Two different research initiatives have documented the ways it’s now more difficult to vote in Wisconsin, from disparities in access to added barriers.
Author Archives: Matt Mencarini / Wisconsin Watch
Matt Mencarini joined Wisconsin Watch in 2022 as an investigative reporter covering voting rights and threats to democracy. Previously, he worked as an investigative reporter for the Louisville Courier Journal where he was part of the team that won the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for breaking news for coverage of hundreds of last-minute pardons and commutations by an outgoing governor. He and a colleague revealed a racial disparity in who received commutations for drug offenses. Before that, he worked at the State Journal in Lansing, Michigan, as well as newspapers in Illinois and Florida.
Posted inGovernment
Medical malpractice in Wisconsin: Could Supreme Court election change precedent?
A liberal court once struck down caps on payouts to victims and then a conservative court upheld them. Would a liberal majority revisit the issue?
Posted inGovernment
Wisconsin’s three precedent-setting malpractice cases explained
From a devastating birth injury to an untimely death and loss of all four limbs, the state Supreme Court has come down both ways on malpractice caps over 17 years.
Posted inGovernment
Conservatives, liberals weigh in on Wisconsin Supreme Court ‘activism’
The candidates for Wisconsin Supreme Court have accused each other of putting politics above the law. Supporters point to cases that explain what that means.
Posted inDemocracy on the Ballot, Government
‘Election integrity’ proposals do not address most common voting infraction in Wisconsin
Prosecutors charged just 192 people with election-related crimes since 2012, but more than half of the cases were related to felony probation status
Posted inDemocracy on the Ballot, Government
Security seals and documentation: The life cycle of Wisconsin election ballots
Voters spend just a few minutes to cast their votes, but their ballots will live much longer — and their paths before and after Election Day are carefully documented.
Posted inDemocracy on the Ballot, Government
Thousands of eligible Wisconsin voters face ballot barriers in jail
While many incarcerated people retain the constitutional right to vote, Wisconsin counties can do more to ensure that right can be exercised.
Posted inDemocracy on the Ballot, Government
In search for illegal Wisconsin votes, activists uncover gaps — but no plot
Elections officials agree the system to track ‘incompetent’ voters needs fixing, but claims by conservative groups of thousands of ineligible voters are overblown
Posted inDemocracy on the Ballot, Government, Justice & Safety
‘A hammer in search of a nail’: Wisconsin AG candidate prosecutes eligible voters for address snafus
Five voters are charged with fraud after they registered using their Fond du Lac UPS Store addresses; one critic calls it an ‘abuse’ of prosecutorial discretion
Posted inDemocracy on the Ballot, Government
‘Blurring of lines’: Private lawyer plays starring role in taxpayer-funded Wisconsin election probe
With no contract and no official role, the work of attorney Erick Kaardal of the Thomas More Society dominates the investigation.