The head of a partisan investigation into the November 2020 election in Wisconsin has said lawmakers should consider decertifying the results of the state’s presidential election.
Former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman released an interim report on Tuesday and said he intended to continue the investigation, which has been extended twice.
The review has been criticized by some Republicans, Democrats and voting rights groups, who have argued that it undermines the state’s electoral process. Speaking before a legislative committee, Gableman said the inquiry was an effort to ensure the election was conducted fairly.
“When I started this process, when I started this whole procedure, I had no other goal in mind than to find the truth,” he said, “and even if we don’t haven’t fully yet, we’re getting there.”
Despite Gableman’s testimony, his report noted that his goal “is not to challenge certification of the presidential election”, although he does indicate how that could be done. According to Associated Press reports, nonpartisan legislative attorneys said the nullification of those results was illegal and that Republican legislative leaders opposed it.
Among other things, the investigation alleges that private voter grants to Wisconsin’s largest cities were illegal, that the state mismanaged nursing home voting, and that mail-in ballot boxes violate the law of the state. Gableman also called for disbanding Wisconsin’s bipartisan Elections Commission, which has been a major political focus for some Republican lawmakers in recent months.
“The Wisconsin Elections Commission – sadly, at best – is hopelessly incompetent,” he said.
Several bills closely mirroring the report’s recommendations passed the Legislative Assembly last month, but Gov. Tony Evers is almost certain to veto them. Evers’ GOP challengers in this year’s gubernatorial race have made election administration a cornerstone of their platforms and would likely be more receptive to the proposals if they were reintroduced.
Support for this report was provided by the Carnegie Corporation of New York.
get more stories like this via email
Texans from both political parties head to the polls today for the first primary election of the year.
In a closely watched congressional race in South Texas, Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, takes on progressive challenger Jessica Cisneros, his former intern who came within 3,000 votes of an upset victory in 2020.
Kelly Dittmar, director of research at the Center for American Women and Politics, said that for many candidates, an election loss is just the start of a political career.
“The importance of women not losing and giving up the first time, that perseverance is important,” Dittmar explained. “It’s one of the intrigues of this race that matters.”
Cuellar’s home was raided by the FBI in January as part of an investigation related to the former Soviet Republic of Azerbaijan. Cuellar maintained his innocence.
In recent years, Dittmar said at least half of Texas’ 36 congressional races had a woman on the ballot representing a variety of cultures.
“The intersections in terms of diversity that we see developing among women in Congress,” Dittmar observed. “We’re seeing younger women being elected to Congress. It’s important for the generational perspective, and we’re also seeing more racial and ethnic diversity among these women.”
After two election cycles in which record numbers of women ran and won congressional positions, Dittmar pointed out that the 2022 election presented barriers for incumbent women in the U.S. House due to redistribution. and the redistricting of Congress.
She pointed out that if some don’t win this time around, there’s an incentive to try again.
“There are your voter networks, there are your volunteer networks and there is your donor network,” Dittmar pointed out. “At all of these levels, you come in with an advantage often the second time or the third time around.”
Historically, primary voter turnout in Texas has been low. Last year, Republicans in the state passed changes to voting rules, causing many ballots to be thrown out ahead of the primary.
Support for this report was provided by the Carnegie Corporation of New York.
get more stories like this via email
Last week, the Wisconsin Assembly passed a bill that would strip university and college administrators of qualified legal immunity where they “violate certain individual speech rights.”
The legislation responds to alleged discrimination against conservative students and lecturers on college campuses.
Representative Clint Moses, R-Menomonie, one of the main sponsors of the measure, argued that campuses should be an open marketplace of ideas.
“As a legislator with a college campus in my district, as well as two other nearby UW schools, I have heard too well from students attending these UW campuses that they are afraid to share their thoughts openly on campus,” said Moses.
In written comments, a spokesperson for the University of Wisconsin system said that while UW officials support free speech, removing immunity from university administrators could lead to “frivolous or lawsuits of dubious merit”. They also say that as a public university, providing legal defense in such a case would be at taxpayer expense.
The measure is the latest in a long line of Republican-drafted bills that have sought to impose penalties for free speech violations on college campuses.
Sen. Chris Larson, D-Milwaukee, argued during a committee hearing on the bill that it would limit the ability of universities to intervene in cases where speakers or students express beliefs that could incite violence against marginalized communities.
“How does this bill not end up giving an undeserved platform to white supremacists, neo-Nazis and fascism? Larson asked.
The bill was forwarded to the Senate for further deliberation and consideration. As a partisan bill with exclusively Republican sponsors, it faces a likely veto from Democratic Gov. Tony Evers.
Support for this report was provided by the Carnegie Corporation of New York.
get more stories like this via email
The 11 women in the Missouri Senate have written a new book called “You Can, Too!” promote literacy across the state and encourage more young people to be civically engaged.
It wasn’t until 1972 that a woman was first elected to the Missouri Senate, and in the state’s 200-year history, when there have been more than a thousand men who served, only 36 women served.
Senator Jill Schupp, D-St. Louis, said it was important to make sure young people knew they could run for office, but more importantly, she urged them not to let obstacles get in the way of achieving their dreams, no matter what. ‘they are.
“At the end of the book we have what is supposed to be a mirror,” Schupp explained. “It’s not perfect, but because we want, we want kids reading this book to look at it and see themselves reflected in these stories and on this page.”
Schupp noted that one of the main purposes of the book is to encourage literacy and that it is intended for a reading level of around a fourth grade level, when children begin to read to learn, rather than to learn to read. She added that they donate copies of the book to libraries, pediatricians’ offices and dental offices, and other places where children can pick it up and start reading.
Sen. Holly Thompson Rehder, R-Bollinger, said kids shouldn’t let obstacles get in the way of them achieving their goals. She said she dropped out of school at 15 to care for her family, had her first child at 16, and eventually got her GED and a college degree.
“I never thought I would be in the Missouri Senate,” Rehder remarked. “I love it when I go out and talk to the kids in my district, it’s always been an eye opener to see how encouraging knowing them is.”
Rehder also pointed to surveys showing that women legislators are more likely to say they decided to run for office because they were recruited, rather than deciding for themselves. And women are also more likely to be discouraged from running for office. Rehder noted during his first candidacy that the party leadership told him that “it was not his time”.
“And so we hope that by reading so many inspiring stories from women, it will help girls realize that they don’t need to ask permission,” Rehder pointed out. “They have to follow their instincts and believe in themselves whether or not someone else does at the time.”
Support for this report was provided by the Carnegie Corporation of New York.
get more stories like this via email
