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Tag: tony evers
Robin Vos

Wisconsin Republicans Misuse Tax Dollars To Defend Gerrymander Map

More than half of Wisconsin voters, or 51.2 percent, voted to reelect Gov. Tony Evers in November 2022. Yet Republican lawmakers were still able to win an overwhelming majority in the state Legislature.

That’s because Republicans drew the state’s legislative maps to maximize their party’s power in the state while disenfranchising Democratic and independent voters. This practice is commonly known as gerrymandering.

Now, state Republican leaders have reportedly approved a plan to spend as much as $1.8 million in public funds to pay private lawyers to defend their gerrymandered maps in court.

After the 2020 Census, Wisconsin’s Republican majority in the state Legislature approved new federal and state redistricting plans in 2021 that gave their party the lion’s share of the seats. Democratic Gov. Tony Evers vetoed the maps, explaining, “I promised I’d never sign gerrymandered maps that came to my desk, and I’m delivering on that promise today.”

Though the Republican did not have the votes to override his vetoes, the then-conservative-controlled Wisconsin Supreme Court adopted the Republican legislative leaders’ proposed maps for the state districts and a GOP-leaning congressional map.

After the election of Justice Janet Protasiewicz earlier this year shifted the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s majority, advocates for fair maps filed new legal challenges to the state legislative districts on August 2.

The legal nonprofit Law Forward, one of the plaintiffs challenging the maps, tweeted on August 27, “Every day that the gerrymander continues to distort politics and policy in the state of Wisconsin is an affront to our Constitution, an affront to our democracy, and a violation of the rights of the people of Wisconsin.”

The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reported on August 31 that state Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and state Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu signed contracts in August with three legal firms to defend the maps at taxpayer expense against those challenges. Two of the contracts are capped at a total of $1.8 million in hourly legal fees, plus expenses. The third contract has no spending limit.

“Using a blank check written by Wisconsin taxpayers, Legislative Republicans have entered into contracts with three law firms to defend their gerrymandered maps,” Democratic Senate Minority Leader Melissa Agard told the Journal-Sentinel. “Again we see that they only care about their own special interests rather than the interests of Wisconsinites.”

Republican legislators spent millions to defend a 2011 gerrymander in Wisconsin. “We didn’t pick the fight and all we do is keep trying to defend,” then-Senate Republican Leader Scott Fitzgerald said at the time. “Unfortunately, I think we find ourselves in a position where we’re kind of at the whims of all these attorneys that continue to file these lawsuits.”

Jay Heck, executive director of Common Cause Wisconsin, told the American Independent Foundation that neither expense was an appropriate use of public money.

“The $2 million, it’s outrageous. I’m not even gonna say it’s dismaying, because we’re kind of used to it. But it’s just, it’s so galling, to think that after doing this 10 years ago,” Heck said. “I’d like to say it’s shocking. It’s not shocking, because this has been the norm for the last 12 years, since 2011.”

In 2018, Democrats swept statewide elections for Wisconsin governor, secretary of state, treasurer, and U.S. senator. Due to the 2011 gerrymander, Republicans still won almost two-thirds of the legislative seats.

Under the 2021 maps, Republicans control six of Wisconsin’s eight seats in the U.S. House and the vast majority of legislative seats: 22 of the 33 seats in the state Senate and 64 of the 99 seats in the state Assembly.

Heck noted that while the Wisconsin Legislature has a constitutional role in drawing maps, that does not mean it has the power to spend millions of taxpayer funds to help their future election prospects.

Dan Shafer, who writes the blog The Recombobulation Area, called Wisconsin “the most gerrymandered state in the country” in a March 2023 post.

Reprinted with permission from American Independent.

Young Voters Came Out In Midterms -- And Voted For Democrats

Young Voters Came Out In Midterms -- And Voted For Democrats

Young voters once again proved to be a critical part of the Democratic coalition according to a post-election analysis conducted by the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement at Tufts University.

Some 27% of voters under 30 were estimated to have cast ballots—well below their historic 36 percent turnout level in 2018, but also notably above the roughly 20 percent turnout, give or take, that dominated for several decades prior to the Trump-era effect.

In 2018, voters under 30 chose Democrats over Republicans 67--32 percent, Democrats’ largest advantage ever among the cohort. This year, young voters chose Democrats 63--35 percent, according to the Edison Research exit poll, a very similar margin to 2020 when they preferred Democrats to Republicans 62 --36 percent.

Voters under 30 are also far more dedicated to Democrats than any other age group—the older they get, the more Republican they are. Voters aged 30 to 44 narrowly chose Democrats, 51--47 percewnt. But voters aged 45-64 favored Republicans, 54 --44 percent, as did voters 65-plus, 55--43 percent.

Young voters of color preferred Democrats by far bigger margins than young white voters. While white youth chose Democrats by an 18-point margin, 58--40 percent, Black youth favored Democrats by 80 points, 89--9 percent, and Latino youth chose Democrats by 38 points, 68--30 percent.

Young voters also appear to have played an outsized role in the some of Democrats’ most important and hard-fought wins, as well as losses. Below are battleground races along with the estimated margins by which voters under 30 picked Democrats:

  • Arizona Senate: 76%-20%, D+56
  • Arizona Governor: 71%-29%, D+42
  • Pennsylvania Senate: 70%-28%, D+42
  • Wisconsin Governor: 70%-30%, D+40
  • Wisconsin Senate: 69%-31%, D+38
  • Nevada Senate: 64%-31%, D+33
  • Texas Governor: 65%-33%, D+32
  • Georgia Senate: 63%-34%, D+29
  • Michigan Governor: 62%-36%, D+26
  • Ohio Senate: 60%-40%, D+20
  • North Carolina Senate: 52%-44%, D+8
Remember that “red wave?” Yeah, let’s secure the Georgia Senate seat too!


Reprinted with permission from Daily Kos.

Wisconsin GOP Nominee 'Says The Quiet Part Out Loud' About Killing Democracy

Wisconsin GOP Nominee 'Says The Quiet Part Out Loud' About Killing Democracy

In the 2022 midterms, MAGA election deniers haven’t necessarily been as overt as Arizona GOP gubernatorial nominee Kari Lake or her Pennsylvania counterpart Doug Mastriano. Some have never acknowledged that President Joe Biden legitimately won the 2020 election but avoid discussing the Big Lie. In Wisconsin, however, Democrats are slamming Republican gubernatorial nominee Tim Michels for saying “the quiet part out loud” and essentially promising that if he defeats Democratic incumbent Gov. Tony Evers on November 8, he would simply throw out any election results that he doesn’t like.

Evers and the liberal group American Bridge 21st Century have tweeted a recording of Michels, during an event in Jefferson County, Wisconsin on Halloween, telling the crowd, “Republicans will never lose another election in Wisconsin after I'm elected governor.”

The liberal group American Bridge 21st Century, in response, tweeted, “GOP #WIGov nominee Tim @MichelsForGov said the quiet part out loud: ‘Republicans will never lose another election in Wisconsin after I'm elected governor.’ Democracy is on the line in Wisconsin. Michels must be stopped.”

In response to Michels’ promise to throw out election results he doesn’t like, Evers tweeted, “Folks, we’ve known this for a while – Tim Michels is a danger to our democracy. When you head to the polls on Election Day, remember that we’re fighting to protect our democracy, voting rights, and free, fair, and secure elections.”

Democratic strategists and organizers have grown worried over what they’ve been seeing in polls of statewide races in Wisconsin. Incumbent Republican Sen. Ron Johnson has had single-digit leads over Democratic challenger Mandela Barnes in a long list of recent polls, and the governor’s race is tight. Fox News and Data for Progress polls released during the second half of October found Michels leading Evers by 1 percent.

Michels, endorsed by former President Donald Trump, is a far-right MAGA candidate who has trafficked in conspiracy theories and promoted the Big Lie. And Evers isn’t shy about calling Michels “a danger to our democracy.”

Business Insider’s Hannah Getahun, in an article published on November 1, reports, “Michels, a candidate endorsed by former President Donald Trump, has questioned the results of the 2020 election and has declined to answer questions as to whether or not he would certify presidential election results as governor should a Democrat win the state in a national election. Michels also suggested that he could pursue an unconstitutional effort to decertify (President Joe) Biden's 2020 win in Wisconsin once he became governor, telling local station WKOW that he would ‘need to see the details.’”

Evers spokesperson Sam Roecker told Business Insider, “Democracy is on the ballot in this election. Tim Michels has made it clear he will do anything in his power to make it harder for Wisconsinites to vote and could even overturn the fair results of our elections if he doesn't like the outcome.”

A variety of political voices, from election law expert Rich Hasen to “Real Time” host Bill Maher to Never Trump conservative and former GOP strategist Tim Miller, have been sounding the alarm about how perilous things could become in the United States in 2024 if enough “Stop the Steal” Republicans and MAGA election deniers win gubernatorial and secretary of state races in 2022. The fear is that if a Democratic presidential nominee wins the popular vote in Pennsylvania, Arizona, Wisconsin and/or Michigan in 2024’s presidential election, Republicans could refuse to certify the election results and try to give the electoral votes to the Republican candidate — thus setting off a major constitutional crisis and widespread unrest. Maher has commented that post-election, late 2024/early 2025 might be a good time to be away from the United States.

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

Wisconsin GOP Leader Fires Election Fraud Investigator He Hired

Wisconsin GOP Leader Fires Election Fraud Investigator He Hired

Wisconsin’s Republican speaker of the State Assembly, Robin Vos, on Friday fired a conservative former state Supreme Court justice he handpicked to investigate fraud in the state’s 2020 elections, ending a 14-month, taxpayer-funded inquiry that yielded no evidence of electoral wrongdoing.

Under pressure from Trump and cronies to overturn his 2020 loss in the state, Vos hired the former state Supreme Court Justice, Michael Gableman, in July 2021 as a special counsel to probe the state’s election results.

However, the relationship soured after Vos refused Gableman’s entreaties to decertify the 2020 election results despite finding no evidence of significant fraud during his inquiry, which cost taxpayers $1.1 million.

Gableman had noted in a report of his findings that decertifying the state’s election results “would not, for example, change who the current president is,” yet he joined Trump in disseminating bogus conspiracy theories about the 2020 elections and backing Vos’ primary challenger.

The weeks-long standoff between Vos and Gableman ended after the speaker narrowly edged out his Trump-backed opponents in the state’s primaries.

"After having many members of our caucus reach out to me over the past several days, it is beyond clear to me that we only have one choice in this matter, and that's to close the Office of Special Counsel," Vos announced in a statement.

Gableman, whose abilities Vos was initially “supremely confident” in, became a bullhorn for Trump’s Big Lie and led Republican efforts to decertify the state’s presidential election results, contradicting the Legislature’s findings in November that no basis in law supported decertification.

Vos called Gableman an “embarrassment” Tuesday night and told WISN-TV that “he had fired Mr. Gableman by letter and that the two had not spoken in recent weeks,” according to the New York Times.

“I really don’t think there’s any need to have a discussion,” Vos said. “[Gableman] did a good job last year, kind of got off the rails this year.”

The Republican-led investigation drew scorn from its inception, as Gableman had — as early as November 7, 2020, just one day after the election — announced his belief that the 2020 election was stolen.

During his investigation, Gableman looked into the background of public employees as part of his investigation and threatened to lock up local officials who refused to answer his questions in private interviews — extreme steps that drew calls for the probe to be shut down.

In one case, part of a document titled “Cross Pollinators” on the special counsel’s website, Gableman labeled a Milwaukee city employee a Democrat because she "has a weird nose ring," plays video games, "loves nature and snakes" and lives with her boyfriend although they are not married,” according to CNN.

Wisconsin Democrats, who had assailed the special counsel and his investigation from the start, celebrated Gableman’s firing and slammed Vos for his hiring.

“Finally,” said Democratic Wisconsin Governor, Tony Evers.

In the days after his narrow victory in the primaries, Vos defended his decision to begin the Gableman probe but promised to end it.

“There were problems with the 2020 election that we need to fix — all of those things are real,” Vos told a conservative talk radio show in Milwaukee. “But somehow, Justice Gableman, as the investigation began to come to an end, decided it was more important to play to Donald Trump and to play to the very extreme of our party who thought we could unconstitutionally overturn the election than it was to be responsive to his client, which was the Legislature.”

Neither Gableman nor his representatives responded to multiple requests for a comment on the firing.