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Voter suppression in Wisconsin could go nationwide in 2020
Forcing Wisconsinites to go to the polls during a pandemic on Tuesday, April 7, was part of a nationwide voter-suppression strategy that could help re-elect Donald Trump. Trump knows this. That’s why he tweeted on Wednesday, April 8: https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1247861952736526336 What doesn’t work out well for Republicans is having free and fair elections, where everyone gets […]
Bernie Sanders drops out, a ‘gut punch’ for Wisconsin progressives
The news that Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders has dropped out of the race to be the Democratic nominee for president, coming the day after Wisconsin’s chaotic primary election, is a “gut punch,” says Mike McCabe, the head of Our Revolution Wisconsin, the grassroots group that grew out of Sanders’ 2016 presidential campaign. “The last couple […]
Jill Karofsky on Wisconsin’s election mess
In a video-chat press conference at 4:00 pm on Election Day, Judge Jill Karofsky, candidate for Wisconsin Supreme Court, thanked poll workers and others who are serving the public during the pandemic, and reminded voters that if they get in line by 8:00 pm, “you can stay in that line until you are able to […]
Supreme Court overturns Evers’ election order
The Wisconsin Supreme Court overturned Gov. Tony Evers’ executive order delaying the April 7 election and in-person voting until June 9 in a 4-2 ruling. Conservative justices voted with the majority. (Justice Daniel Kelly, who is on the ballot, recused himself.) That means the polls are once again set to open on Tuesday morning — […]
Weekend of squabbling but no progress on Wisconsin’s election
Fifteen states have changed their election dates to avoid large gatherings of people at the polls during the coronavirus pandemic. Wisconsin is not one of them. In fact, ours is the only state that is rolling ahead with in-person voting this month. As we all watch the slow-motion car wreck that is the April 7 […]
Appeals court upholds absentee ballot extension, but restores signatures
On Friday evening, the 7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Chicago denied emergency appeals by the Republican Party and the Wisconsin Legislature seeking to stop a district court’s order extending the deadline by which absentee ballots may be received in the April 7 election until 4 p.m. on April 13. But while the appeals court […]
Evers calls for election extension, legislators rebuff him
Gov. Tony Evers issued an executive order on Friday, calling a special session of the Legislature on Sat., April 4, 2020 at 4 p.m., to take up legislation allowing an all-mail election, to send a ballot to every registered voter who has not already requested one by May 19, and to extend the time for […]
Karofsky asks court to stop misleading ads
Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate Jill Karofsky filed suit in Milwaukee County Circuit Court on Friday, seeking an injunction to stop TV ads the campaign describes as false and defamatory. Karofsky had already sent a cease and desist letter on March 27 to the parties responsible for running the ads: WMC Mobilization Council, Inc. (the political […]
Democrats move Milwaukee convention date
The Democratic National Convention Committee (DNCC) announced on Thursday that the 2020 Democratic National Convention — set to take place in Milwaukee — will be postponed from mid-July to the week of August 17. This will provide convention planners “more time to determine the most appropriate structure for this historic event,” during the coronavirus pandemic.. […]
Judge extends absentee voting
District Court Judge William Conley issued an order on Thursday afternoon granting in part, and denying in part, the suit by the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, the Democratic National Committee and voting-rights groups that he postpone the April 7 election because of the COVID-19 pandemic. While Conley found that he does not have the authority […]
Federal judge says he can’t move the election
U.S. District Judge William Conley lamented the terrible choice elections officials are faced with, as poll workers drop out and municipalities consolidate polling locations to try to allow Wisconsin voters to cast ballots on April 7, even though having more people come to fewer locations, Conley noted, will likely increase the risk of spreading COVID-19. […]
Ron Johnson on pandemic: let’s not go overboard
“Death is an unavoidable part of life” Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.) wrote In an opinion piece for USA Today on Monday, doubling down on the controversial c’est la vie attitude he has expressed in recent comments about the COVID-19 pandemic. Encouraging Americans to “put things in perspective,” Johnson offered mortality statistics from causes other than […]