Latest news with #AnnJacobs
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley says he plans to enter Democratic field for governor
Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley said on Friday he would take steps to enter the Democratic primary for governor, saying the "stakes are simply too high to sit on the sidelines." Crowley, while not an officially announced candidate, signaled his plans a day after Gov. Tony Evers announced that he would not seek re-election. "I care deeply about the direction Wisconsin takes from here. It is more important than ever that Wisconsin continues to have strong leadership," he said in a statement on July 25. "Governor Evers has laid a strong foundation. I believe it's our responsibility to build on that progress — and I look forward to engaging in that conversation with the people of Wisconsin." More: 12 key moments in the Tony Evers era as Wisconsin governor If elected, Crowley would become the state's first African American governor, after becoming Milwaukee County's first African American county executive in 2020. For more than a year, Crowley, 39, has been coy about whether he would actively seek higher office, routinely stating he planned to carry out his term as county executive after his re-election in 2024 while also keeping the door open to a gubernatorial run. Crowley has more than $200,000 in campaign cash on hand, according to his July 2025 campaign finance report. He has also received roughly $71,000 in contributions through June 30 this year. He's received individual and committee contributions, including from Wisconsin Elections Commission Chair Ann Jacobs and commissioner Mark Thomsen and former Milwaukee Bucks executive Alex Lasry. While Crowley was raised in one of the state's toughest ZIP codes — 53206 — he later pursued a career in politics, serving as a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly between 2017 and 2020. Three years ago he also decided to pursue a degree at UW-Milwaukee and graduated last December, all the while carrying out his duties as county executive. Crowley has in the past expressed support for legalizing marijuana, preserving access to abortions in Wisconsin, and has criticized President Donald Trump's spending plan's effects on Medicaid and food stamps. Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez, who served in the state Assembly after Crowley left, is the only candidate in the primary as of Friday, July 25. But the field will all but certainly grow. Former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson and state Sen. Kelda Roys are considering bids, among others. (This story is developing and will be updated.) This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee County Exec David Crowley says he plans bid for governor Solve the daily Crossword
The Independent
17-07-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Wisconsin elections officials find clerk broke laws over uncounted ballots
Wisconsin elections officials declared Thursday that the former clerk of the state's capital city broke several laws related to not counting nearly 200 absentee ballots in the November presidential election, but they stopped short of recommending that criminal charges be brought. The bipartisan Wisconsin Elections Commission voted 5-1 to accept a report finding that the former Madison clerk broke five election laws. But the investigation was not a criminal probe and the commission does not have the power to bring charges. The report does not recommend that prosecutors do so. Charges could be brought by the Dane County attorney's office or the state Department of Justice. Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne said his office had not received a referral, but if it did it would review it. DOJ spokesperson Riley Vetterkind did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment on whether it would be bringing charges. No outcome of any race was affected by the missing ballots. Maribeth Witzel-Behl resigned as Madison city clerk in April amid investigations into the missing ballots. Wisconsin Elections Commission Chair Ann Jacobs, a Democrat, called the incident a 'rather shocking dereliction of just ordinary responsibility." Republican Commissioner Bob Spindell, who cast the lone vote against accepting the report, said he blamed the problem on an extremely complicated system in the clerk's office and poor management. 'It's not something I think the clerk should be crucified for,' he said. The investigation determined that two bags of uncounted absentee ballots likely never made it to the poll sites where they should have been counted. 'There was just no tracking of these absentee ballots," Jacobs said. The clerk's office did not notify the Wisconsin Elections Commission of the oversight until Dec. 18, almost a month and a half after the election and well after results were certified on Nov. 29. The elections commission report concluded that the former clerk broke state law for failing to properly supervise an election; not providing the most recent current registration information for pollbooks in two wards; improperly handing the return of absentee ballots; not properly canvassing the returns as it pertained to the 193 uncounted ballots; and failing to provide sufficient information for the municipal board of canvassers to do its work. The report blamed a 'confluence of errors' and said that Madison did not have procedures in place to track the number of absentee ballots going to a polling place. It also said there was a 'complete lack of leadership' in the clerk's office. 'These are mistakes that could have been avoided," said Republican commissioner Don Millis. Madison city attorney and interim clerk Michael Haas said the city did not contest the findings of the report. 'The most important asset we have is the trust of the voters and that requires complete transparency and open coordination with partners when mistakes happen,' Haas said in testimony submitted to the commission. 'That did not happen in this case.' Madison has already implemented numerous safeguards and procedures that were in place for elections earlier this year to ensure that all eligible absentee ballots are accounted for, Haas said. The recommendations in the report for further actions exceed what is required under state law and are not within the authority of the commission to order, Hass testified. He urged the commission to delay a vote. The commission voted unanimously to give Madison until Aug. 7 to respond before voting a week later on whether to order additional steps to be taken. Four voters whose ballots weren't counted have filed claims for $175,000 each, the first step toward a class-action lawsuit. Their attorney attended Thursday's hearing but did not testify.
CBS News
05-06-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Trump administration accuses Wisconsin of violating federal election law
The Trump administration has accused the Wisconsin Elections Commission of failing to provide a state-based complaint process for voters bringing allegations against the commission itself, calling that a violation of federal law and threatening to withhold all federal funding. But the commission's Democratic chairwoman said Thursday there is no federal funding to cut and she disputed accusations raised in a Department of Justice letter a day earlier, saying it would be nonsensical for the commission to determine whether complaints against it were valid. "What they're asking is, if someone files a complaint against us, we're supposed to hold a hearing to determine if we messed up," Ann Jacobs said. "That is not functional." It marks the second time in a week that the Trump administration has targeted election leaders in battleground states. Last week, the Justice Department accused North Carolina's election board of violating federal law by failing to ensure voter registration records of some applicants contained identifying numbers. The latest letter from the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division accused Wisconsin of violating the Help America Vote Act for not having a state-based administrative complaint procedure to address alleged violations by the state elections commission of the 2002 federal law. Actions by the Wisconsin Elections Commission "have left complainants alleging HAVA violations by the Commission without any recourse," attorneys for the Justice Department wrote. "With no opportunity or means to appeal, complainants are left stranded with their grievances." The elections commission just received the letter and has no comment while it is being reviewed, spokesman John Smalley said. But Jacobs, chairwoman of the commission, said the commission can't decide complaints against itself. Jacobs said that position was backed up by a 2022 ruling by the Wisconsin Supreme Court when it was controlled by conservatives. "It appears that they're like, 'How dare you follow state law,'" Jacobs said. "I don't know what it is they want us to do." According to the letter, Wisconsin has received more than $77 million in federal funding from the U.S. Election Assistance Commission and the Justice Department threatened to stop any future payments. But Jacobs said that money was allocated years ago and the state currently receives no funding from the U.S. Election Assistance Commission and none is proposed, leaving nothing to cut. Nonetheless, the letter could put state funding in jeopardy. Republican leaders of the state Legislature's budget committee delayed a scheduled Thursday vote on how much state funding the Wisconsin Elections Commission will receive over the next two years. "Out of caution, we think we're just going to wait and see," the committee's co-chair Sen. Howard Marklein said. "We need to analyze this and see what implications are made, maybe for the entire Elections Commission, and what impact that may have on the budget." ___ Associated Press writer Todd Richmond contributed to this report.
Associated Press
05-06-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Trump administration accuses Wisconsin of violating federal election law
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Trump administration has accused the Wisconsin Elections Commission of failing to provide a state-based complaint process for voters bringing allegations against the commission itself, calling that a violation of federal law and threatening to withhold all federal funding. But the commission's Democratic chairwoman said Thursday there is no federal funding to cut and she disputed accusations raised in a Department of Justice letter a day earlier, saying it would be nonsensical for the commission to determine whether complaints against it were valid. 'What they're asking is, if someone files a complaint against us, we're supposed to hold a hearing to determine if we messed up,' Ann Jacobs said. 'That is not functional.' It marks the second time in a week that the Trump administration has targeted election leaders in battleground states. Last week, the Justice Department accused North Carolina's election board of violating federal law by failing to ensure voter registration records of some applicants contained identifying numbers. The latest letter from the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division accused Wisconsin of violating the Help America Vote Act for not having a state-based administrative complaint procedure to address alleged violations by the state elections commission of the 2002 federal law. Actions by the Wisconsin Elections Commission 'have left complainants alleging HAVA violations by the Commission without any recourse,' attorneys for the Justice Department wrote. 'With no opportunity or means to appeal, complainants are left stranded with their grievances.' The elections commission just received the letter and has no comment while it is being reviewed, spokesman John Smalley said. But Jacobs, chairwoman of the commission, said the commission can't decide complaints against itself. Jacobs said that position was backed up by a 2022 ruling by the Wisconsin Supreme Court when it was controlled by conservatives. 'It appears that they're like, 'How dare you follow state law,'' Jacobs said. 'I don't know what it is they want us to do.' According to the letter, Wisconsin has received more than $77 million in federal funding from the U.S. Election Assistance Commission and the Justice Department threatened to stop any future payments. But Jacobs said that money was allocated years ago and the state currently receives no funding from the U.S. Election Assistance Commission and none is proposed, leaving nothing to cut. Nonetheless, the letter could put state funding in jeopardy. Republican leaders of the state Legislature's budget committee delayed a scheduled Thursday vote on how much state funding the Wisconsin Elections Commission will receive over the next two years. 'Out of caution, we think we're just going to wait and see,' the committee's co-chair Sen. Howard Marklein said. 'We need to analyze this and see what implications are made, maybe for the entire Elections Commission, and what impact that may have on the budget.' ___ Associated Press writer Todd Richmond contributed to this report.
30-05-2025
- Politics
Wisconsin Elections Commission votes to let small communities hand count ballots
MADISON, Wis. -- Wisconsin communities with fewer than 7,500 people can hand count ballots under a decision by the state elections commission this week. However, under the Wisconsin Elections Commission decision, those communities and all other Wisconsin towns, villages and cities must still comply with federal law and provide at least one electronic voting machine at a polling location to accommodate voters with disabilities. The commission's decision Tuesday came in reaction to a complaint against the northwestern Wisconsin town of Thornapple, population about 700, over its decision to hand count ballots in the April 2024 presidential primary or the August state primary. The decision also comes as a federal lawsuit over Thornapple's decision not to have an accessible voting machine continues. A federal judge in October sided with the U.S. Department of Justice and ruled Thornapple was violating 2002's Help America Vote Act, or HAVA. The judge ordered the town to offer disabled people accessible voting machines. An appeal by the town is pending. Under the commission's decision this week, communities with fewer than 7,500 people can choose to have no other electronic vote-casting or tabulating machines other than one for disabled voters. Elections commission staff determined state law makes it optional for communities with fewer than 7,500 people to provide voting machines in every ward in every election. The law says those communities may 'adopt and purchase voting machines or electronic voting systems for use in any ward … at any election.' Republican commissioner Bob Spindell said the decision will give smaller communities more flexibility, especially in low-turnout local elections. But But Democratic Commissioner Ann Jacobs, who cast the lone no vote, said she worried small communities could game the system by selling voting machines purchased with funding from a state grant and then keep the money. The complaint against Thornapple was filed by the liberal law firm Law Forward on behalf of two Thornapple residents. A spokesperson for the law firm did not immediately return an email seeking comment Friday. The commission's decision could be appealed to circuit court.
