MILWUAKEE — Less than three days before polls open on Election Day, voters across Wisconsin are weighing the impact of Elon Musk’s recent involvement in the state Supreme Court race — and whether his money is motivating or meddling.
Billionaire Elon Musk, a vocal supporter of Judge Brad Schimel, plans to award $1 million each to two individuals at a rally scheduled for Sunday in Green Bay. The payments are intended for those who signed an online petition opposing what he calls “activist judges” and will speak at the rally.
He is also offering $100 to any Wisconsinite who signs the petition.
Chuck Kornowski of West Allis said he and several family members signed Musk’s petition earlier this month.
“My wife and I both filled it out, including my son, my sister, and my brother-in-law,” he said. “It’s awesome.”
Kornowski is now waiting for his $100 check in the mail — part of Musk’s broader campaign offering money to people who sign the online petition. Kornowski said the effort is energizing voters.
“It gets people motivated,” he added. “It is a good idea, I really feel it is.”
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On Saturday, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals denied an emergency request by Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul to block Musk from awarding $1 million each to two voters at the rally Sunday night.
Kaul filed the lawsuit Friday, arguing that Musk’s actions violate Wisconsin election law, which makes it a felony to offer voters anything of value in exchange for voting.
After a county judge declined to hear the case on Saturday, Kaul appealed to the state Court of Appeals, which also rejected his request.
Musk and groups he funds have now poured more than $20 million into the race, which has become the most expensive judicial election in U.S. history. According to WisPolitics, total spending has topped $90 million.
Jerrell Patterson of Milwaukee said he sees the campaign as a creative way to energize new voters.
“Get into the minds of younger people and get them to come to rallies, sign petitions, and become greater Americans — I’m definitely on board with that,” Patterson said.
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Not all voters feel comfortable with the billionaire’s role in the race.
“Getting people out there to vote, certainly,” said Meredith, a Milwaukee voter. “But I don’t know how I feel about a billionaire bribing people to sign petitions and paying his way into an election.”
Musk and former President Donald Trump are supporting conservative candidate Judge Brad Schimel of Waukesha County. Democrats, including George Soros, are backing Dane County Judge Susan Crawford.
“I don’t control what Elon Musk does, and I don’t control what George Soros or J.B. Pritzker do for Susan Crawford,” Schimel said at a rally Friday, pointing to the out-of-state billionaires backing his opponent.
Petition or not, many voters said this election feels more consequential than usual.
“It’s a very high-stakes election,” Meredith added. “Not just for Wisconsin, but for the country as a whole.”
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Control of the Wisconsin Supreme Court hangs in the balance, as a pending retirement means the court’s current 4-3 liberal majority is up for grabs.
Schimel said he would not be attending the Green Bay event with Musk. Attendance is limited to those who signed the petition.
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Storms Friday night but a dry weekend ahead in SE Wisconsin
More storms are likely Friday night before our weather quiets down for Easter weekend in SE Wisconsin
RIGHT AFTER WORLD NEWS WITH DAVID MUIR AT 530. THANK YOU DIANA. SHOWERS AND STORMS ARE MOVING IN, BUT IT WILL NOT BE A REPEAT OF LAST NIGHT. THAT’S GOOD NEWS, MARK. THE CHANCE OF SEVERE WEATHER IS VERY LOW. IT IS VERY GOOD BECAUSE NO, I WOULDN’T WANT TO HAVE A REPEAT OF LAST NIGHT. THANKFULLY, WE’RE NOT GOING TO DO THAT. WE DO HAVE SOME SHOWERS ROLLING IN. IT’S A ROUND OF EVENING SHOWERS, BUT A LOT OF THIS IS FALLING APART. I THINK IT’S MAINLY GOING TO BE A COUPLE OF SPRINKLES BY THE TIME IT GETS TO MILWAUKEE. RAIN AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE LIKELY OVERNIGHT. A COUPLE OF STRONG STORMS POSSIBLE. YES. RAIN MOVES OUT BY EARLY SATURDAY. MOST OF SATURDAY IS DRY. IT GETS BREEZY. TEMPERATURES. NOT BAD THOUGH. WE’LL MAKE IT INTO THE MID 50S. ALL RIGHT. FOR THE REST OF TONIGHT YOUR SEVERE THREAT LEVEL ONE AGAIN. LAST NIGHT WE ARE LEVEL THREE ON THE SEVERE THREAT INDEX. WE’RE NOT THERE. ANY KIND OF THREAT WOULD BE HAIL. THAT’S THAT’S OUR ONLY WORRY. I’M NOT WORRIED ABOUT TORNADOES. ANYTHING LIKE THAT. SO A LOW CHANCE OF SOME HAIL. ANY OF THE THREATS ARE VERY LOW. VERY LOW THREAT OF DAMAGING WINDS THAT SHOULD STAY WAY SOUTH. VERY, VERY, VERY, VERY LOW THREAT OF TORNADOES. I’M ALWAYS SCARED TO PUT ZERO THREAT OF TORNADOES, BUT IT’S CLOSE TO ZERO FLOODING. WELL, YOU KNOW WHAT? WE ARE WATERLOGGED. AND SO IT’S NOT GOING TO TAKE THAT MUCH RAIN. WE COULD GET UP TO AN INCH OF RAIN AND THAT WOULD CAUSE SOME ISSUES. NOTICE HOW THIS CONTINUES TO FALL APART. IT’S A STEADY RAIN THOUGH IN WESTERN WAUKESHA COUNTY. IT’S STARTING TO MOVE INTO THE CITY OF WAUKESHA AND INTO PEWAUKEE AS WELL. THUNDERSTORMS BACK OUT TO THE WEST OF US. THE SEVERE THREAT REALLY, I THINK IS WELL, SOUTH. THAT’S WHERE THE WARMER AIR IS LOCATED. IT’S NOT HERE. SO AS WE HEAD THROUGHOUT THE NIGHT, THAT MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT, WE BRING IN SHOWERS AND SOME THUNDERSTORMS, MAYBE A LITTLE SMALL HAIL IN THERE AS WELL. THE COLDER AIR STARTS WRAPPING BACK IN AS WE HEAD INTO SATURDAY NIGHT. MAYBE EVEN ENOUGH TO GET A PASSING FLURRY JUST IN TIME FOR EASTER MORNING. BUT THAT’S NOT GOING TO LAST LONG. EASTER IS OKAY. I WOULDN’T SAY IT’S GREAT, BUT IT’S ALL RIGHT. IT’S 49 DEGREES, A FEW SPRINKLES EARLY, EARLY, EARLY ON SATURDAY. IT’S GONE BY 8:00 AT THE LATEST. THE REST OF THE DAY IS FINE. HOW ABOUT EASTER? WELL, WE START OUT PRETTY CHILLY, 33 AT 7 A.M. IF YOU’RE GOING TO DO EASTER EGG HUNTS. ONE. IF IT’S OUTSIDE, YOU BETTER DRESS FOR IT AND ALSO BE READY FOR THE MUDDY BECAUSE IT IS GOING TO BE WET. WE’RE WET ALL OVER, BUT WE’RE GREENING THINGS UP PRETTY QUICKLY HERE, THANKS TO THE FACT THAT WE’VE HAD ALL THAT RAIN YESTERDAY. 1.8IN OF RAIN IN MILWAUKEE 39 RIGHT NOW IN ELKHART LAKE, 46 DEGREES IN DELAVAN, WHERE YOU’VE HAD A PASSING SHOWER, BUT THAT HAS MOVED ON. NOT EXACTLY SEEING ANYTHING WARM UNLESS YOU GO HERE 81 DEGREES DOWN IN SAINT LOUIS. YOU CAN CLEARLY SEE WHERE THE FRONT IS LOCATED. ALL RIGHT, EARLY SPRINKLES. A BREEZY DAY FOR TOMORROW. MOST OF THE DAY IS DRY, AND I DO THINK WE’LL SEE SOME SUNSHINE OFF. AND ON EASTER SUNDAY DRY, WHICH IS NICE. 49 IT’S KIND OF NICE BECAUSE MOST OF THE STRETCH AFTER WE GET THROUGH TONIGHT IS QUIET. MONDAY AND TUESDAY ARE QUIET. TUESDAY, OF COURSE, IS ELECTION DAY HIGH OF ONLY 38. SO DRESS WARMLY HEADING TO THE POLLS AND THEN WE WARM RIGHT BACK UP IN THE 50S. CHANCES FOR SHOWERS AS WE HEAD INTO THURSDAY AND FRIDAY. IT’S OKAY.
Storms Friday night but a dry weekend ahead in SE Wisconsin
More storms are likely Friday night before our weather quiets down for Easter weekend in SE Wisconsin
Updated: 6:30 PM CDT Apr 3, 2026
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More storms are likely Friday night before our weather quiets down for Easter weekend in SE Wisconsin
More storms are likely Friday night before our weather quiets down for Easter weekend in SE Wisconsin
We found no evidence that liberal Wisconsin Appeals Court Judge Chris Taylor has supported allowing noncitizens to vote.
Taylor and conservative state Appeals Court Judge Maria Lazar are running in the April 7 Wisconsin Supreme Court election.
A Lazar ad claimed Taylor is “pushing for noncitizen voting.”
Lazar’s campaign cited:
Taylor’s opposition, while a Democratic state lawmaker, to the Republican-backed 2011 state law requiring identification to vote.
Her introduction of a 2017 bill, which did not become law. It would have provided driver’s licenses to unauthorized residents, but the licenses would have been labeled: “Not valid for voting purposes.”
Taylor’s opinion, in a 2024 appeals court ruling, which said absentee ballots count even if voters’ witnesses fail to give election clerks their full address. Citizenship is required to vote in Wisconsin, but Wisconsin election officials generally do not verify citizenship when a person registers.
This <a target=”_blank” href=”https://wisconsinwatch.org/2026/04/wisconsin-supreme-court-candidate-taylor-lazar-noncitizen-voting-election-campaign-ad/”>article</a> first appeared on <a target=”_blank” href=”https://wisconsinwatch.org”>Wisconsin Watch</a> and is republished here under a <a target=”_blank” href=”https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/”>Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License</a>.<img src=”https://i0.wp.com/wisconsinwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/cropped-WCIJ_IconOnly_FullColor_RGB-1.png?fit=150%2C150&quality=100&ssl=1″ style=”width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;”>
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The president of Wisconsin’s largest mosque was detained by federal immigration agents, drawing accusations from local officials and religious leaders that the arrest was motivated by his statements against Israel.
Salah Sarsour, a Palestinian-born legal permanent resident of the United States, was taken into custody by nearly a dozen US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents on Monday in Milwaukee after he left his home, according to the Islamic Society of Milwaukee.
Supporters called for his immediate release on Thursday and his attorneys said he was detained on the grounds that he is a foreign policy threat. His attorneys say the claims have no merit.
Instead, they believe Sarsour, 53, was targeted for speaking out against Israel and for a conviction as a minor by Israeli military courts, which have faced scrutiny over allegations of limited due process and high conviction rates of Palestinians. Israel rejects those claims. The offenses included allegedly throwing rocks at Israeli officers, according to attorney Munjed Ahmad.
“Our government should not be doing the bidding of a foreign government,” Ahmad said of Israel. “There’s no question in my mind is that this is to stifle the discourse on the Palestinian narrative.”
Attorneys said Sarsour, born in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, has no criminal record in the US.
Sarsour’s attorneys have likened the case to that of Mahmoud Khalil, a former Columbia University activist who faces deportation because the federal government said he was a foreign policy threat.
An email message left on Thursday for ICE and the Department of Homeland Security was not immediately returned.
Sarsour has been the president of the Islamic Society of Milwaukee, the largest Islamic organization in the state, for five years. His attorneys say he’s held a green card for years and lived in the Milwaukee area. His wife and four adult children are US citizens.
His arrest prompted outcry from top elected officials, including Milwaukee’s mayor, Cavalier Johnson, who called it “an outrage”.
“He is a legal permanent resident. There is no substantive evidence he has done anything wrong,” Johnson said in a post on X. “This is another example of overreach and harm from the U.S. Immigration authorities.”
Sarsour is being held at county jail outside Indianapolis. His attorneys have filed a petition seeking his release.
“He is ready to fight tooth and nail to make sure that he’s not drug through the mud,” Ahmad said. “He wants to stay in this country.”
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