Author: Wisconsin Public Radio

As Wisconsin prepares for midterm elections on November 8, clerks are reminding voters that full results are likely to take time, especially with so many people expected to vote absentee. Under Wisconsin law, clerks cannot start processing and counting absentee ballots until polls open at 7:00 a.m. on Election Day. If volumes are large, the process can be lengthy, said Marie Moe, the president of the Wisconsin Municipal Clerks Association. “People are expecting results as soon as the polls close and that just doesn’t happen because the poll workers are busy doing their work, finishing up the election,” said...

After federal lawmakers recently approved new benefits for veterans exposed to harmful chemicals, Wisconsin service providers are working to ramp up and meet the coming needs. Veterans may now enroll in benefits under the PACT Act, which President Joe Biden signed into law August 10 after Republican attempts in Congress to block it. Benefits processing is planned to start in January of next year. 30K to 75K Wisconsin veterans are eligible for new the benefits. James McLain, acting director for the Milwaukee VA Medical Center, estimated the PACT Act will cover 30,000 to 75,000 veterans in the state. He...

On the day he proposed his $1.37 billion budget, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley once again called for the state to allow the county to raise its sales tax. It was a move Crowley said could decrease property taxes and maintain critical services for Milwaukee County residents. Currently, more than 70 percent of local tax dollars go to state-mandated services, according to a draft of the budget proposal. Crowley also said stagnant state aid is an issue that could impact the budget in future years. “In just a few years, Milwaukee County will not have enough money to fund...

In the aftermath of the January 6 insurrection, major businesses across the country spoke out in support of democracy, but those statements don’t always reflect where they donate. That is according to an ongoing scorecard of Fortune 100 businesses released this week by the left-leaning watchdog group Accountable.US. “Two-thirds of Fortune 100 companies are failing to do their part to protect democracy, or unfortunately even making matters worse by supporting those determined to undermine it,” said Lindsey Melki, the group’s director of corporate values and democracy. The project lays out the corporations’ public stances on protecting democracy and compares...