Author: Scott Bauer

Unions for public workers and teachers argued on May 28 that their lawsuit seeking to strike down a Wisconsin law, that drew massive protests and made the state the center of a national fight over union rights, should be allowed to proceed. It is the first challenge to the law known as Act 10 since Wisconsin’s Supreme Court flipped to liberal control last year. Dane County Circuit Judge Jacob Frost questioned on May 28 whether there was another remedy to address alleged problems with the law short of striking it down. He did not rule from the bench and...

Milwaukee’s election leader has been ousted by the mayor in a surprise move that comes just six months before Wisconsin’s largest city will be in the spotlight in the presidential swing state. Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson announced on May 6 that he would be replacing Milwaukee Election Commission Executive Director Claire Woodall with her deputy, Paulina Gutierrez. Milwaukee has been at the center of attention in Wisconsin, a state known for close elections and where four of the past six presidential contests have been decided by less than a percentage point. In 2020, former President Donald Trump and others...

Wisconsin voters are set to decide whether to make it unconstitutional to accept private grant money to help administer state elections, one of two Republican-backed ballot measures that Democrats say are meant to make it harder to conduct elections in the presidential battleground state. The constitutional amendments on the state’s April 2 ballot also include a change to allow only election officials designated by law to administer elections. If a majority of voters approve, the amendments would be added to the state’s constitution. Since 2020, Republicans in at least 27 states have outlawed or restricted private elections grants. The...

Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers signed new legislative district maps into law on February 19 that he proposed and that the Republicans, who dominate the Legislature after years of gerrymandering elections, passed to avoid having the liberal-controlled state Supreme Court draw the lines. Democrats hailed the signing as a major political victory in the swing state where the Legislature has been firmly under Republican control for more than a decade, even as Democrats have won 14 of the past 17 statewide elections. “When I promised I wanted fair maps — not maps that are better for one party or another,...