Wisconsin Right Now

Wisconsin voters approved a state constitution change requiring someone to be a citizen to vote in elections. The ballot measure had 75% approval with more than 95% of the statewide voted tallied. Currently, the Wisconsin constitution states that "Every United States citizen age 18 or older who is a resident of an election district" is a qualified voter; the ballot proposal would replace the phrase “every United States citizen” with “only a United States citizen.” The ballot measure comes as leaders across the state called for a process for the state to check its voter rolls for noncitizens and remove them, ensuring election integrity in the state. Currently, election commissions cannot check their rolls with the Wisconsin Department of Transportation to ensure an estimated 90,000 individuals who are currently legally in the state, who can get a drivers license, do not register to vote. Several voting groups across the state spoke out against the ballot measure, ...

New polling from Wisconsin shows the presidential race in the state remains too close to call. The survey, conducted Oct. 16-24 by Marquette Law School, shows Democrat Vice President Kamala Harris barely leads Republican former President Donald Trump 50% to 49% among Wisconsin voters. The results fall well within the poll’s +/-4.4 margin of error. “It should not surprise anyone if Donald Trump wins, and it should not surprise anyone if Kamala Harris wins,” MLS poll Director Franklin said. “Because the polling – both ours and the polling averages for the state, which is under a 1% average margin right now – are just so close that polling is not going to help us at all to have confidence in who’s the likely winner.” The partisan makeup of the poll sample, which included 834 registered and 753 likely voters, is 39% Republican, 31% Democratic, and 34% Independent. Favorability ratings have remained mostly stable for the presidential candidates, but have significantly changed for ...

Wisconsin Republican Reps. Derrick Van Orden and Bryan Steil testified at a House Judiciary Committee meeting last week about the dangers of sanctuary cities and the community challenges illegal immigration has posed across the state, particularly in Whitewater. Steil has previously pointed to Whitewater as a “case study” of the damaging effects of illegal immigration under the current administration. The influx of roughly 1,000 migrants to the city of 15,000 has led to increasing strain on law enforcement, school resources, and housing capacity in Whitewater, according to reports . Now, the city is witnessing cartel activity, including drug and human trafficking operations, Steil testified, referencing multiple reports . “We know the danger that that poses in our communities,” Steil said. “And there has been state legislation where we could have had an opportunity to ban sanctuary cities here in the United States, and we’ve not been successful in doing that under Democratic leade...

Wisconsin has seen 305,000 absentee ballots returned heading into the final two weeks before the election. In-person absentee voting begins Tuesday and runs through Nov. 3 at sites throughout the state. Voters can register in person at their local municipality and need to show valid identification to receive an absentee ballot. The deadline for online and mail voter registration has passed. Wisconsin provides information on in-person absentee voting based upon address on its MyVote site . An updated list of ballot drop boxes shows that 107 drop boxes are in use throughout the state that have been reported to the Wisconsin Elections Commission, up from 78 that were listed a week ago. That includes 14 in Madison, 14 in Milwaukee and seven in Racine. There were 500 drop boxes in use for the 2020 presidential election during the COVID-19 pandemic. Wisconsin has sent out 586,616 absentee ballots of the 593,550 requested through Friday with 305,344 already returned. https:...

Wisconsin saw a 2.1% increase in its general sales and use tax collections in the first quarter of the new fiscal year in numbers released Thursday. The state collected more than $1.32 billion after collecting $1.29 billion during the same period last year. The numbers represent collections from July through September. Overall, the state collected an adjusted amount of $4.15 billion in general purpose revenue during the first quarter, up from $3.97 billion in the first quarter of last fiscal year. Wisconsin collected $21.3 billion last fiscal year, ending in June, after collecting nearly $21 billion the year before. The numbers represent a continuation of a trend of slowed growth in sales tax revenue for the state in the post-COVID timeframe. The state collected $2.73 billion in state sales taxes over the first five months of 2024, a 0.4% increase over the $2.72 billion in the same five months the year before, according to Wisconsin Policy Forum . “The retail sector contr...

The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty filed a lawsuit for several parents of students against the Milwaukee Public School District for failing to provide the required 25 school resource officers in its schools. Wisconsin’s Act 12 requires MPS to have 25 SROs in place by Jan. 1, 2024, during normal school hours. “I think MPS needs to take their input from the parents and put those safety resource officers in the school,” MPS parent Charlene Abughrin said in a statement. “Otherwise, it’s just reckless and dangerous behavior left unchecked. No discipline, no consequences. What are we teaching our kids?” The WILL lawsuit cited several times this year when the SRO requirement was publicly discussed at board meetings or by district leadership, which acknowledged the requirement has not been met. “The actions and inactions of the board and the statements of these board directors all make clear they are aware of their plain duty under state law, but are deliberately not compl...

Wisconsin Republican Senate candidate Eric Hovde said in a 2012 interview that he was in favor of raising the retirement age for Social Security, something that is the focus of a new political ad from incumbent Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin. Hovde clarified his thoughts to the Milwaukee Press Club and on social media this week with a statement saying that his proposal won’t impact those nearing retirement or currently receiving Social Security. Instead, his proposal applies only to those under the age of 40 because the Congressional Budget Office predicts that Social Security will have negative cash flow by 2033. “If we don’t act now, Social Security will no longer be able to pay out full benefits,” Hovde wrote . Hovde added he has never proposed to cut Social Security either, instead proposing to put Social Security in a trust so it cannot be used for other government spending. “This should have happened from its beginning,” Hovde wrote. “For decades, Congress has treated...

Wisconsin will send an estimated $1.56 billion to local governments in shared revenue in 2025. That total includes $770 million for county and municipal aid, $281 million for supplemental county and municipal aid, nearly $174 million for Act 12 personal property aid, $98 million for exempt computer aid, $97 million for utility aid, nearly $76 million for personal property aid on locally assessed machinery and tools, $58 million in expenditure restraint incentive program aid and $10 million in video service cable provider aid. The estimates include a $23.6 million increase in county and municipal aid based on last year’s sales tax collections. “I’m excited to see how the results of our historic shared revenue increases are going to help support communities and families across Wisconsin,” Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers said. “We’re helping make sure our local communities can meet basic and unique needs alike, including investing in fire and emergency services, fixing local roads, expa...

A trio of Wisconsin Republican lawmakers are again pitching a tax-free retirement plan that would exempt $75,000 of retirement income for single filers and $125,000 for married joint filers. The 2025 legislation was pitched and passed earlier this year that was ultimately vetoed by Gov. Tony Evers. This time, the legislation will be in addition to any retirement income that is already tax-exempt in Wisconsin, such as Social Security. Thirteen other states, including Illinois and Iowa, have tax-free retirement laws. “We can’t afford to keep losing seniors to other states,” said Rep. Joel Kitchens, R-Sturgeon Bay. “When they leave, we don’t just lose revenue. Families miss out on sharing important life events. Wisconsin is sitting on a $3 billion surplus, we can afford this tax cut more than we can afford not doing it.” The legislation will be sponsored again by Kitchens, Rep. David Steffen, R-Howard, and Sen. Rachel Cabral-Guevara, R-Fox Crossing. “Our retired parents and g...

The Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty is out with a new report that says rolling back the limitations on collective bargaining included adopted more than a decade ago in Act 10 would cost local governments in Wisconsin nearly $500 million. “At the time of Act 10’s passage, the legislation saved Wisconsin from pending financial ruin. As the federal government pulled back funding provided in the Great Recession, the state faced a budget deficit of more than $3.6 billion – the equivalent of nearly $5 billion today. Act 10 fixed the fiscal hole, and state and local budgets adjusted to the ‘new normal.’ There is little doubt that going back on the law would be ruinous for all levels of government,” the report states. WILL’s Will Flanders said the nearly half-billion-dollar price tag for local governments includes: ●      $113 million in new health insurance costs ●      $360 million in new retirement benefit costs ●      $12.7 million in new salary costs “When faced with...

At the Wisconsin Election Commission’s request, the state’s Supreme Court agreed Friday to take up the petition to rule on Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s lawsuit seeking his removal from the ballot, bypassing the court of appeals. The decision follows the  Dane County Circuit Court’s ruling Monday to keep Kennedy on the ballot. “Given the need for a prompt resolution of this appeal, the court does not contemplate holding oral argument in this matter,” the court announced . “The court will endeavor to issue a written decision as expeditiously as possible.” The action breaks with typical court procedure to reject premature petitions, leading Justices Rebecca Bradley and Annette Ziegler to issue a dissent. “A majority of this court grants the Wisconsin Elections Commission’s (WEC) petition to bypass the court of appeals before the WEC has filed its response brief, despite the majority’s professed practice in prior cases of ‘generally den[ying] as premature petitions for bypass prior to...

There are new challenges to Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers’ 400-year school funding increase. Both the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty and the Institute for Reforming Government recently filed amicus briefs with the Wisconsin Supreme Court, challenging the governor's veto power. “The partial veto power is a tool in the governor’s toolbelt, but it has a specific purpose. When it comes to fiscal policy, the partial veto power is a one-way rachet. It empowers the governor to tighten public spending and taxation by eliminating or reducing budgetary items, but it does not permit the reverse. The governor cannot use the partial veto power to increase either appropriations or revenue. That function requires a different tool – legislative power – which is not in the governor’s toolbelt,” IRGs brief states. Evers changed a line in the current state budget to change a two-year school funding increase into a 400-year increase. IRG CEO C.J. Szafir said the governor’s veto is both ...

The new policy comes after last spring’s campus protests over the war in Gaza and accusations the chancellor at UW-Milwaukee sided with protesters against Jewish students. The University of Wisconsin is telling school leaders not to pick sides in political debates after adopting a new viewpoint-neutral policy at all of its campuses. “The Board acknowledges that “different ideas in the university community will often and quite naturally conflict,” and stipulates that, in instances of such conflict, “It is for the members of the university community, not for the institution itself, to make those judgments for themselves,” the policy states. “In accordance with RPD 4-21, and in order to uphold and protect academic freedom, freedom of expression, and an environment in which competing ideas can be freely discussed and debated by all members of the university community, it is necessary that all official statements issued in the name of and on behalf of the institution are limited to m...

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...