Wisconsin Elections Commission steps in to challenge Madison’s argument on absentee voting www.votebeat.org/wisconsin/20...

No reprieve for Madison after arguing in court that absentee voting is a privilege, not a right. Yesterday, WEC filed its first ever amicus brief to dispute the argument. Today, six voting groups released a letter calling on the city to abandon its argument. Here's that:

Those who lived through the threats and pressure campaigns say the president’s authority may be limited, but the guardrails that once held him back are weaker now.

Election officials draw on sobering 2020 lessons as Trump calls for nationalizing voting www.votebeat.org/2026/02/03/e...

Got questions about how Wisconsin's voter list is maintained? Reply here and @alexandershur.bsky.social may answer them in his newsletter!

A post shared by President Trump that's going viral misinterprets key aspects of how Wisconsin retains voter records. It conflates active voters and the voter database, and baselessly says the current maintenance standard is conducive to fraud www.votebeat.org/wisconsin/20...

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers in court is disputing Madison and its former clerk's legal argument that they aren't liable for 193 lost ballots because absentee voting is a privilege, not a right. www.votebeat.org/wisconsin/20...

National news outlets with this big of a platform should really weigh analysis like this with local perspective, which - I promise - comes to the opposite conclusion. This really makes me very sad.

Their attorneys pointed to a state law that says absentee voting is a privilege - not a constitutional right. @alexandershur.bsky.social joins @fayeparks.bsky.social to explain why experts in election law are sounding the alarm. www.wortfm.org/madison-form...

You know the Monday processing bill -- the long-awaited reform that Wisconsin election officials have spent years asking for? Well, as the GOP remains torn between election reforms sought by clerks and conspiracy theories, this looks like another session it won't become law.

BREAKING story: Wisconsin must verify citizenship of registered voters and new applicants, judge rules www.votebeat.org/wisconsin/20...

“I don’t give a shit about getting my head kicked in by both sides.” GOP Rep. Scott Krug hopes to quiet conspiracy theories and rebuild public faith in elections — even if his proposals don’t make it. Great profile from @alexandershur.bsky.social wisconsinwatch.org/2025/09/wisc...

NEW: For years, Wisconsin election officials' top legislative priority have been lobbying for a bill to process absentee ballots beginning on the Monday before an election. Votebeat got an early look at this year's version of the bill (cont.)

Calling all pet people who care about voting! www.votebeat.org/2025/09/04/v...

There’s a rare but critical inaccuracy in Jessica’s post. We do want to know who our pet mascot should be, we are exploring ranked choice voting. But you must first and foremost vote for Samson*

Last month, I reported on how Wisconsin election officials wanted weren't completely satisfied with the state's in-house e-pollbook, Badger Book. Wisconsin Elections Commission formed a work group to learn about other options. (1/2)

🧵NEW: WEC appointees yesterday questioned why the former Madison clerk was absent as 193 ballots were missing. Records obtained by Votebeat show she was having a baking "staycation" amid the snafu, and when she returned to work she had staff deliver cookies around the city

The WEC report into the missing Madison ballots (vaguely) spotlighted security issues at the Dane County-owned facility where the city stored election materials -- and, inadvertently, uncounted ballots. (1/2)

The U.S. DOJ under Trump withdrew from several voting cases that Biden launched nationwide. Not so in Wisconsin, where it's still pursuing a case against a town that disavowed electronic voting machines. On Monday, an appeals court ruled in favor of the DOJ (1/2)

Wisconsin proposal to require simple explanations of ballot questions needs work, critics say www.votebeat.org/wisconsin/20...

I wrote about what the DOJ's letter to Wisconsin over an alleged HAVA violation means, including commentary that WEC likely is violating the law. Story features a @jenafifield.bsky.social scoop of a DOJ letter also sent to Arizona www.votebeat.org/wisconsin/20...

Conservatives and some liberals opposed the Wisconsin Supreme Court's decision to limit who can appeal WEC administrative complaints to court. But they can't agree on how to expand standing again, and clerks fear an onslaught of lawsuits: www.votebeat.org/wisconsin/20...

🚨Two important new voting stories out of Texas this morning and up @votebeat.org, both urgent and important. 🧵 To start, Texas' bid to pass a citizenship proof requirement for voters appears likely dead this legislative session - it missed a key House deadline Tuesday.

🧵Wisconsin Republicans are seeking to require every municipality to offer at least 20 hours of early in-person voting, compensating local communities that launch early voting It's a big step forward for local election funding, but clerks say there are some issues w/ the bill

🧵In outstate Wisconsin, longtime clerks are retiring -and few people are eager to replace them. Some towns are going months without having a clerk. That's partially because they are bound by a state law that makes it harder for them to appoint clerks that aren't town residents

NEW: Madison Clerk Maribeth Witzel-Behl, who was on leave from her position after nearly 200 ballots went uncounted in November, has resigned. Some background here: www.votebeat.org/wisconsin/20...

Want to drop off the Wisconsin ballot? Well, first you'll have to ... die. Sorry folks. GOP legislators are discussing a proposal to let nominees drop out voluntarily -- a policy in dozens of other states. I talked to clerks about whether they can work with the tight deadlines

People living with mental illness find work, care and community at a clubhouse built for them in Madison. But Medicaid cuts would threaten funding, and Wisconsin invests little in a health care model that’s thriving in Michigan. wisconsinwatch.org/2025/04/wisc... via @addiecostello.bsky.social

One of my enlightening reporting experiences at @votebeat.org so far was being able to shadow Denise Jess, who's blind, at the polls this past Saturday. I wrote up her story as just one examples of the hurdles that voters who are blind face at the polls -- even with assistance.

🧵Washington County is the state's 10th biggest county by voting age, but has the 4th highest early in-person voting turnout. How? For two elections, the county has been compensating local clerks who extend their early voting hours. Now, small towns offer Saturday/night voting

What is a vote worth? In a recent claim — and a likely forthcoming lawsuit — the Wisconsin election law group is asking that exact question for a group of nearly 200 voters whose ballots didn’t get counted in November. In the claim, they’re asking $175k per voter www.votebeat.org/wisconsin/20...

I wrote about the constant election litigation in Wisconsin and the effect it has on clerks, voters and institutions. This is a topic I'll be revisiting a few times in the next few weeks. www.votebeat.org/wisconsin/20...

Madison, Wisconsin, puts city clerk on leave amid investigation into missing November ballots www.votebeat.org/wisconsin/20...

BREAKING: Madison Clerk Maribeth Witzel-Behl has been placed on leave through the April election as the city and state probe how she and her staff let 193 ballots go uncounted in the November election.

This spring’s state supreme court election could decide the future of voting in Wisconsin and inconsistent absentee ballot instructions could disenfranchise voters. Votebeat Wisconsin reporter @alexandershur.bsky.social joined WORT's 8 O'Clock Buzz with the latest. www.wortfm.org/wi-supreme-c...

Clerks around Wisconsin are sending voters instructions on returning absentee ballots that conflict with WEC's instructions and state law. That's despite a state law and nationwide push for uniform instruction that the WEC tried to abide by before the Legislature cut them off.

How the Wisconsin Supreme Court race could decide future of election law: The contest will determine the court’s ideological tilt, proving consequential in disputes over ID requirements, drop boxes and noncitizen voting. wisconsinwatch.org/2025/02/wisc... (via @alexandershur.bsky.social)

Wisconsin chief election official Meagan Wolfe can remain in her role despite her term expiring in 2023, and the Wisconsin Elections Commission doesn't currently need to reappoint her or anybody else, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled today. www.votebeat.org/wisconsin/20...

NEW: Voters now have conflicting accounts over who knew about some of Madison's 200 uncounted ballots The city says they told the county when they found 68 ballots, in a bid to make them count. County clerk told me that interaction never happened www.votebeat.org/wisconsin/20...

🧵You know those 193 uncounted Madison ballots found after Election Day? Roughly 70 of them could have counted had they been reported soon after when they were found. Instead, the clerk’s office stalled. Told nobody about them. And it’s yet to address that oversight www.votebeat.org/wisconsin/20...

Not so hidden in the Wisconsin voter ID constitutional amendment proposal coming before voters in April is language allowing exceptions to the photo ID requirement for voting. How far can those exceptions go? I wrote about that and more here: www.votebeat.org/wisconsin/20...

🧵If you look at the Wisconsin Senate committee list, you'd think elections are deemphasized. For the first time in almost two decades, there's no designated election committee. Yet, the first Senate hearing this session was for an election bill. It went to a judiciary committee

If Wisconsin really wants to ward off "late-night ballot dumps," election officials say the Legislature should consider these two proposals: The much-discussed Monday processing bill and another proposal to make early voting more similar to election day voting. www.votebeat.org/wisconsin/20...

My latest on the 193 missing Madison ballots: Wisconsin's election agency launched an investigation into the matter Thursday -- its first formal investigation since becoming an agency in 2016. www.votebeat.org/wisconsin/20...

NEW: WEC this Thursday may authorize an investigation into Madison election officials' mishandling of 200 ballots, including whether the Madison clerk violated the law or abused her discretion Background: www.votebeat.org/wisconsin/20...

🧵For me, the official statements about the nearly 200 Madison ballots that went uncounted on Election Day raised more questions than answers. Exactly how and when did the ballots go missing? Who was responsible? Why was the news coming out 7 weeks later? I dug in.

I wrote about Meagan Wolfe, one of the most widely respected -- and among the most scrutinized -- election officials in the U.S.