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Wisconsin Elections Commission agrees to mail absentee ballot applications

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The Wisconsin Elections Commission unanimously backed a proposal to send roughly 2.7 million voters an absentee ballot application.

WisPolitics reports that commission staff anticipates just 10 percent of recipients will respond to the mailing, which will cost around $2.3 million, but that the anticipated response rate was a “crude estimate” based on experience with past mailings.

The final mailing is set to go to all registered voters in the state — with the exception of those who’ve already requested an absentee ballot or who may have moved and have not confirmed their address.

The commission also approved a grant program that would send each municipality $200 plus $1.10 for each registered voter to cover upcoming costs.

Advocates want state to act for homeless

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The coronavirus could make things much worse for Wisconsin’s homeless people. The Wisconsin Coalition Against Homelessness has a new plan to spend $70-million to help find jobs and homes for the homeless.

Spokesman Joseph Volk told the Wisconsin State Journal that with unemployment pushing 15 percent in Wisconsin, there could be a surge of homelessness. He says he hopes lawmakers act before it’s too late.

DMV estimates 250,000 may renew licenses online

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It’s estimated that nearly 250,000 Wisconsin drivers could renew their licenses online this year. The Department of Motor Vehicles started a program earlier this month to cut back on the number of in-person visits to state offices during the coronavirus pandemic.

To renew online, drivers must have a regular Class-D license with no medical restrictions or further deterioration of their vision. The DMV has also extended the expiration date for about 80 thousand drivers who haven’t been able to renew their licenses while the governor’s Safer at Home order was in effect.

Sunday’s COVID-19 numbers for Wisconsin

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State health officials reported another 400 positive tests for COVID-19 on Sunday, bringing the statewide total to 15.277.

The number of positive tests represents around 5.5% of the number of tests reported on Sunday with over 7,000 samples returned.

Three additional deaths were reported on Sunday, bringing the statewide total to 510.

The number of cases considered recovered has now climbed to nearly 60% at just under 9,000.

The state currently has 54 labs processing tests with plans to add another 33 in the near future. Governor Tony Evers has made increasing the state’s testing capacity a priority.

WSAU

Decision on Wisconsin State Fair at end of month as Minnesota fair is cancelled

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Organizers with the Wisconsin State Fair are waiting until the end of May, to make a decision on whether or not to move ahead with August’s fair. That’s according to an email obtained by the Milwaukee Business Journal.

“As the State Fair Park Board of Directors continue to work with staff and government officials on the safety of mass gatherings related to COVID-19, we have decided to put a hold on sending agreements until a decision has been made regarding the 2020 Wisconsin State Fair,” the email said.

John Yingling of the fair board said earlier this month that the sticking point is crowd size. The fair can draw 140-thousand people on a good weekend, which would make social distancing impossible.

On Friday, officials in St. Paul announced that this year’s Minnesota State Fair, which is popular with many residents from western Wisconsin, has been cancelled.

Wisconsin announces assistance for farmers, renters and landlords

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Wisconsin farmers and processors will be eligible for a direct payment program from the state, for coronavirus relief.

Governor Tony Evers confirmed Wednesday he will take $50-million from the $1.9 billion given to the state in the CARES Act to use for the direct payments, plus another $15 million dollars to assist food security efforts.

Eligible farmers will be asked to apply for the aid through the Wisconsin Department of Revenue, which is working in collaboration with the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection.

Farm support payments could begin arriving as early as June. The $50-million is exactly what eight Wisconsin farm organizations requested from Evers in an April 21st letter.

Also on Wednesday, Evers announced a $25 million Wisconsin Rental Assistance Program for residents who are struggling to pay rent and landlords struggling to collect amid the pandemic.

Brownfield

Districts request school year waivers

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Nearly 60 percent of school districts in Wisconsin want permission to end the school year early.  As of Friday, the Department of Public Instruction reported 248 of Wisconsin’s 421 school districts had asked for a waiver for classroom hours.

Wisconsin high schools are normally required by law to have more than 11-hundred hours of teaching time. That’s proving difficult for some school districts. The state is allowing schools to cut the year short because of the coronavirus outbreak.

State will release names of nursing homes with COVD-19

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The state will be releasing names of nursing homes and long-term care facilities with positive cases of coronavirus. The disclosure will come this week, perhaps as early as Monday.

A spokesman for LeadingAge Wisconsin, a statewide association of long-term care providers, said “this is not a list of failures,” but simply a list of facilities where staff members or residents have tested positive with COVID-19.

As of Saturday, the state had a reported 634 cases at long-term care facilities, with 169 deaths. A spokesperson for the Wisconsin Department of Health Services said the release of the information is in line with an interim final rule published by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

State unemployment fund could run out as early as October

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Wisconsin’s unemployment benefits fund could run out by October 11th before the global COVID-19 pandemic runs its course.

It would be the first time the fund has run dry since the Great Recession of 2008. Should that happen, the state would be able to borrow from the federal government in order to keep the checks flowing.

The Department of Workforce Development, which oversees the fund, calls the October 11th date a “worst case scenario.”

Other projections, which assume a return to normalcy in the near future, show the current unemployment fund running dry in January or September of 2021.

Read more: DWD media release.

Seventh CD candidates will debate tonight

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Coronavirus won’t keep candidates in Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional District from debating Friday night. Democrat Tricia Zunker and Republican Tom Tiffany will square off will square off in a debate hosted by WJFW-TV in Rhinelander, and streamed on the station’s Facebook page and website.

It’s the one chance the candidates have had to get out in front of voters in the 7th Congressional District. Their campaigning has been cut short due to COVID-19, or limited to online town halls only.

The winner of the  May 12th special election will have to defend the seat again, when the current term ends in November.