. “I have never been more hopeful that when Wisconsinites head to the ballot box

Wisconsin Republicans are pushing a plan to let voters weigh in on the state’s abortion law. A group of lawmakers introduced a plan they hope will put a 14-week abortion ban on the spring ballot. “While I am personally pro-life, I know not everyone is,” Rep. Joel Kitchens, R-Sturgeon Bay, said, “It’s time we let the people of Wisconsin decide our laws regarding abortion and not leave it up to the whims of a judge.” Wisconsin currently allows abortions until 20 weeks of pregnancy. Kitchens said that a 14-week ban would still allow for most abortions. “ According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , 93% of abortions in the United States occur in the first trimester. However, many Democrats support abortion up to birth. Rep. Kitchens says that extreme position isn’t shared by most voters,” Kitchens said. In order to get the 14-week ban on the ballot, Republican lawmakers would have to approve it in both the State Assembly and State Senate. Gov. Tony Evers woul

Six of Wisconsin’s eight members of Congress are Republican. The Wisconsin Supreme Court is now being asked to overturn the Wisconsin congressional maps after asking for new legislative maps. The Elias Law Group , headed by lawyer Mark Elias, asked the state’s high court to redraw the maps. Elias has ties to the Hillary Clinton campaign network and has filed several election-related lawsuits across the country. “Wisconsin’s current congressional map was drawn according to a 'least change' principle that perpetuated and exacerbated the partisan unfairness that has robbed Wisconsin voters of fair congressional districts for over a decade,” Elias Law Group partner Abha Khanna said in a statement. The “least change” principle kept Wisconsin’s maps largely unchanged in 2021, and once again gave Republicans in the state a majority. Six of Wisconsin’s eight members of Congress are Republican. Wisconsin Republican Party Chairman Brian Schimming said the lawsuit isn’

Public schools in Wisconsin have nine months left before the last of their COVID-19 relief cash expires, and there’s hundreds of millions of dollars still on the table. The Institute for Reforming Government has been tracking Wisconsin’s $1.5 billion in COVID relief money. Their latest update shows that $307 million of that haul remains unallocated. “Before districts spend money, they are supposed to get DPI’s approval. DPI confirms whether their allocations qualify for ESSER III reimbursement. So, districts either lack DPI approval for $307 million or are spending money without DPI approval with no guarantee of reimbursement,” IRG said in its report. “Thirty-nine districts have below 50% allocated, including Green Bay and West Bend. Thirty-five districts have over $1 million left to allocate, including Milwaukee and Fond Du Lac. Eight districts are at $0 allocated.” IRG first sounded the alarm about unallocated COVID cash in February. At that point , Wisconsin schools were s