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‘Our biggest fear is what we don’t know’
As most Wisconsin residents retreat into their homes following a “safer-at-home” order from Gov. Tony Evers to fight the spread of COVID-19, county human services workers and domestic violence victims’ advocates are concerned about the wellbeing of their vulnerable clients. With kids home from school and many adults home from work, there are more opportunities […]
Supreme Court postpones jury trials, stops in-person appearances due to virus
Less than a week after Wisconsin court officials said some in-person appearances and jury trials would continue amid the COVID-19 pandemic because they involved “liberty issues,” the state Supreme Court issued two orders Sunday effectively halting those functions. In the week since courts instituted a partial slowdown of the justice system, the number of COVID-19 […]
How, where and when to vote during a pandemic
On Friday evening, March 20, a federal judge extended the deadline for online voter registration in Wisconsin until March 30, in response to a lawsuit brought by the Democratic Party of Wisconsin and the Democratic National Committee. U.S. District Court Judge William Conley issued the order extending online registration, in light of the impact of the ongoing […]
Elections Commission asks governor for help with April 7 voting
As a growing number of public officials and advocates call for statewide mail-in voting in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, the Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC) sent a letter to Gov. Tony Evers asking for assistance in holding in-person voting on April 7. The letter, from WEC Administrator Meagan Wolfe, asks for the governor to […]
Appleton, Green Bay, Neenah mayors express concern over election safety
Amid mounting legal and public pressure from interest groups, political parties and government officials to delay Wisconsin’s April 7 election in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, three mayors advocated for an entirely vote-by-mail spring election. Dean Kaufert of Neenah, Timothy Hanna of Appleton and Eric Genrich of Green Bay held a remote press conference […]
Elections Commission searching for answers on safety of April election
This story has been updated to reflect the accurate deadline to request an absentee ballot online. The deadline is April 2. For nearly three hours Wednesday, as the clock ticked and the COVID-19 pandemic continued to worsen, the Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC) debated what it should do to ensure a safe and fair election can […]
Wisconsin state courts system limits work due to COVID-19
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, nearly half of county circuit courts, one tribal court and the state Wisconsin Supreme Court have canceled non-essential activities and undergone a major slowdown of the justice system. In the circuit courts, essential activities include any hearings that are required by state law to happen within a certain […]
Extra pens, sanitized voting machines and absentee ballots
Elections clerks around Wisconsin typically have plans for what to do if an election is impacted by a fire, a power outage or other crises. But now, election officials around the state find themselves preparing for an election impacted by a global pandemic. Wisconsin’s spring election is set to take place on April 7 — […]
Wisconsin courts embrace a practice banned in other states
The defense attorney — usually a court-appointed public defender — has to make a choice. She can either sit in the courtroom, where she can speak privately with the judge or prosecutor. Or she can sit in a conference room in a county jail beneath fluorescent lights and behind a steel door, where she can […]