Wisconsin

Election integrity: How Wisconsin ensures safe and secure voting

Published

1 year ago

October 14, 2024

Election integrity: How Wisconsin ensures safe and secure voting

A study by the Pew Research Center found that 36.2 million Latinos will be eligible to vote in 2024, up 4 million from the 2020 election. This makes Latino voters one of the most critical voting blocs, leading both Democrats and Republicans to ramp up their efforts to tap into such potential support. In Nevada, Latinos are projected to be crucial in both the presidential race and the contest for the state’s other Senate seat, pitting incumbent Jacky Rosen (D) and against Republican Sam Brown. Ads from both parties populate platforms like YouTube — one of the three most used apps by Hispanics — trying to win over the Latino voter bloc.

What these ads, as well as the political machine, seem to miss is that Latinos are not a monolithic group. This can lead politicians to miss out on the many different factors that shape Latino identities. Voter tendencies can vary significantly between different Latino groups — and even within Latino families.

A multigenerational perspective

Rico Cortez is a Mexican American living in northern Nevada. He was raised by a single mother, Rebecca Guerrero, and his Latino roots, along with growing up with a strong matriarch, have shaped his political views. “Women’s rights are super important to me because women raised me. Women brought me into this world,” Cortez stated.

Latinos tend to put a larger emphasis on family than that of non-Hispanics. According to the Pew Research Center,84 percent of Latinos believe that family members are more important than friends. Cortez moved back to northern Nevada five years ago to care for his aging mother because his connection to his family is so important.

Rebecca Guerrero was born in Verdi, Nev., in 1929, making her 95 years old. Despite her age, she is still civically engaged and has consistently voted throughout her lifetime. For her, it was important to pass on this civic duty to her children. Her political identity has shaped Cortez, and today, both Guerrero and Cortez represent a unique part of the Latino vote in Nevada.

As a young mother, Guerrero struggled with the cost of living in Nevada. “Well, it was no picnic. It was rough because the man that I was married to didn’t care too much. And we had to go on welfare to get my kids what they needed,” she remembers. Rising rent prices, inflation and increasing the minimum wage have become increasingly important to Guerrero and her family.

This falls in line with the priorities of other Latino in Nevada. In the state with the largest Latino middle class, the cost of living is one of the most significant issues for many Latino voters. Eighty-four percent of Latinos in Nevada agree that it is difficult for middle-class families to prosper in the United States. Republicans — like GOP Gov. Joe Lombardo — have capitalized on this by touting their ability to do things like loosen requirements for business licenses in the state and tighten immigration laws to save jobs.

Immigration is another critical issue for Latinos in Nevada, and Guerrero has her own immigration story. At 10 years old, she had to leave her dying grandfather in Durango, Mexico, to travel to live with her aunts in California. Leaving him behind was hard for her., “I had to kneel and have my grandfather do the sign of the cross and bless me. Then I crossed, he stayed on that side, and I came to this side,” she says.

While some Republicans have used immigration as a selling point to Latino voters, the Trump campaign has pushed anti-immigration rhetoric and massive amounts of disinformation, leaving some voters, like Guerrero, upset; when asked about Trump, she stated, “If you don’t have a good president, well, everything goes to pot. If we get Trump, well, Trump is an asswipe.”

According to aUnivision poll, Latino voters in Nevada favor Kamala Harris by 18 points. While both Guerrero and Cortez will be voting for Harris in November, 41 percent of Latino voters are undecided. Issues like abortion and border security are making some lean toward the former president.

Abortion is one of the most significant issues for Cortez in this election cycle. He sees reproductive rights as an essential part of supporting women, “I’ve just always been an advocate for women. I don’t want to see my little nieces having to fight for things that my mother already fought for.”

For Guerrero, abortion has been a bit of a gray area. She comes from a strong Catholic background. Catholic doctrine opposes abortion. And withCatholicism being the largestfaith amongst Latinos, it can sway values and belief systems. While Guerrero is still very religious, time and conversations with her son eventually led her to support a woman’s right to choose. Cortez and Guerrero are among the 44 percent of Nevadan Latinos who say they will vote “yes” on a ballot measure that would establish the right to abortion in the Nevadan Constitution.

The issue of abortion reflects how Latino viewpoints can differ significantly depending on factors such as age, religion and party affiliation. While the Latino vote will be crucial in Nevada and across the nation in November, it is not monolithic, and many different cultures and life experiences shape the identities and values of Latinos in the Silver State.

Regardless of the differences, Cortez is proud to be Latino and is excited to see how important the Latino vote has become in Nevada. He celebrates the sense of community he feels being Mexican American: “I love that sense of community. I think we have a strong sense of community, and we care for each other and look after each other.”

In the weeks leading to Election Day, The Fulcrum will continue to publish stories from across the country featuring the people who make up the powerful Latino electorate to better understand the hopes and concerns of an often misunderstood, diverse community.

What do you think about this article? We’d like to hear from you. Please send your questions, comments, and ideas to newsroom@fulcrum.us.

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Wisconsin

Former Trump aides appear in Wisconsin court over 2020 election fraud charges

Published

5 hours ago

December 15, 2025

Press Room

Former Trump aides appear in Wisconsin court over 2020 election fraud charges

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Two attorneys and an aide who all worked on President Donald Trump’s 2020 campaign appeared in court Monday for a preliminary hearing in Wisconsin on felony forgery charges related to a fake elector scheme.

The Wisconsin case is moving forward even as others in the battleground states of Michigan and Georgia have faltered. A special prosecutor last year dropped a federal case alleging Trump conspired to overturn the 2020 election. Another case in Nevada is still alive.

The Wisconsin case was filed a year ago but has been tied up as the Trump aides have fought, unsuccessfully so far, to have the charges dismissed.

The hearing on Monday comes a week after Trump attorney Jim Troupis, one of the three who were charged, tried unsuccessfully to get the judge to step down in the case and have it moved to another county. Troupis, who the other two defendants joined in his motion, alleged that the judge did not write a previous order issued in August declining to dismiss the case. Instead, he accused the father of the judge’s law clerk, a retired judge, of actually writing the opinion.

Troupis, who served one year as a judge in the same county where he was charged, also alleged that all of the judges in Dane County are biased against him and he can’t get a fair trial.

Dane County Circuit Judge John Hyland said he and a staff attorney alone wrote the order. Hyland also said Troupis presented no evidence to back up his claims of bias and refused to step down or delay the hearing.

Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson asked the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate the allegations.

The same judge will determine at Monday’s hearing whether there’s enough evidence to proceed with the charges against the three.

The former Trump aides face 11 felony charges each related to their roles in the 2020 fake elector scheme. In addition to Troupis, the other defendants are Kenneth Chesebro, an attorney who advised Trump’s campaign, and Mike Roman, Trump’s director of Election Day operations in 2020.

The Wisconsin Department of Justice, headed by Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul, brought the felony forgery charges in 2024, alleging that the three defrauded the 10 Republican electors who cast their ballots for Trump in 2020.

Prosecutors contend the three lied to the Republicans about how the certificate they signed would be used as part of a plan to submit paperwork to then-Vice President Mike Pence, falsely claiming that Trump had won the battleground state that year.

The complaint said a majority of the 10 Republicans told investigators that they were needed to sign the elector certificate indicating Trump had won only to preserve his legal options if a court changed the outcome of the election in Wisconsin.

A majority of the electors told investigators that they did not believe their signatures on the elector certificate would be submitted to Congress without a court ruling, the complaint said. Also, a majority said they did not consent to having their signatures presented as if Trump had won without such a court ruling, the complaint said.

Federal prosecutors who investigated Trump’s conduct related to the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot said the fake electors scheme originated in Wisconsin.

The Trump associates have argued that no crime took place. But the judge in August rejected their arguments in allowing the case to proceed to Monday’s preliminary hearing.

Trump lost Wisconsin in 2020 but fought to have the defeat overturned. He won the state in both 2016 and 2024.

The state charges against the Trump attorneys and aide are the only ones in Wisconsin. None of the electors have been charged. The 10 Wisconsin electors, Chesebro and Troupis all settled a lawsuit that was brought against them seeking damages.

___

This story has been corrected to show that the attorneys who are charged formerly worked on Trump’s campaign, but are still practicing attorneys.

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Wisconsin

No. 3 Wisconsin Badgers vs. No. 1 Texas Longhorns: Game Thread

Published

17 hours ago

December 14, 2025

Press Room

The Wisconsin Badgers are facing off against the Texas Longhorns in the Elite 8 on Sunday evening, looking to make their way back to the Final Four in Kansas City next week.

Wisconsin pulled off an impressive win over the No. 2 Stanford Cardinal on Friday, as it out-hit the latter in a thriller behind strong efforts from Mimi Colyer (27 kills) and Charlie Fuerbringer (61 assists).

Now, they’re facing a team that they were swept by earlier in the season, as the Longhorns thrived off Badger errors during their first matchup.

Texas has cruised through its competition so far in the NCAA Tournament, beating Florida A&M, Penn State, and Indiana en route to the Elite 8.

If Wisconsin can win, it would face the No. 1 Kentucky Wildcats on Thursday in the Final Four, with the No. 3 Texas A&M Aggies and No. 1 Pittsburgh Panthers being the other two teams still left in the field.

Can the Badgers get a huge upset and break the Texas streak of wins on Sunday? Join us as our game thread is officially active.

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Wisconsin

WI lawmakers should support data center accountability bill | Letters

Published

1 day ago

December 14, 2025

Press Room

WI lawmakers should support data center accountability bill | Letters

Data centers proposed in our area pose multiple threats to our water, wildlife, and wallets. We all can take action by asking our senators and representatives to back SB729.

Letters to the Editor
| Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

The data centers proposed in our area in Mount Pleasant, Port Washington, and Beaver Dam pose multiple threats to our water, wildlife, and wallets. The centers will require vast amounts of water to cool their equipment. Plus, 70% of the water consumed each year in Wisconsin goes to electric power generation, so the water needed for energy production adds to the millions of gallons these centers will need on peak days.

The massive energy infrastructure required to build and operate the data centers is expensive and threatens to burden customers for years with the huge costs. Also, at a time when the impacts of climate change make it clear that we should be transitioning to clean renewable energy sources, utility companies are using data centers as justification for building new fossil gas power plants, thereby keeping us from achieving the zero emissions future that we so desperately need.

Take action by backing Data Center Accountability Act

The Data Center Accountability Act, bill SB729, was introduced recently in the Wisconsin legislature. If passed, the bill would stipulate that:

Data center must meet labor standards and use at least 70% renewable energy.
All data centers must be LEED certified or the equivalent.
Data center owners must pay an annual fee that funds renewable energy, energy efficiency, and a low-income energy assistance program.

We all can take action to prevent the worst impacts from data centers by asking our senators and representatives to vote for SB729. To find your legislators go to https://myvote.wi.gov/en-us/My-Elected-Officials.

Jenny Abel, Wauwatosa

Here are some tips to get your views shared with your friends, family, neighbors and across our state:

Please include your name, street address and daytime phone.
Generally, we limit letters to 200 words.
Cite sources of where you found information or the article that prompted your letter.
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Avoid ad hominem attacks, take issue with a position, not a person.
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Write: Letters to the editor, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 330 E. Kilbourn Avenue, Suite 500, Milwaukee, WI, 53202. Fax: (414)-223-5444. E-mail: jsedit@jrn.com or submit using the form that can be found on the on the bottom of this page.

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