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Wisconsin Republicans try to force a vote on the reappointment of a nonpartisan election

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Wisconsin Republicans try to force a vote on the reappointment of a nonpartisan election


MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Republicans who control the Wisconsin Senate, in a surprise move Wednesday night, proceeded with trying to force a vote on firing the state’s nonpartisan top elections official before the 2024 presidential election.

The Senate voted to move ahead at a later date with a public hearing, and ultimately a confirmation vote, on the reappointment of Megan Wolfe for a second term overseeing elections in the presidential battleground state. Democrats walked out of the Senate chamber before the vote, objecting to bringing the unscheduled resolution to a vote at 9:30 p.m. on a day that was expected to focus on passage of the state budget.

The Republican move was an attempt to get around Democrats on the Wisconsin Elections Commission who a day earlier tried to block the Senate from ever getting a chance to vote on Wolfe’s confirmation. Democrats fear that the Senate will reject her confirmation, which is the same as firing her.

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The window for local, state and tribal governments to challenge their 2020 census figures closes after Friday, and with it the opportunity to correct mistakes in population totals that could cost them millions of dollars in federal funding.

The Wisconsin Senate debates the Republican-authored state budget that cuts income taxes, increases funding for K-12 schools and reduces funding for the University of Wisconsin on Wednesday, June 28, 2023, in Madison, Wis. (AP Photo/Scott Bauer)

A two-year spending plan that cuts taxes across all income levels, with the wealthiest benefiting the most, and gives the University of Wisconsin nearly half a billion dollars less than it asked for has cleared the Republican-controlled state Senate on a party-line vote.

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FILE - Wisconsin Elections Commission Administrator Meagan Wolfe, poses outside of the Wisconsin State Capitol Building, on Aug. 31, 2020. The future of Wisconsin's top elections official was up for a vote Tuesday, amid calls from Republicans for Wolfe to resign over how she ran the 2020 presidential election. (Ruthie Hauge/Wisconsin State Journal via AP, File)

A vote on the future of Wisconsin’s top elections official has ended in partisan deadlock. Republicans have called for elections commission administrator Meagan Wolfe to resign over how she ran the 2020 presidential election.

FILE - A man walks by the Wisconsin state Capitol, Oct. 10, 2012, in Madison, Wis. The Republican-authored Wisconsin state budget includes a $3.5 billion income tax cut covering all income levels, a cut to the University of Wisconsin System and more money for public K-12 and private voucher schools. The GOP-controlled Legislature is expected to pass the plan next week, June 26, 2023, sending it to Democratic Gov. Tony Evers. (AP Photo/Scott Bauer, File)

The Republican-authored Wisconsin state budget includes a $3.5 billion income tax cut covering all income levels, a cut to the University of Wisconsin System and more money for public K-12 and private voucher schools.

The three Democrats on the elections commission abstained from a vote Tuesday on reappointing Wolfe. The three Republican members voted in favor.

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The Senate ignored that deadlocked vote and said in the resolution it passed Wednesday night that it considered the 3-0 vote, with three abstaining, to be a sign of unanimous support for Wolfe. State law requires there to be four votes for Wolfe to be reappointed.

Republicans are simply ignoring the law in an attempt to get what they want, said Democratic elections commission member Ann Jacobs.

“Apparently Meagan Wolfe is living in the heads of the Senate delegation rent free and they live in mortal fear that she will continue to run free and fair elections in Wisconsin,” Jacobs said.

Another Democratic elections commissioner, Mark Thomsen, said that he puts his faith in the courts and “not this current Senate leadership” in sorting it out.

Republican Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu said it was the Senate that was following the law by proceeding with the reappointment question since Wolfe’s term ends on Friday. He accused Democrats on the elections commission of “diminishing faith in our elections” with their “antics.”

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The question of Wolfe’s reappointment will now be the subject of a public hearing, a vote by a Senate committee and then ultimately a vote by the full Senate, LeMahieu said. Republicans have a 22-11 majority in the Senate.

Democratic Senate Minority Leader Melissa Agard told reporters after Democrats walked out that they were “disgusted and frustrated” with the surprise move by Republicans.

Senate Republican leaders have said there isn’t enough support to confirm Wolfe for a second term overseeing elections in the presidential battleground state. Some Republicans have called for her to resign over how she ran the 2020 presidential election that President Joe Biden narrowly won.

Wisconsin is so narrowly divided, four of the past six presidential elections have been decided by less than a percentage point. Wolfe has staunchly defended the decisions she’s made and fought back against false claims of election fraud, including those made by former President Donald Trump.

Biden’s win has withstood two partial recounts, a nonpartisan audit, a conservative law firm’s review, numerous state and federal lawsuits, and a Republican-ordered review that found no evidence of widespread fraud before the investigator was fired. The GOP-controlled Legislature has rejected attempts to decertify the results.

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Wolfe has served as the state’s elections administrator since 2018 and has become one of the most respected elections leaders in the nation. Before defending her record in a letter to state lawmakers, she called on commissioners to vote for the option they believe offers the most stability for Wisconsin elections even if that’s not her.

If a commission appointee is rejected by the Senate, then commissioners would need to make a new appointment within 45 days or else a legislative committee controlled by Republicans could choose the next administrator.





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Wisconsin

Who should be this week’s Wisconsin Student of the Week? Vote in our poll.

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Who should be this week’s Wisconsin Student of the Week? Vote in our poll.


Thanks to great participation in last week’s USA TODAY NETWORK-WISCONSIN’s Student of the Week poll, we were able to crown our first winner.

Now, we need your help again to choose our second winner. This week’s finalists are Jovan Adamavich, a freshman doing big things at Sheboygan South High School, and Ethan LeCaptain, a senior who demonstrates leadership at Green Bay’s Notre Dame Academy.

Be sure to vote for your choice in the second round of this statewide initiative. Voting runs from 5 a.m. Monday, Oct. 7, until noon Thursday, Oct. 10.

Here’s what those who nominated our finalists say about them:

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Jovan Adamavich, Sheboygan South High School, grade 9

“Jovan is currently earning As and Bs in school, and is working hard for his school’s football teams — playing both junior varsity and some varsity games — as a freshman. Jovan is also always polite and considerate in the space he shares with me and other students as part of Boys & Girls Clubs Be Great Graduate program. His hard work academically, athletically, and positive school citizenship is impressive!”

— Mary Michels, graduation specialist at Boys & Girls Clubs of Sheboygan County

Ethan LeCaptain, Notre Dame Academy, grade 12

“Ethan LeCaptain is a senior and has a strong work ethic. He knows what needs to get done. In addition, he also knows that other students, especially underclassmen, may struggle in their classes; therefore he has committed to tutoring others on a weekly basis. Finally, outside of the classroom, Ethan is a two-sport athlete who carries himself in a dignified manner both on and off the field of play.”

— Cassidy McGowan, learning resource consultant at Notre Dame Academy

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Click the link below to vote:

Do you work with youth and know someone who should be Student of the Week? Reach out to Debi Young, statewide education editor, at debi.young@jrn.com to get a link to the nomination form.

Madison Lammert covers child care and early education across Wisconsin as a Report for America corps member based at The Appleton Post-Crescent. To contact her, email mlammert@gannett.comPlease consider supporting journalism that informs our democracy with a tax-deductible gift to Report for America by visiting postcrescent.com/RFA.



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Wisconsin NICA league visits Rhinelander for the first time

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Wisconsin NICA league visits Rhinelander for the first time


RHINELANDER, Wis. (WJFW) – The Wisconsin Chapter of the National Interscholastic Cycling Association – also known as NICA – held the fifth race of their 2024 season at Camp Tesomas Boy Scout Camp on Sunday. Renee Griswold is the Wisconsin NICA league director says the goal is to help kids of middle and high school age to find community and be their best selves through mountain biking.

“We have 977 athletes competing from across Wisconsin,” Griswold said. “They are riding a brand-new course that was built for this event. And we’re just really happy to be here.”

While the Association has never been to Rhinelander, Griswold said the Northwoods terrain had everyone excited to get up to Rhinelander for a day of riding.

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“The topography, the nature that we’re riding through,” Griswold said. “This venue itself, Camp Tesomas, is a Boy Scout camp and they have all of the amenities that we need. They have trails here already. They have space for camping, space for parking, all of the infield fun that we need. We can do all the activities we need to at this one big beautiful venue.”

Coming to beautiful new places like the Northwoods is part of what Griswold calls her “NICA why.” Which encourages athletes and coaches to ask themselves what they are riding for and why it’s important.

“For me personally, my NICA why is creating a safe space for our student-athletes and our coaches and our families to have new experiences,” Griswold said. “Everyone can do this to the best of their ability and make it their own experience and conquer their own challenges.”

The Rhinelander Northwoods Composite team also took some time to talk about what kinds of challenges they were expecting for Sunday’s races. And while they may only be in 7th grade, these kids came ready for a race on their hometown turf.

“Today…it’s a cold one, so we’ve got to stay warm,” Rhinelander Composite Mountain Biking team member Jase Houg said. “So, it’s going to be fun. It’s going to be challenging for most kids but I feel like it’s going to be a good race.”

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“It’s a very technical race…more technical than a lot of the other ones,” added Houg’s teammate Hans Sommer. “There’s some bigger hill climbs and more technical riding.”

When asked what their favorite part about mountain biking is, they said that anyone can find a welcoming community in the sport.

“There’s other trails, not just super technical trails or super trails that have a bunch of jumps. There’s also trails that are fun, flowy and just more fun to ride,” Sommer said. “And you’re out in the wild. Usually, you go around school and your friends are asking you ‘what’s the Rhinelander bike team?’ and you tell them ‘oh, it’s fun. You go out with a mountain bike and buddies and you go ride around on the trails,’” Houg added.



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Trump Wisconsin visit; rallying in Juneau, Dodge County

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Trump Wisconsin visit; rallying in Juneau, Dodge County


Former President Donald Trump will deliver remarks at a rally in Juneau, Wisconsin on Sunday, Oct. 6.

He started speaking at 2 p.m. at the Dodge County Airport.

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Trump was last in Wisconsin on Oct. 1 – with stops in Milwaukee and Waunakee. He delivered remarks at Discovery World in Milwaukee on Tuesday evening. He also visited Dane Manufacturing in Waunakee.

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The day before, on Saturday, Trump rallied in Butler, Pennsylvania, the same city where he was nearly assassinated.

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Vice President Kamala Harris campaigned in the Fox Valley in Wisconsin on Thursday, Oct. 3.

President Joe Biden is scheduled to visit Milwaukee on Tuesday, Oct. 8, to discuss his administration’s “progress replacing lead pipes and creating good-paying jobs.”



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