Wisconsin
Trump issues order reshaping elections. Here’s what Wisconsin officials say it means for the state
How to register to vote in Wisconsin’s April 1 election
Reporter Hope Karnopp has all the details on how to register and voting info ahead of the April 1 election.
MADISON – President Donald Trump signed an order Tuesday aimed at reshaping how states carry out elections, but Wisconsin officials don’t believe the measures are likely to impact the state’s pivotal April 1 spring contest.
In an executive order, Trump requires the federal Election Assistance Commission to mandate “documentary, government-issued proof of U.S. citizenship” on voter registration forms and bans clerks from counting absentee ballots received after Election Day, among other measures.
If state officials do not use the voter registration form called for under the order, they could lose federal funding. However, Wisconsin is banned by a Waukesha County judge from using the form at issue because it does not comport with state law.
Leaders of the state elections agency said the state is unlikely to face repercussions because the state is exempt from using the form.
“Anything that would possibly have an effect on Wisconsin elections doesn’t apply to our April election, and people should rest secure that they’re going to be able to vote in April,” said Wisconsin Elections Commission chairwoman Ann Jacobs, a Democrat.
“The Commission is obligated to follow what the Wisconsin courts have ordered us, and sometimes the federal courts, and so we’ll do what they what they direct,” said Don Millis, the Republican vice-chairman of the commission. “The courts have said that’s not a form that we’re allowed to use.”
A spokesman for the Wisconsin Elections Commission agency declined to comment on the order’s impact to state election practices.
Some national election experts predicted the order would be challenged in court immediately over Trump’s move to override Congress on what the federal voter registration form includes. Under the order, U.S. passports and REAL IDs would be accepted as proof of citizenship but not birth certificates.
“This executive order would block tens of millions of American citizens from voting,” The Brennan Center for Justice posted on X, referring to the requirement to provide documentation to prove citizenship. “Presidents have no authority to do this.”
In a statement, Trump said the order is going to “fix our elections so that our elections are going to be honorable and honest and people leave and they know their vote is counted.”
Trump also said, “Ideally, we go to paper ballots, same-day voting,” but did not set new requirements for either policy change he has championed since the 2020 election when he falsely claimed to have defeated former President Joe Biden.
Jacobs said she suspects the timing of the order is related to the April 1 spring election in Wisconsin when partisan control of the state Supreme Court is up for grabs.
The court in 2020 ruled against Trump in a lawsuit he brought seeking to throw out thousands of ballots in an effort to overturn his election loss here.
Trump has endorsed conservative candidate Brad Schimel in the race, and days later former President Barack Obama backed liberal candidate Susan Crawford in the highly nationalized race.
“It feels like this is sort of being rushed out in advance of our April election. And I’m assuming that there’s a political reason for that,” Jacobs said. But Millis dismissed the idea, saying, “It would seem highly unlikely that the timing of this has any relationship to Wisconsin’s Supreme Court election next week.”
Molly Beck can be reached at molly.beck@jrn.com.
Wisconsin
President Trump endorses Tom Tiffany for Wisconsin governor
President Donald Trump has endorsed U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, R-Minocqua, in his bid to be the next governor of Wisconsin.
Trump announced the endorsement Tuesday night, writing on his social media platform Truth Social that Tiffany had his “Complete and Total Endorsement.”
“He will fight to advance Common Sense Values, and put WISCONSIN, AND AMERICA, FIRST,” Trump wrote.
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The endorsement puts to bed the questions of whether — and when — Trump would weigh in on the GOP primary for governor.
Tiffany, who has represented northern Wisconsin’s 7th District in Congress since 2020, was considered an early favorite to clinch the Republican nomination against Washington County Executive Josh Schoemann, but recent fundraising numbers suggested Schoemann could put up a fight.
The backing from Trump has proven critical in Republican primaries across the country, and it’s almost certain to give Tiffany a boost. Four years ago, Trump’s endorsement helped propel businessman Tim Michels over former Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch in the 2022 GOP primary for governor.
But whether the president’s nod is a help or a hindrance in the general election is an open question, especially in a cycle that polling suggests could favor Democrats. Four years ago, Michels lost to Democratic Gov. Tony Evers in the general election. And almost immediately after Trump’s endorsement Tuesday, the Democratic Party of Wisconsin looked to seize on the president’s support of Tiffany as a condemnation.
“We agree with Donald Trump—Tom Tiffany has been by his side for all of it: ICE murdering Americans in the streets, the Big Ugly Bill, ending funding for the Affordable Care Act, invading Greenland, and raising every day costs,” read a statement from state Democratic Party Chair Devin Remiker. “Donald Trump just made Tom Tiffany the general election nominee, and we will stop him from bringing his chaotic and dangerous agenda in November.”
At least seven candidates are running in the Democratic primary for governor, where many of them have made attacking Trump central to their campaigns. The winner of the general election will replace Evers, who is not seeking a third term.
Trump’s announcement came as part of a slate of endorsements posted to his Truth Social platform late Tuesday evening. He also endorsed Michael Alfonso, who is running for Tiffany’s soon-to-be-vacant seat in Congress.
Alfonso is the 25-year-old son-in-law of U.S. Treasury Secretary Sean Duffy, who represented the 7th District before Tiffany. He’s one of four Republicans running to replace Tiffany.
Trump called Alfonso “a young ‘STAR’.”
In a post on X, Alfonso wrote that it is his “greatest honor to accept this endorsement from President Donald J. Trump,” and pledged “to be a steadfast MAGA warrior.”
Wisconsin Public Radio, © Copyright 2026, Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System and Wisconsin Educational Communications Board.
Wisconsin
Polaris to lay off 200 Wisconsin workers, close facility in Osceola
The move comes after Polaris announced it was separating from Indian Motorcycle.
Powersports company Polaris has announced it plans to wind down the operations at its facility in Osceola which specializes in manufacturing Indian Motorcycle.
The move impacts roughly 200 Wisconsin workers at the facility.
On Jan. 27, during a fourth quarter and full year earnings call for 2025, Polaris said the company expects to sell Indian Motorcycle by the end of the first quarter of 2026 to Carolwood, a private equity firm based in Los Angeles. However the company plans to maintain some stake in the company.
Polaris officials said called the sale of Indian Motorcycle was a “difficult decision” and added it was a “move that we believe is best for Polaris and Indian Motorcycle.”
In a post on X, Wisconsin Democrat Sen. Tammy Baldwin said:
“We have seen this story in Wisconsin too many times – a private equity firm buys a company, hollows it out, & fires its workers, all to pad their profits. It’s simply wrong.”
Wisconsin
Prison ordered in western Wisconsin child porn case
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