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Waukesha County judge rules against ballot drop boxes

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City of Madison drop box WRN image

A Waukesha County Judge has ordered a halt to the use of ballot drop boxes in Wisconsin elections. Judge Michael Bohren said Thursday he would finalize an injunction in 10 days ordering the state Elections Commission to withdraw its guidance to municipal clerks regarding drop boxes that are not located in their offices.

Bohren ruled in favor of a lawsuit by the Wisconsin Institute For Law and Liberty. Luke Berg with the conservative law firm argued that the Commission’s guidance carried a lot of weight with local clerks.

“It is charged with administering the election laws and it is charged with providing guidance to clerks. So when it says something is lawful, municipal clerks follow it’s lead.”

Representing the elections commission, Steven Kilpatrick countered that clerks had made a great effort to ensure the drop boxes were secure.

“The commission’s guidance states that clerks should ensure that drop boxes are secure, can be monitored, and can be regularly emptied.”

The lawsuit by WILL is part of part of an Republican effort to oppose drop boxes. Bohren’s ruling is likely to be appealed.

SCOTUS stops Biden administration vaccine mandate for large employers

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The U.S. Supreme Court has halted the Biden administration’s vaccination-or-testing requirement on large employers. Conservative Justices expressed doubt that there’s legal authority for such a broad mandate.

Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers wasn’t surprised by Thursday’s decision. “We have to make sure that businesses aren’t burdened by this. But going forward, people can still get vaccinated, that’s the easy answer to that,” Evers said.

“Wisconsin businesses can breathe a sigh of relief that the Supreme Court has stayed this unlawful and unworkable mandate,” said Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce President & CEO Kurt R. Bauer. “If enacted, employers would face untold financial costs to comply with this ETS and an unprecedented number of workers would walk off the job in the middle of a historic workforce shortage.”

Wisconsin Health Services Secretary-designee Karen Timberlake says DHS continues to partner with businesses, to combat COVID-19.

“We have had many great partnerships with private sector employers, who have been offering on-site vaccination clinics, who are offering on-site testing, who are making it possible for their employees to take time off when they are sick, and need to be out of the workforce,” she said.

The high court did allow a separate policy to stand, which requires vaccinations for most health-care workers at facilities receiving federal Medicaid and Medicare funding.

 

State Senator Nass demands review of ballot dropbox rules from Elections Commission

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The head of the Republican-led legislative rules committee is demanding that the state elections board issue rules on drop boxes and absentee ballots. 

The joint committee for review of administrative rules voted on party lines on Monday to order the Wisconsin Elections Commission to issue rules for review within 30 days on absentee ballot dropboxes and ballot fixing.

Senator Steve Nass says the committee has the authority to prevent the elections commission from issuing directives on these matters. Previous Republican attempts to pass laws that would limit dropbox usage and change how absentee ballots are handled were vetoed by Governor Evers.

U.S. Senator Ron Johnson will seek third term

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Stating that he “believes America is in peril,” Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson is officially running for re-election to the U.S. Senate. The Oshkosh Republican announced his campaign with a Sunday op-ed in the Wall Street Journal, citing “Democrats’ complete takeover of government” as one reason for running again.

The news has been expected despite Johnson’s earlier pledge to serve only two terms. He’s been criticized for promoting misinformation about the coronavirus pandemic and COVID-19 vaccines, and for downplaying the severity of last year’s violent assault on the U.S. Capitol by supporters of Donald Trump.

Several Democrats are competing to challenge Johnson, including Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes, Milwaukee Bucks executive Alex Lasry, and Outagamie County Executive Tom Nelson.

 

Bernier won’t seek another state Senate term

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State Senator Kathy Bernier (R-Chippewa Falls) announced on Friday that she won’t be running for another term. Bernier served 12 years in the State Senate and 13 years before that as a county clerk in Chippewa County. She says she will be stepping back from politics to focus on her family and grandchildren.

Bernier, who chairs the Senate Elections commas most recently been an outspoken critic of the ongoing partisan probe into the 2020 presidential election overseen by former state Supreme Court Justice Mike Gableman. That’s a stance that has put her at odds with other members of her caucus. Bernier said that didn’t factor into her decision not to run.

“The choice to retire was a difficult one to make, but I have been contemplating this decision for some time now and I decided ‘now is the time,” Bernier said in a statement. “I want to make it perfectly clear that no one has forced me out and politics has not played a role in my decision.”

“Senator Bernier has been a tremendous asset to our caucus, and I thank Kathy for her 25 years of public service. Her expertise, knowledge, and good humor will be missed in the Senate,” said Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu.

Duffy praises Ron Johnson as Senator continues to push unsubstantiated claims about COVID vaccines

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Former Wisconsin congressman Sean Duffy says he’s not running for office, but he hopes fellow Republican, U.S. Senator Ron Johnson, does seek a third term. Duffy praised Johnson during a Thursday interview on conservative talk station WISN in Milwaukee.

“You need people who know where the bodies are buried,” Duffy told host Jay Weber. “They know how to use gavel, they know how to fight for people. And Ron Johnson has been a warrior for truth in regard to all the COVID falsehoods. Just bringing stories out. Letting people who have had mishaps and injury from the vaccine. Talking about early treatment.”

Johnson has consistently referenced the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, or VAERS, when talking about adverse reactions to the COVID-19 vaccines.  Anyone can use VAERS, which which is jointly run by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration, to submit a report of a symptom that occurred following vaccination.

Duffy’s comments Thursday came hours after Johnson once again questioned vaccine policy, during comments to FOX Business.

“I think vaccinations are absolutely appropriate for the vulnerable. I have questions about mass vaccinations into the pandemic, as other medical experts have warned of,” Johnson said. “Where are these variants coming from? These are variants that are avoiding the vaccine. Could the vast vaccination into the vaccine, could that be driving these variants? I don’t know.”

Johnson has yet to announce if he’s running again, after once saying he’d limit himself to two terms. Several Democrats are running to oppose him, including Lieutenant Governor Mandela, Barnes, state Treasurer Sarah Godlewski, and Outagamie County Executive Tom Nelson.

Duffy also said Thursday that he had no plans to run for governor, but will focus on his family. “We have to raise strong, good, conservative Christian kids, if we’re going to save them from the pressures of this conservative culture,” he said.

The former 7th District Republican is now a lobbyist living in New Jersey. Duffy’s wife Rachel works for FOX News, and he has appeared frequently on the conservative cable channel.

 

Senator Baldwin calls for end to attacks on elections, pushes for new voting rights bill

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Senator Tammy Baldwin says enough is enough, and that attacks on elections by Republicans need to stop.

She says that an audit from Wisconsin Republicans is just part of a nationwide effort to make it harder to vote in America. “Gableman’s audit, which was is being paid for by the taxpayers of Wisconsin is nothing more than an effort to draw into question the election, to perpetuate Trump’s big lie, and to harass and intimidate our state election officials.”

Baldwin says that in Wisconsin, the presidential election has already survived recounts and audits. 

“Every stage of this was with high transparency and accountability and all reiterated that Biden had one in Wisconsin by a little over 20,000 votes.”

Baldwin and her Democrat colleagues are hoping to pass voting rights and election protection bills, but those efforts are being blocked by Republicans in the Senate.

Republicans propose bills to support Wisconsin law enforcement

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At the Capitol, Republican legislators propose a package of bills they say will help attract and retain law enforcement officers in Wisconsin. West Allis Police Chief Pat Mitchell said it’s a complicated issue, but it’s been a tough couple of years, following the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

“People who consume the news got it loud and clear,” Mitchell said. “If you’re a responsible parent, you’ve got a 22-year-old child, and you see that law enforcement is no longer honorable because of the actions of one – do you encourage your 22-year-old child to be a police officer? Probably not.”

Representative Mark Born (R-Beaver Dam) said the $25 million package of incentives and grants would be paid for from federal pandemic relief

“We’re confident that this is not only a proper use but a smart use of these funds,” Born said, noting that some of the challenges facing law enforcement are related to the COVID-19. Democratic Governor Tony Evers determines how those federal funds are allocated. A spokesperson in Evers’ office said he did not yet have a reaction to the bills.

Assembly Minority Leader Gordon Hintz (D-Oshkosh) said Republicans had an opportunity to support an additional an additional $50.2 million in funding for law enforcement which Evers has proposed since taking office.

“Now, Legislative Republicans are proposing using one-time COVID funds to fund local law enforcement at roughly half the amount Governor Evers proposed since he was elected in 2018, and that Republicans voted against,” Hintz said in a statement.

 

‘It’s horrible’ – Evers calls for end to Gableman elections probe

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Michael Gableman

Saying it’s only fueling distrust in Wisconsin elections, Governor Tony Evers wants Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and former state Supreme Court Justice Mike Gableman to wrap up their review of the 2020 presidential results in the state.

“It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy,” Evers said during a year-end interview with WRN. “They keep saying ‘well we have to make sure that people have confidence in the election.’ Well we’re not going to have confidence in the election if this circus continues on.”

President Joe Biden won Wisconsin by some 20,000 votes in 2020, a result that has been confirmed by numerous court cases, audits, recounts and reviews. The Gableman review was ordered by state Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, and $675,000 was initially allocated for it.

But Gableman is vowing to continue the taxpayer funded effort into the new year. And he’s calling for the resignation of state Senator Kathy Bernier, the Lake Hallie Republican who’s been a vocal critic of the partisan probe.

“They are accomplishing nothing except fulfilling their prophecy that people don’t trust the election,” Evers said. What a legacy for those two. It’s horrible, they should end it.”

 

Racine Democrat Greta Neubauer elected new Assembly Minority Leader

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State Assembly Democrats have picked a new leader. Racine Representative Greta Neubauer will now lead the caucus.

Neubauer says Democrats will need to continue to hold to their ideals heading into the next elections.

“We are here because we believe the government should grow with the people, that our democracy should fight for all of us who live here. We believe that Wisconsin should be a state where everyone can thrive.”

“In the face of Republican efforts to divide and conquer, the next year will be critical to building a stronger more Equitable Wisconsin.”

Neubauer will replace outgoing Minority Leader Gordon Hintz, who’s stepping down at the start of next year.