Two changes that could speed up Wisconsin election results — and stave off conspiracy theories
Reading Time: 5minutes
It’s a known risk for the municipal clerks who run Wisconsin elections: Starting at 7 a.m. on Election Day, they have around 16 hours to finish counting every vote, or they may start facing accusations of a fraudulent late-night “ballot dump.”
Those baseless allegations, which sometimes go viral, have plagued election officials across the state but especially in Milwaukee, where counting often finishes in the early morning hours after Election Day. Republican candidates have repeatedly cast suspicion on the timing of results in the largely Democratic city to explain away their statewide losses.
Currently, there’s little election officials can do to finish counting ballots sooner. Under state law, clerks must wait until the morning of Election Day to begin processing ballots and counting votes, even if they received those ballots weeks earlier.
Election officials are considering two strategies to change that. Both would require approval in the majority-Republican Legislature. At least one of them is highly likely to get signed into law in 2025.
One proposed measure would significantly simplify early in-person voting procedures. Currently, people who vote early in person receive and fill out absentee ballots, which get set aside in envelopes and aren’t processed or tabulated until Election Day. The proposal clerks are considering, which is similar to a measure that received some legislative support several years ago, would allow early voters instead to put their ballots right into a tabulator.
The other measure, which has been repeatedly pitched and then rejected in one or both legislative chambers, would allow election officials to get a one-day head start and begin processing absentee ballots on the Monday before the election. This past session, the proposal passed the Assembly but stalled in the Senate.
Early voting, without the envelopes
The direct early voting measure appears unlikely to pass the Legislature in its current form. But experts say it would make elections more efficient and reduce the number of errors that the more complex process of casting and processing absentee ballots causes voters and election officials to make.
Currently, 47 states offer some form of early in-person voting, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Thirteen states, including Wisconsin, have in-person absentee voting, seven states have primarily mail voting with some early voting options, and 27 states have early in-person voting.
In Wisconsin, voters cast early in-person ballots at polling sites, but under state law, each ballot goes in an absentee ballot envelope that has to be signed by the voter and filled out with a witness’ address and signature, almost as if they were voting by mail. The envelopes and ballots can’t be processed until Election Day, when poll workers have to verify that each ballot is properly signed and witnessed before counting it.
Processing these ballots as absentee ballots is time-consuming and invites errors, said Joshua Douglas, an election law professor at the University of Kentucky College of Law, who advocates for reducing the number of steps involved for voters and election officials.
The complications of the current early voting system became evident this year, when delays in the system used to print labels on absentee ballot envelopes, typically before voters fill out their ballot, forced voters to wait in long lines. That problem wouldn’t have come up if the early voting system had not relied on absentee ballot procedures.
But even when it moves smoothly, the early voting system with absentee ballots requires extra work. For example, election workers typically serve as witnesses for absentee voters, signing and filling out their information for each voter. That requires an additional worker in many voting precincts.
Municipal clerks are discussing a proposal that would allow voters to cast ballots in person at their clerks’ offices as early as two weeks before the election, but to skip most of the absentee process — no witnesses, no signatures, no envelopes. Those voters would have to apply for an absentee ballot at the clerk’s office, but otherwise the process would be similar to voting on Election Day.
The ballots would be scanned by tabulators used specifically for early in-person voting, said Janesville Clerk Lorena Stottler, who’s also a co-chair of the Wisconsin Municipal Clerks Association’s legislative committee. Officials would wait until Election Day to generate the total number of votes from those ballots.
The proposal would reduce costs on multiple levels, Stottler said, since there wouldn’t be any absentee ballot envelopes, and fewer staff would be required in the early voting period and on Election Day to process absentee ballots. It would also lower the administrative costs of sorting absentee envelopes alphabetically and by ward, she said.
To ensure a high level of security, the proposal would require municipalities opting into the program to maintain a chain of custody, put cameras on the voting machines, and ensure that the tabulator saves an image of every ballot it scans, Stottler said.
Milwaukee, the state’s biggest city and typically among the last municipalities to finish counting votes, lobbied for such a proposal last year. Similar legislation came up in 2020, passing the Assembly but not the Senate.
Rep. Scott Krug, the former chair and current vice chair of the Assembly Elections Committee, said he could support some version of an early voting expansion, as long as all Wisconsin municipalities participated.
“My issue is finding a way to have availability in rural areas like mine,” said Krug, who lives in Nekoosa, a city of 2,500 in central Wisconsin. “So many towns have clerks with other full-time obligations. I’d only support an expansion of early voting if access were equal across the board.”
That would include set hours, set days and funding for smaller communities, he said, adding that he was willing to negotiate with advocates of the measure. In the past, funding election offices has been a tough sell in the Legislature.
Claire Woodall, former executive director of the Milwaukee Election Commission and a current senior adviser at the election reform group Issue One, said the early voting proposal could help election officials, especially if every municipality had the same early voting program.
And to reduce confusion and the potential for errors, Woodall said, it would be better to roll out such a program over multiple years, rather than in one go.
Michigan recently implemented a similar measure, allowing voters to cast ballots early in person and insert them directly into a tabulator. The Michigan early voting program runs for a minimum of nine consecutive days, but municipalities can offer the option for as many as 28 days total before an election. The change helped speed up election results in 2024 without leading to any notable issues.
Pre-processing ballots on Monday before election
The so-called Monday processing proposal appears likely to garner more support in the Legislature than it has in the past. For years, election officials have been lobbying for the proposal to allow election officials to begin processing ballots the Monday before an election. Resistance from Republican lawmakers appears to be withering.
The proposal, election officials say, would speed up election results that have taken longer to report as more voters choose absentee voting. And critically, the earlier results could stave off false allegations about fraudulent late-night ballot dumps, like the ones then-President Donald Trump made about Milwaukee after his 2020 loss.
The Monday processing proposal, along with the early voting one, would help election officials finish counting ballots earlier, Woodall said.
Wisconsin’s most recently proposed early processing measure would have allowed election officials to start checking absentee ballot envelopes for voters’ identity and eligibility, open the envelopes, take out the ballots, and scan them through tabulators — but not tally them until Election Day.
But despite growing Republican support, the measure has faced GOP headwinds in the Legislature. In 2020, the proposal received public hearings in both chambers but never passed out of committee. In 2022, it passed the Senate but not the Assembly. This past session, it passed the Assembly but not the Senate.
The most significant opposition in the Senate this past session came from Sen. Dan Knodl, the Republican chair of the chamber’s election committee. He said that he didn’t trust Milwaukee enough to support the bill and that he was concerned about the chain of custody for ballots. Other Republicans worried that there weren’t enough GOP election observers in Milwaukee to watch the Monday and Tuesday processes. Knodl’s opposition stalled the proposal. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, a Republican, criticized the Senate’s inaction.
This upcoming session, Knodl is in the Assembly, and he’s not leading the election committee. One of the Senate’s top Republican leaders, Sen. Mary Felzkowski, said in December that she supports the proposal.
Alexander Shur is a reporter for Votebeat based in Wisconsin. Contact Shur at ashur@votebeat.org.
Wisconsin’s rural homelessness crisis and the fight to do ‘more with less’
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Wisconsin’s homeless population has been rising since 2021. Wisconsin Watch is reporting for the first time the official count taken in January 2024 rose again to more than 5,000 for the first time since 2017.
Counties outside Milwaukee, Dane and Racine account for 60% of the state’s homeless population, yet only have 23% of the beds.
As the national and state focus has shifted to a “housing first” strategy for addressing homelessness, rural communities with fewer shelter beds, case workers and resources are struggling to find affordable housing for those in need.
Shelter providers say possible solutions include bypassing county governments for state reimbursements, consolidating multiple definitions of homelessness, and more consistent and proportional state funding.
Last winter, Eric Zieroth dressed in as many layers as he could and stayed beneath a down blanket each night. He learned it was the best way to keep warm while living in his car in far northwestern Wisconsin.
During those cold months, he and his then-20-year-old daughter Christina Hubbell had to wake, start the vehicle and blast the heat a few times a night before shutting it off again.
For over a year, the pair regularly parked their PT Cruiser — a car older than Hubbell that Zieroth, 47, called “a shoebox on wheels” — in a corner spot at a public boat landing on Long Lake. The lot is less than a mile from the rural city of Shell Lake, with a population of less than 1,400.
Down a dirt road and tucked into the woods, they slept at the secluded launch to stay out of the way in the town where they spent most of their lives. Now, because they are homeless, they have been ostracized for showering, parking and sleeping in public places.
Washburn County has no homeless shelters, and they don’t have family to stay with. Hubbell’s mom and Zieroth divorced in 2022. The following year, when Hubbell was 19, her mom told her to start paying rent or leave.
Hubbell’s job at a Dollar General in Shell Lake — their only source of income — keeps them from relocating to a shelter in another county. They are on a waitlist for a low-income housing unit.
Zieroth is awaiting a surgery that will allow him to get back to work. With no way to heal or keep the wound clean, he said he couldn’t get the operation while living in his car. If it weren’t for his daughter, the former mechanic said he might have considered committing a crime and getting booked into jail instead of spending another winter in the vehicle.
“There’s no way I could do it again,” Zieroth said. “I had to figure out something else this year.”
Eric Zieroth, left, and his daughter, Christina Hubbell, right, pose Dec. 4, 2024, in Shell Lake, Wis., for a portrait at a public boat landing on Long Lake where they spent many nights sleeping in their car over the last year. (Joe Timmerman / Wisconsin Watch)
In rural Wisconsin, homelessness is often hidden behind a veil of individuals and families who are couch surfing and sleeping in their vehicles instead of sleeping on city streets or camping out in parks. Resources are few and far between, shelters are always full, and funding can be a significant challenge at the local, state and federal level.
After falling for years, the state’s estimated homeless population has been rising since 2021. This past year it rose again from 4,861 in 2023 to 5,037. In the “balance” of the state — all 69 counties outside Milwaukee, Racine and Dane — the homeless population increased from 2,938 individuals in 2023 to 3,201 in 2024, according to data Wisconsin Watch obtained from the region’s continuum of care organization, which conducts homeless counts each year.
Despite accounting for over 60% of the state’s homeless population in 2023, these mostly rural counties collectively contain just 23% of the state’s supportive housing units — long-term housing models with on-site supportive services, which experts say is the best way to address chronic homelessness. But providing long-term housing and services on top of shelter is an expensive, labor-intensive task for small, rural providers with limited funding.
According to the Department of Public Instruction’s latest data, 18,455 students experienced homelessness during the 2022-23 school year — a number that has increased each year since 2020. Some 11,000 of these students reside in districts outside of Milwaukee, Madison, Racine and Green Bay.
The annual data collected on homelessness are an undercount, especially in rural areas, said Mary Frances Kenion, vice president of training and technical assistance at the National Alliance to End Homelessness. That means less funding for already disadvantaged smaller communities.
In 2020, mostly due to the pandemic, Green Bay saw more people who lack housing gathering in St. John’s Park in the heart of downtown, generating more than 100 police calls from April to October, including disturbances, public drug use and sexual assaults.
“Where there’s more concentration of people, that’s always going to drive funding, because we have block grant funding that is directly tied to the census,” Kenion told Wisconsin Watch.
Despite rural communities having fewer nonprofits than urban ones, shelters and housing assistance programs are leading the way to address the expanse of homelessness in rural Wisconsin.
“Funding and access to resources is a challenge … but there are some really bright spots in rural communities, because they are doing more with less,” Kenion said. “We’re seeing a ton of innovation and resilience just by virtue of them being positioned to do more with less.”
But shelter directors and anti-poverty advocates face many hurdles when it comes to funding, resources and support.
Rural shelter providers across the state identified several solutions to the problem: Cutting out county governments as the middleman for state reimbursements, increasing the availability of new rental units, consolidating multiple definitions of homelessness, more consistent and proportional state funding, and assistance with case management are just a few.
Point-in-time counts, federal funding and HUD
The annual “point-in-time” (PIT) homeless counts are collected by continuum of care organizations across the country on a single night during the last week of January. Wisconsin has four designated organizations with three covering Milwaukee, Dane and Racine counties and one for the other 69 counties.
The counts are submitted to Congress and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for consideration and funding determinations. They are meant to include those living in temporary shelters, as well as unsheltered people living on the street, but do not include people in other sheltered situations. Those living in cars are often missed.
“They’re typically either in their car or they’re on somebody’s couch,” said Jenny Fasula, executive director of Wisconsin’s Foundation for Rural Housing. “People on the couches don’t count in your PIT counts because they’re ‘housed.’ People in cars in rural areas — I don’t even know where you’d find them, except maybe a Walmart parking lot.”
Christina Hubbell fills up the car with gas as her father, Eric Zieroth, and their dog, Bella, wait in the car Dec. 3, 2024, in Shell Lake, Wis. Zieroth and Hubbell recently moved into a friend’s basement apartment after living in their car for over a year. (Joe Timmerman / Wisconsin Watch)
Since 2009, HUD — the main federal agency that handles homelessness — has targeted permanent supportive housing programs with long-term, sustainable services like case management for federal funding. The national shift from temporary housing programs reflects a widely adopted “housing first” approach — that the security of a permanent shelter is the first, necessary step before people can address the root causes of their homelessness.
“Temporary housing programs shifted their gears towards that other type of service so they could continue to operate and get funding to operate,” Wisconsin Policy Forum researcher Donald Cramer told Wisconsin Watch.
While permanent housing programs effectively lowered Wisconsin’s homeless population in both rural and urban areas before the pandemic, the shift hasn’t been easy for rural shelters that are strapped for cash and resources.
“As a shelter, when you have 50 people, it’s impossible to have the funding to hire case managers that are really involved and able to really assist people,” said Michael Hall, a former Waupaca County shelter worker and director of Impact Wisconsin — a nonprofit providing housing and recovery services in a six-county rural region.
“We’re small,” said Adam Schnabel, vice president of a homeless shelter in Taylor County, adding that without more staff, the shelter can’t have someone in charge of post-departure case management to make sure people stay in housing.
“We’re trying to find volunteer case managers,” said Kimberly Fitzgerald, interim director of the Rusk County Lighthouse shelter. “People to volunteer their time, to work for free, to do case management. Good luck with that.”
Restrictions on federal funding and multiple definitions of homelessness are another barrier for rural homeless providers, said Millie Rounsville, CEO of Northwest Wisconsin Community Services Agency.
The federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act defines homelessness specifically for youth as minor children who “lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence.” But HUD defines homelessness in multiple categories: 1) an individual or family who is immediately homeless and without shelter and 2) those at imminent risk of homelessness. Consolidating these definitions is key, according to Rounsville.
Homeless children and families in the rural region surrounding Superior tend to be doubled up in some kind of housing, Rounsville said. While they often meet the McKinney-Vento definition of homeless, they are considered category two homeless under HUD’s definitions.
But in order to qualify for HUD-funded Rapid Rehousing programs, individuals must fall under category one.
“The funding needs to be flexible,” Rounsville said. “We can’t assume that every community across the country has the same need.”
To provide permanent supportive housing and receive funding, shelters and nonprofits also have to serve and document chronically homeless populations. According to HUD, that means a member of the household has to have a documented disability. Providers like Rounsville are additionally required to provide third-party verification that someone has been category one homeless for a year or more.
“If you were in a larger city where you have a lot of shelters or street outreach, that third-party verification would be a lot easier than when you’re in a rural community,” Rounsville said.
It’s a housing issue
Rural Wisconsin is lacking affordable, habitable homes.
“When you layer the limited footprint of service providers in a rural community, packed with a housing supply that is already insufficient and continuing to shrink, that creates a perfect storm for rising numbers of people experiencing homelessness,” Kenion said.
Providers in Rusk County, Taylor County, Bayfield County and Waupaca County said that without low-income options and available rental units, they often can’t get people into permanent housing.
“As fast as units open up, they get filled,” Fitzgerald said. “In Ladysmith specifically, there are next to no rental units. So even if somebody did get approved for the housing program, where are we going to put them?”
Among affordability and shortage issues, rural areas are also home to the state’s aging housing stock.
“The housing stock is very old,” Fasula said. “So now you have higher energy bills. And the rent may be lower, but your energy bill is twice as much.”
Christina Hubbell counts her quarters to make sure she has enough money for laundry after picking up her winter clothes from a storage unit she shares with her father, Eric Zieroth, on Dec. 3, 2024, in Shell Lake, Wis. (Joe Timmerman / Wisconsin Watch)
Christina Hubbell runs the laundromat’s hot water to melt her frozen laundry detergent after picking up her winter clothes from a storage unit she shares with her father, Eric Zieroth, on Dec. 3, 2024, in Shell Lake, Wis. (Joe Timmerman / Wisconsin Watch)
Her work at the Foundation for Rural Housing provides one-time emergency rental assistance to prevent evictions and homelessness across the state.
“People stereotype them to think ‘Oh, we have these programs because people don’t know how to manage their money.’ It’s not that,” Fasula said. “These are folks that come in that just have a crisis. … They don’t have anything to fall back on. Any little hiccup is a big impact for them financially.”
The foundation is partially funded by the state’s critical assistance grant program, which is awarded to just one eligible agency in Wisconsin. Fasula said the foundation still relies on many private funding sources.
While working to eventually afford an apartment in Shell Lake, Hubbell is making $13.50 an hour at the Dollar General, but only scheduled to work 20 hours a week. The living wage calculation for one adult in Washburn County is $19.45 an hour working 40 hours a week, according to the MIT living wage calculator.
“Homelessness is a housing issue. It’s a symptom of an economy and policies that aren’t working,” Kenion said. “Yes, housing costs tend to be lower in rural communities, but so do wages.”
State funding
In the state’s 2023-25 biennial budget, the Republican-controlled Legislature rejected Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ recommendations to spend some $24 million on emergency shelter and housing grants, as well as homeless case management services and rental assistance for unhoused veterans.
The Legislature also nixed $250 million Evers proposed for affordable workforce housing and home rehabilitation grants.
The state funds two main grants for homeless shelters and housing annually. The State Shelter Subsidy Grant (SSSG) receives around $1.6 million per year, and the Housing Assistance Program receives $900,000.
But for small shelters like Taylor House — the only homeless shelter in rural Taylor County — Schnabel says the funding is “pennies.” The facility has a continuous waitlist.
Eric Zieroth pulls a suitcase down from a tall stack of belongings in his storage unit Dec. 3, 2024, in Shell Lake, Wis. (Joe Timmerman / Wisconsin Watch)
“We are a lost people up north, here in the rural areas,” Schnabel said. “I feel like there’s so much focus and so many monetary resources provided to Dane and Milwaukee counties.”
The north central Wisconsin shelter with a 17-person capacity received $10,000 from SSSG this year, Schnabel said. That’s around $588 per person. But four emergency shelters in Milwaukee with a combined capacity of around 392 received $400,000 from the $1.6 million grant total — $1,020 per person.
“It’s not just local individuals we’re serving,” Schnabel said. “We’re serving individuals from Milwaukee County, Dane County, Fox River Valley, Chippewa. They’re coming from all over because those homeless shelters are either at capacity or their waitlist is too long.”
The state’s Recovery Voucher Grant Program awarded $760,000 to grantees in 2024 to provide housing to those experiencing homelessness and struggling with opioid use disorders. Half of these funds went to three providers in Dane, Milwaukee and Waukesha counties.
Another state resource is the Homeless Case Management Services (HCMS) grant program, which distributes up to 10 $50,000 grants per year to shelters and programs that meet eligibility requirements.
Shelter directors like Fitzgerald said the state’s reliance on grant funding to address homelessness and housing needs isn’t sustainable for small providers. While helpful, these pots of money quickly run out, and many of them don’t cover operating costs or wages.
“A lot of these funding sources, it’s like a first come first serve basis, so there isn’t money necessarily allocated to cover our expenses,” Fitzgerald said. “When the funding runs out, we’re SOL.”
The Lighthouse is the only homeless shelter in Rusk County. Many surrounding shelters are also full, and some counties don’t have shelters at all, leaving people with limited options.
“As fast as we empty out, we fill up. So it’s kind of a revolving door,” Fitzgerald said. “Our first priority is to serve Rusk County residents, but we’re in the business of helping, so I don’t turn people away.”
Small shelters face county-level hurdles
Some shelter workers and advocates say in rural Wisconsin, homelessness is addressed only to the extent that their local governments and administrations are willing to acknowledge the issue and get involved.
“A lot of these people go unnoticed, unchecked in the system, and there just aren’t any county services, especially in our community, that are there to help individuals that are struggling,” Hall said. “We, with a lot of duct tape and a shoestring, hold it down.”
Providers in several rural counties noted that there aren’t any shelters that are owned or operated in any capacity by local governments. In most cases, Washburn County Social Services can only direct homeless residents like Zieroth and Hubbell to the Lakeland Family Resource Center, which provided them with a list of shelters too far out of their reach.
“We don’t have the extra gas or a decent enough vehicle to go too far from Shell Lake,” Zieroth said.
Eric Zieroth unlocks the back gate of the apartment where he’s staying as his dog, Bella, runs after him before driving to his storage unit with his daughter, Christina Hubbell, on Dec. 3, 2024, in Shell Lake, Wis. (Joe Timmerman / Wisconsin Watch)
The Ashland Community Shelter is the only shelter in a four-county rural area. The city applied for the federal grant funds that allowed Rounsville’s agency to acquire the shelter, but she noted that if it hadn’t taken that step, there wouldn’t be a shelter in Ashland today.
“You still need that county government saying, ‘Hey, we have a program, we need funding,’” Cramer said. “If your county is not looking to deal with homelessness, then they’re probably not asking for that funding either.”
Hall and Schnabel said local governments need to be more involved in their work, whether that be providing a county employee to serve as a shelter director, or simply making better use of the few resources they have.
Schnabel added that small shelters often cannot pay their directors a decent wage, resulting in frequent staff turnover. Taylor House has had four directors in the last 18 months, he said. The inconsistency leaves “a bad taste” in the mouth of those reviewing their grant applications.
According to Hall, some counties are much more willing than others to utilize Comprehensive Community Services (CCS) — a state program aimed at addressing substance abuse and mental health needs. The program allows counties to contract employees and case managers at local shelters who provide services such as skills development and peer support. If the notes are done properly, the county can bill those expenses back to the state through BadgerCare.
But despite those being reimbursable expenses, some county officials either don’t know how or are unwilling to engage in the program, Hall said.
“The tool is there, it just needs to be utilized,” he said. “Because of their unwillingness to try something, it oftentimes ends up having to tell people ‘no,’ and we’re moving them to another county.”
Eric Zieroth shows his scarred hand where he suffered a workplace injury that continues to keep him from working, Dec. 4, 2024, in Shell Lake, Wis. (Joe Timmerman / Wisconsin Watch)
He added that allowing local shelters that serve those covered under BadgerCare to bill the state directly for these services instead of relying on the county to initiate it “would solve the problem tomorrow.”
Hall also noted that county governments can use their opioid settlement funds to provide housing and shelter to those with eligible needs, yet some have instead spent it on other things.
Waupaca County, for example, told Wisconsin Watch it has spent nearly $100,000 in opioid settlement funds on awareness campaigns, training, a counselor position and equipment that helps local police quickly identify narcotics in the field.
Grant funding is often allocated to regional “parent” organizations, like a Salvation Army, which then distribute the money to local nonprofits and shelters. But Schnabel said the state must force the hand of counties that “choose not to see homelessness.”
“By requiring that these funds go through the county to be disbursed to the homeless shelter, it forces the county to have a relationship and have skin in the game with the shelters,” he said.
Another challenge is that some small communities like Ashland reject homeless shelters, assuming they will bring negative footprints.
“There’s going to be needles, the neighborhood houses are going to be robbed, children are going to be ran over on the highway,” Rounsville said. “There’s all kinds of things that came up when we were doing the change of use for this hotel to become a shelter. It was something that not everybody wanted to see in the community.”
The small city of Clintonville approved an ordinance last winter enforcing a 60-day limit on local hotel stays in a six-month period, citing drug concerns, disorderly conduct and disturbances. Many homeless individuals in the area are put up in those hotels.
“We’re trying to figure out, what are we going to do with those 50 people this winter when the police departments come through and say they have to get out,” Hall said.
Studies estimate that every year, someone experiencing chronic homelessness costs a community $30,000 to $50,000, according to the Interagency Council on Homelessness. Yet for each person who is homeless, permanent supportive housing costs communities $20,000 per year.
“These are our neighbors in any community, and when they are no longer homeless and they are thriving, they reinvest that into the economy, into the community, into the neighborhood,” Kenion said.
While often doing more with less, local nonprofits are still the ones that are built to do this work, Hall said.
“There is no solution. There is no algorithm to get us to an answer,” Schnabel said. “But what we know is that there needs to be a place that they can go to be safe, and have warm, secure housing until they can get back on their feet.”
Shunned by their community
In June, Zieroth and Hubbell pulled their car into a Shell Lake gas station parking lot to sleep, shortly before a police officer was called and arrived to tell them they were trespassing and had to leave.
In August, the father and daughter stopped at the Shell Lake ATV Campground to use the public showers, when a campground employee entered and demanded that Zieroth get his daughter and leave. The employee called Shell Lake police, who escorted him off the property.
A resident living next to the boat launch where they stayed eventually took issue with them parking their car at the public lot. In October, Hubbell said the homeowner stormed into the Dollar General while she was working and told her they couldn’t sleep there anymore, threatening to call the police.
And one night after finding a group fishing at the boat launch, the pair decided to drive to another public landing in Burnett County where they parked and slept. Still under their blankets, they woke the next morning to a DNR officer and county sheriff’s deputy approaching, asking about Zieroth’s “drug of choice.” According to Wisconsin Court System records, Zieroth served time in prison for burglary as a 21-year-old, but has never faced drug-related charges.
They were told to leave.
“They just did not want us in this area. We’re less than a mile from where we grew up, and from where she went to school and graduated,” Zieroth said, pointing to his daughter. “I’ve made my life here … everything points to ‘get out.’”
Eric Zieroth, left, and Christina Hubbell pose for a portrait in their room on Dec. 4, 2024, in Shell Lake, Wis. Zieroth and Hubbell recently moved into a friend’s basement apartment after living in their car for over a year. (Joe Timmerman / Wisconsin Watch)
While still homeless, the pair were fortunate enough to find a temporary place to stay as the weather gets colder — a small room in the unfinished basement of an acquaintance who didn’t want to see them living out of their car. They are joined by their dog Bella, who Zieroth won’t abandon after she woke him the night his camper caught fire in 2022, allowing him to escape and likely saving his life.
Zieroth and Hubbell have an old bed, a recliner and a bathroom for now. But their most cherished comfort is that the room is heated — something they don’t take for granted after a winter spent in their car.
With a roof over their heads, Zieroth hopes to finally get the surgery he needs, but he’s unsure of how long they can stay.
They insist on paying the homeowners $50 a week — all they can afford — for letting them stay in the basement. Zieroth uses his skills as a mechanic to fix things around the property, and Hubbell picks items up for them at the Dollar General whenever she can.
Once healed, he wants to get back to work and acquire a property of his own, but his first priority is his daughter. After getting on her feet, Hubbell hopes to go to cosmetology school in Rice Lake.
“She has her whole life ahead of her and experience has taught me that some real bad beginnings get really good endings, and she deserves a good one,” Zieroth said.
How to find help
If you or someone you know is experiencing or is at risk of experiencing homelessness, please consider the following resources:
Task Force proposes closing up to four Wausau elementary schools
Damakant Jayshi
An elementary school task force evaluating the future of the 13 elementary schools in the Wausau School District recommends closing Hewitt-Texas, Hawthorn Hills, Grant and Lincoln Elementary Schools, one of two potential options the board will now consider.
The proposed closures, outlined as part of “Bundle 1,” would impact approximately 700 students in grades 4K through 5, according to the district’s September 2024 demographics report. In addition, 180 teachers and staff would be affected. While plans for relocating students have been identified, the fate of teachers and staff remains uncertain though the district says it would make efforts to accommodate them.
Under “Bundle 2,” described as a “more modest, incremental solution,” Lincoln Elementary, with about 200 students and roughly 50 staff members, would remain open. This alternate option would affect about 14% of students, but the offer reduces financial savings.
While both bundles have variations, the committee’s voting record indicates greater support for the base version of Bundle 1.
The 45-member task force, formed in June, included 15 district parents, 15 community members without children currently in district schools, and 15 teachers and staff. The Wausau School Board outlined five evaluation criteria for the group in August, emphasizing fiscal viability as a top priority. The task force has convened nine times since its first meeting on June 17.
Projected savings and staffing impacts
Under the first plan, the district expects an annual staff expense reduction of $1.6 million to $1.8 million over three years through attrition, primarily retirements and resignations. A Dec. 6 note by Diana White, the district’s communications coordinator, stated that staff reductions, if necessary, would likely occur through transfers to vacant positions resulting from attrition.
After this story appeared, the district sent an updated response.
“In reality, most of the staff impacted will be shifted to locations where the students are shifted because we will need more staff to serve the students that move,” White said. This was in addition to her previous comment in which she said that depending on the position and how critical it is, staff may be transferred from their current role into that vacant position. “In some cases, the position may not be filled. In any given year, we hire approximately 70 to 100 new staff, which provides lots of opportunity to do just this.”
The plan is also projected to avoid $4.1 million in maintenance costs over 10 years, with an additional half a million dollars in operational cost savings. These figures exclude busing costs.
There are discrepancies in the number of students being impacted under Bundle 1. The presentation shared with the board by the task force’s coordinator, Mark Roffers of MD Roffers Consulting, on Monday said that the number of impacted pre-K to fifth-grade students is 679, or 20% of elementary school students.
Roffers, through White, said the numbers were an estimate based on Spring 2024 enrollment at the affected schools.
“The actual number and percentage of K-5 students affected will depend on the actual number of K-5 students in the schools that will be closed or repurposed as of September of whatever year the schools close,” he told Wausau Pilot & Review.
Another change would occur related to busing, with at least six to seven new routes required, each costing $40,000 annually.
Next steps
The board will also have to approve an updated attendance map to reflect the new boundaries. The one attached with the recommendation shows the changes.
Board members praised the recommendations, saying they were thorough and data-driven, unlike past endeavors. At Interim Superintendent Cale Bushman’s request, a Dec. 18 special meeting will be postponed until January. That date and time will now be used for an additional task force meeting to discuss new data regarding Achievement Gap Reduction (AGR) funding.
White said the task force will convene to review new information about AGR funding that was not available on or prior to the Dec. 4 task force meeting.
“There’s also additional information about elementary capacities – and we’d like an opportunity to map the buildings to ensure students fit,” White said.
No decision yet but ‘do not lose momentum’ mood
Based on comments by board and task force members, the plan could be approved as soon as early next year and implemented by the 2026-27 school year – a timeline that Bushman mentioned several times. The implementation year has not been finalized yet, though.
One of the committee members said watching the group come together and the process revealed an “Aha moment.”
The group went from “that’s my school” to “that’s my district,” she said, with people having productive conversations about the future.
“I would hate to lose that momentum,” she said.
Roffers, during his presentation, said all task force members agreed that some schools would eventually need to close and recognized that keeping all schools open wasn’t a viable option.
The proposed changes
The closure of the four schools, if approved by the board, leads to other changes, including those related to pre-K:
Hewitt-Texas Elementary closes and shifts its students to Riverview Elementary.
Hawthorn Hills students move to John Marshall and Franklin elementaries. Additionally, Hawthorn Hills’ pre-K Academy shifts to Riverview Elementary.
Grant students shift to Thomas Jefferson, and Thomas Jefferson’s pre-K Academy moves to Lincoln Elementary.
Lincoln Elementary is closed and repurposed into a pre-K Academy. Lincoln’s K-5 grades shift to G.D. Jones Elementary. G.D. Jones’ pre-K Academy shifts to Lincoln.
While “receivers” are suitable to take students from the closed schools, two of them, John Marshall and Franklin, require HVAC upgrades, including air conditioning.
The task force also considered the option of closing Rib Mountain and shifting students to South Mountain, but that discussion and decision have been left for the future.
There was some discussion about the pros and cons of maintaining a single pre-K academy.
Replying to a question from board member Sarah Brock on the impact on curriculum and students by having a consolidated versus different K-5 grades, Director of Elementary Education Julie Schell said it would not have a major impact since the students and teachers will use the same curriculum and resources.
Declining enrollment, varying class sizes, increasing deficit
District and board officials have said over the years that retaining 13 elementary schools in the face of declining enrollment, lopsided class sizes, and projected increasing budget deficits is not sustainable. Consolidation has been discussed intermittently for years.
In November 2023, the Wausau School Board reversed a decision to combine Wausau East and West and move fifth-grade students from elementary into middle schools. As part of the original restructuring plan, at least five of the 13 elementary schools would have been either merged or closed. But that plan was shelved after fierce opposition from the community.
According to the figures shared by consultant Roffers on Monday, the 13 elementary schools currently have about 1,100 empty seats, a number that is projected to grow to 1,300 by 2027 if no changes are made. In addition to the projected annual deficit of $2 million to $3 million, the schools have aging buildings, requiring nearly $25 million in 10-year deferred maintenance needs, the presentation showed.
The district plans to engage the community and seek its input on the recommendations, and the public will have the opportunity to participate in the upcoming events.
On Monday, Dec. 16, Cooperative Educational Service Agency 10 is scheduled to present the results of their Elementary Facility Assessment to the Wausau School Board. Two days later, the task force will meet for the final time.
Wausau Pilot “Letters to Santa” campaign starts now
Letters to Santa first began regularly appearing in newspapers around the 1880s. Every December since then, newspapers across the nation have published children’s heartfelt letters as a celebration of the season. Wausau Pilot & Review is continuing that tradition this Christmas. By publishing these messages, we hope to spread joy by sharing the words of the children in our community, whose wishes and dreams are inspirational in themselves.
Writing letters to Santa is an age-old tradition. Children are encouraged to write their letters to Santa and send them to us. The newspaper will publish letters received in a special section on Dec. 24.
Teachers and schools are encouraged to send letters from students as well. For example, elementary schools throughout the country have taken the opportunity to teach students about letter-writing and then send each class’s letters for publication in local newspapers. Email editor@wausaupilotandreview.com for details.
Letters may be emailed to editor@wausaupilotandreview.com, entered in our online form or mailed to Santa in care of Wausau Pilot & Review, 500 N. Third St., Wausau, WI 54403. Please include the age of the child writing the letter. In order for letters to be published, we must receive them no later than 5 p.m. on Dec. 22. Handwritten letters may be scanned for publication purposes and artwork is encouraged – after all, children’s drawings are as much a delight as the letters themselves.
Fill out the form below to submit letters and artwork. Happy holidays to all!
Navigating Thanksgiving amid political family divides
Wausau Pilot & Review staff
As Thanksgiving approaches, many American families anticipate the warmth of shared meals and cherished traditions. However, in today’s polarized political climate, these gatherings can also become arenas for contentious debates, potentially straining familial bonds.
Experts offer strategies to help families navigate these challenges, ensuring that the holiday remains a time of gratitude and connection.
Understanding the Challenge
Political differences have always existed within families, but recent years have seen these divides deepen. A 2023 Quinnipiac University poll revealed that 61% of voters hoped to avoid discussing politics during holiday gatherings, highlighting a widespread desire to sidestep potential conflicts.
“Surveys show that most people look at these sort of Thanksgiving political discussions with dread,” said Jennifer Wolak, a political science professor at Michigan State University who studies the psychology of compromise. “Most people say they hope to avoid having political conversations because they’re conflictual, they’re argumentative. And people also carry these really strong stereotypes about the other party.”
Strategies for Harmonious Gatherings
Set Clear Boundaries
Establishing guidelines before the gathering can prevent unwanted political debates. Discussing and agreeing upon topics to avoid can help maintain a peaceful atmosphere. “Perhaps even having an honest conversation with your loved ones before the holiday meal or activity begins [and] to say ‘Is it possible that we could leave some of these differences at the door?’” Natalie Hernandez, Senior Director at Penn State’s counseling and psychological services, told Fox43.
Practice Active Listening
When political topics arise, listening without immediate judgment can foster understanding. Engaging with genuine curiosity about others’ perspectives can de-escalate potential conflicts. “Go in with a genuine curiosity and willingness to listen,” said Todd Schenk, an associate professor at Virginia Tech.
Focus on Shared Values
Highlighting commonalities rather than differences can strengthen familial bonds. Discussing shared experiences, traditions, and values can redirect conversations toward unity. “Thinking about funny family stories and past vacations or trips or experiences you’ve had … think about some of these topics that might allow you to feel that sense of connection without engaging in conflict,” rElizabeth Dorrance Hall, a communication professor at Michigan State University, told Bridge Michigan.
Choose the Right Time and Place
Sensitive discussions are best held in private, away from the larger group setting. This approach allows for more thoughtful and less confrontational exchanges. “A very sensitive conversation is best not done in front of jeering friends or family,” Schenk added.
Agree to Disagree
Recognizing that changing someone’s deeply held beliefs over a single meal is unlikely can reduce frustration. Accepting differing opinions without attempting to convert others can preserve harmony. “Persuasion is possible and a common reason for engagement,” Schenk said. “However, it is difficult and, when it happens, typically the result of sustained dialogue.”
In some cases, steering clear of political topics may be the best course of action, especially if past experiences suggest that such discussions lead to conflict. Focusing on neutral subjects like family stories, hobbies, or shared interests can keep the atmosphere light and enjoyable. “Sometimes the holidays are one of the few times of the year that families get together… Rather than have conversations about politics, it can be comforting to reminisce over family stories and memories,” Hall added.
Conclusion
Thanksgiving offers an opportunity to celebrate togetherness and gratitude. By approaching political differences with empathy, respect, and thoughtful communication, families can ensure that their gatherings remain a source of joy and connection, even in a divided political landscape.
‘Nowhere else I’d rather be’: An ordinary Election Day follows town’s extraordinary turmoil
Reading Time: 4minutes
An impassive portrait of George Washington watched Tuesday’s Election Day proceedings from his perch above the entrance of Westfield Town Hall.
Washington’s expression offered no hint that the Marquette County, Wisconsin, town was recovering from political tumult: fierce divisions on a three-member board that culminated in September when voters ousted their town chair in a recall election.
Westfield’s election inspector and chief election inspector soon resigned, along with its treasurer and a town supervisor. The same evening the board approved those resignations, the town clerk, that meeting’s notetaker, handed in her notice.
None of the resignees nor the former board chair, Sharon Galonski, responded to requests for comment for this story.
Several news outlets, including the Associated Press, reported the events, prompting questions about how the resignations might affect Westfield’s preparation for the general election.
But interim Town Clerk Courtney Trimble said the media blew the situation out of proportion. Volunteers immediately stepped forward following the poll workers’ resignations. Trimble said she had a list of 12 who offered their names.
“I’m confident in their ability,” she said Tuesday. “These elections always feel — I don’t want to say ‘pressure’ — there’s more training that you put in.”
‘Hopefully, tomorrow the commercials will stop!’
Westfield’s polling place occupies its white clapboard-clad town hall, surrounded by cornfields and conifers. The converted one-room schoolhouse dates to the mid-1800s, and chalkboards line its interior walls. Scotch-Irish settlers, attracted by the area’s fertile soil and nearby springs, founded the community.
Here, voters trend conservative. During the 2020 election, they handily handed then-incumbent President Donald Trump 333 votes — nearly two-thirds of ballots cast.
Election greeter Chris Vander Velde stood at the hall’s entrance Tuesday, directing voters to wait in the foyer. They shuffled to the registration table, where poll workers Frank Traina and Susan Porfilio sat. Those caught in the day’s periodic downpours squeaked on the hall’s wooden floors.
Such orderly proceedings were unlike the tempest 2024 presidential cycle, marked by the unexpected withdrawal of President Joe Biden, two assassination attempts against Trump and the rapid ascent of Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee.
“Hopefully, tomorrow the commercials will stop!” said one voter who arrived mid-morning in a white and black plaid shirt and sparkly flip-flops.
She and Vander Velde laughed.
Behind her librarian glasses, Porfilio instructed electors to sign the register before continuing to the four voting booths arranged along the room’s perimeter.
The morning hustle? Distinctly ordinary.
Voters visited Westfield Town Hall in Marquette County, Wis., to cast ballots on Election Day, Nov. 5, 2024. (Bennet Goldstein / Wisconsin Watch)
One voter forgot her photo identification but returned later with the card in tow. A smiling man’s registration incorrectly appended the suffix “Sr.” to his name.
“I have no idea why,” he told Porfilio.
Traina checked IDs and reminded people the ballot was double-sided with the school referendum on the back
“Thank you for working the polls,” a voter in a maroon windbreaker told him.
“There’s nowhere else I’d rather be,” Traina said. With every flick of his arm, his “In God we trust” tattoo peeked out from under his Harley-Davidson T-shirt.
Residents of all ages flocked to the polls.
“No ID?” Traina jokingly asked a curly-haired kid, waiting, as their family signed in.
The child mumbled, hands in pockets.
Later, a young woman in a red raincoat and glasses stepped before Porfilio.
“Have you ever voted here before?” Susan asked.
“No, it’s my first time voting in general,” the woman said.
By 10:30 a.m., over half the town’s electorate had cast ballots, including absentee and early voters.
Porfilio chatted with a man in a Lake Michigan shirt. She checked his voter number.
“And I’ll give you your license back,” Porfilio said.
“You heard my house burnt down, right?” he said.
“No!” she said. “When was that? Oh, I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Yeah,” he muttered.
‘Take our township back!’
Across the room, Chief Election Inspector Lacey Baumann supervised the Dominion ballot drop box, the last stop on the voters’ town hall circuit.
Baumann awoke at 3:30 a.m. to milk her 53 goats so she could be at the town hall by 6 a.m., an hour before the polls opened. What started as a COVID-19 pandemic pastime became a side hustle, where she and her family make soaps, lotions, laundry detergent, bath salts and lip balm.
“I just want to confirm that there are two initials on the backside box of your ballot,” she told a woman in sweatpants. “You’re gonna put it in the machine where the arrows are. When you hear the second ‘ding,’ you’ll be good to go.”
Lacey’s twin sister, Lindsay Baumann, won Westfield’s recall election in September. Her campaign pledged to “take our township back!” and she bested Galonski by 32 votes.
Lacey Baumann, chief election inspector for the town of Westfield, casts her own ballot the morning of Nov. 5, 2024, at Westfield Town Hall in Marquette County, Wis. (Bennet Goldstein / Wisconsin Watch)
From the first meeting in 2023 when its members were sworn in, turmoil marked Westfield’s town board. Members sparred during meetings. Discussion routinely veered into accusations of malfeasance.
The recall petition charged Galonski with a litany of offenses, including initiating the termination of the volunteer fire department without considering citizen input and consulting the town board, spending taxpayer dollars in excess and denying a board supervisor access to town property.
At an August board meeting, Galonski defended her actions and rejected one attendee’s call to resign to spare the town the cost of a recall election.
“I haven’t done anything wrong — not a thing. Everything has been done according to the law and by vote of the board,” Galonski said. “The majority of the board has taken action on many of the things that you want to do a recall on.”
‘It’s our right. It’s our privilege’
Voters continued to stream into Westfield’s town hall for the rest of the day. The town reached another turnout milestone.
“That’s what it’s all about,” Vander Velde said. “It’s our right. It’s our privilege. It’s our responsibility.”
Vander Velde, who moved to Westfield more than three decades ago, enjoys chatting with fellow residents on Election Day, but another reason she enjoys working the polls is the chance to learn the rules and regulations. She calls herself a “law and order person.”
“Government is really of the people,” Vander Velde said. “The people in this township are really good, close people, and you expect your government to respond that way.”
As anxious Americans awaited news of the presidency’s fate, Baumann, the town’s newly elected chair, said she felt the political slugfest in her community was over.
“It seems like there’s a lot more happier people,” she said. “We’re getting somewhere.”
Wisconsin Watch is a nonprofit, nonpartisan newsroom. Subscribe to our newsletters for original stories and our Friday news roundup.
It’s Election Day! Follow our live coverage of what’s happening around Wisconsin
Reading Time: 6minutes
Good morning, Wisconsin. It’s Election Day — and the stakes couldn’t be higher.
Voters here in Wisconsin will help pick the next president, choose a U.S. senator, send eight people to the U.S. House, elect state representatives and senators, decide whether to amend the state constitution and weigh in on scores of local ballot referendums.
Polls open at 7 a.m. in Wisconsin and close at 8 p.m. If you are still in line at 8 p.m. and haven’t yet had a chance to vote, stay in line. You will still be able to cast a ballot.
Even though the polls close at 8 p.m. here, expect it to be at least a few hours — and possibly longer — to get definitive unofficial results. Wisconsin is one of seven battleground states that will determine the outcome of the election. Here’s when polls close in the other six, but just like here, don’t expect to know who won each of these states right away.
All times listed in Central Standard Time:
Arizona: 8 p.m.
Georgia: 6 p.m.
Michigan: 7 p.m.
Nevada: 9 p.m.
North Carolina: 6:30 p.m.
Pennsylvania: 7 p.m.
If someone declares victory shortly after polls close — especially in the presidential election — be extremely skeptical. In 2020 former President Donald Trump declared victory while millions of votes still needed to be counted. And, as has been well documented, President Joe Biden won that election. Trump could once again prematurely — and potentially baselessly — claim victory again this year, with some members of his orbit urging the former president to address voters even earlier on election night than in 2020.
It’s important to remember that the results reported on election night are unofficial. At Wisconsin Watch, we look to the Associated Press and other reputable news organizations for our race calls.
The vote counting process will take time and varies by municipality in Wisconsin. Local election officials pick where absentee ballots are counted.
In most places, including Madison, absentee ballots that have been cast will be distributed to the polling location across the city where a voter would have cast a ballot in person to be tabulated throughout the day. In others, like Milwaukee and Green Bay, absentee votes are tallied in a central location.
Counting votes takes time. When counting absentee ballots, poll workers have to announce who cast a ballot, check the voter’s name off a poll list, open the ballot envelope, unpack the ballot and feed it into a tabulator, per the Journal Sentinel.
However, there are fewer absentee ballots this year than in 2020, which could help speed up election night returns. Election officials in Milwaukee are predicting that tabulation will be faster this year than in 2020, but still cautioned it will be a late night.
Finally, control of the Assembly is up for grabs, something that could upend the status quo of Wisconsin politics. Read more about the races that could determine which party wins a majority here.
In Milwaukee, Kenosha and Racine, Souls to the Polls is offering free, round-trip rides to polling locations. Call their hotline at 414-742-1060 to book a ride.
Using the code VOTE24, 50% off of a ride to a polling location, up to a maximum of $10, will be covered by rideshare company Lyft. Rival Uber offers the same discount, accessible through the “Go Vote” option in the Uber mobile app. Additionally, e-scooter company Lime will be offering free rides of up to 30 minutes to a polling location in Milwaukee.
—Julius Shieh
1.5 million have voted so far. Here’s what it means for election night.
On election night, millions of Americans went to bed with former President Donald Trump leading among returns, only for them to wake up to Joe Biden having surpassed him in some states after large, mostly Democratic cities like Milwaukee processed absentee ballots into the early morning hours of Wednesday.
Trump used his election night lead to baselessly claim that he won the election. Eventually, on social media, he demanded that election workers “STOP THE COUNT!” as his paths to victory evaporated.
The delay in reporting election results was attributed to the massive increase in absentee ballots cast in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic — which broke heavily for Democrats. That wasn’t surprising given in the months leading up to Election Day, Trump questioned the validity of absentee voting. Some 1.9 million people voted via an absentee ballot in Wisconsin in 2020, far surpassing previous records, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.
As of Nov. 4, a little over 1.5 million absentee ballots have been cast in Wisconsin. At the same time in 2020, more than 1.8 million absentee ballots had been returned.
Historically, with the exception of 2020, about 20% of Wisconsin general election voters in presidential election years voted via absentee ballots. This usually ranges from 600,000 to 800,000 votes. In 2024, the state broke a million votes on Oct. 30.
When counting absentee ballots, poll workers have to announce who cast a ballot, check the voter’s name off a poll list, open the ballot envelope, unpack the ballot and feed it into a tabulator. That process takes time, especially in communities like Milwaukee where absentee ballots are counted in a single location.
Five communities across the state swapped to central absentee ballot counts in 2024. In full, 39 cities, towns or villages use the centralized system. The cities of Milwaukee and Kenosha were the first to adopt this method, in 2007 and 2008 respectively. As of Nov. 4, there are a little over 400,000 absentee votes cast in municipalities that use the centralized system.
Despite fewer absentee ballots being cast, election officials are still warning that it will be a late night.
“I don’t think it’ll be that bad,” Paulina Gutiérrez, executive director of the Milwaukee Election Commission, told WisPolitics.com about when to expect results from the city after polls close. “But it won’t be like a smaller election, and so it will be a late night.”
The totals haven’t matched the levels of 2020, when the pandemic kept many voters home, but they’re running above expectations.
Early voting in a nursing home: ‘It’s going to make a difference’
Arlene Meyer says she’s voted in every election since she was 21 — the legal voting age until 1971. Last month she cast her 17th vote for president from her nursing home.
“It was excellent,” Meyer said Friday. “Everybody had a chance to vote for whoever they wanted to.”
Local election officials brought voting machines into Pine Crest Nursing Home in Merrill, Wisconsin, weeks before election day. If a municipal clerk receives at least five absentee ballot requests from nursing home residents, special voting deputies can be sent into that facility to collect residents’ votes, according to the Wisconsin Elections Commission.
The return of special deputies to nursing homes ahead of Election Day marks one clear difference from 2020, an election shaped by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Backers of former President Donald Trump thrust nursing home voters into efforts to delegitimize President Joe Biden’s 2020 victory. Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman’s partisan investigation of the election identified a couple of cases of people in nursing homes who had voted despite a court adjudicating them “incompetent” and removing their voting rights.
Special voting deputies didn’t visit nursing homes in 2020, because WEC’s bipartisan members waived rules requiring them, seeking to limit COVID-19’s spread to vulnerable seniors. That meant nursing home staff were tasked with helping residents fill out ballots.
Trump’s allies seized on that context to baselessly claim thousands of adjudicated incompetent voters may have had votes cast in their name. A Wisconsin Watch investigation later found those claims to be dramatically inflated, though it also found the state lacks a statutorily defined system for ensuring those ruled mentally incompetent don’t vote. An attempt to create such a system failed to pass the state Senate earlier this year.
Meyer, a former Lincoln County Board Supervisor, said she remained fully competent to mark her ballot in this election.
“I’m 86 and mentally stable,” she said with a chuckle.
A bag of library books, most about history, sat next to her recliner. Her typical day at the nursing home starts with watching the news.
“I like to see what’s happening in the world,” Meyer said.
Asked why voting still felt important, Meyer responded: “Everything a politician does, it’s going to affect everybody, including me, even though I’m not out working or anything else. But yes, I think it’s very, very important, and I want to know what’s going on. … I got children here, I got grandchildren here. I got great grandchildren here, it’s going to make a difference.”
– Addie Costello
Wisconsin Watch is a nonprofit, nonpartisan newsroom. Subscribe to our newsletters for original stories and our Friday news roundup.
Childhood vaccination rates are down, cases of whooping cough are up across Wisconsin, including Door County
FINAL REPORT: Most expensive race in history of Wis Legislature sits at $7 mil+
Since the opening of a loophole that allows Wisconsin political parties to raise and distribute unlimited amounts, the record has been broken many times. A race in the northern Milwaukee suburbs set it this year.
From left, state Sen. Duey Stroebel (R-Saukville) is facing Democratic challenger Jodi Habush Sinykin in the 8th State Senate District in the northern Milwaukee suburbs.
The fundraising in the race for 8th Senate District has blown past the previous record for most expensive race in the history of the Wisconsin State Legislature.
But the campaign cash in the 8th Senate District towers above all others.
Republican state Sen. Duey Stroebel and his Democratic opponent, attorney Jodi Habush Sinykin — running for the hyper-competitive 8th Senate District, which includes the northern Milwaukee suburbs of Grafton, Menomonee Falls and Whitefish Bay — have raised more than $7 million combined, nearly double the next highest. But that total comes with a large asterisk. Most of the $5.2 million Habush Sinykin has raised came from one source: the state Democratic Party.
THE MOST EXPENSIVE RACES IN THE HISTORY OF THE WISCONSIN STATE LEGISLATURE
YEAR
DISTRICT
RAISED
LOCATION
2024
SENATE 8th
$7,119,902
northern Milwaukee suburbs
2024
SENATE 14th
$4,169,029
much of Richland, Sauk and Columbia counties north of Dane County
2024
SENATE 30th
$4,014,911
Green Bay and surrounding areas
2024
ASSEMBLY 21st
$3,349,656
southern Milwaukee County
2024
ASSEMBLY 61st
$3,323,417
southwestern Milwaukee County
2024
ASSEMBLY 89th
$2,759,425
western Green Bay suburbs
2024
ASSEMBLY 30th
$2,701,672
Hudson and River Falls
2024
ASSEMBLY 85th
$2,505,556
Wausau and surrounding areas
2024
ASSEMBLY 53rd
$2,471,297
Neenah and Menasha
2020
SENATE 8th
$2,441,483
2020
SENATE 30th
$2,269,214
2024
ASSEMBLY 88th
$2,240,193
eastern Green Bay suburbs including De Pere
2020
SENATE 32nd
$2,212,270
2024
ASSEMBLY 94th
$2,139,415
northern La Crosse suburbs
2024
ASSEMBLY 26th
$1,925,778
Sheboygan and surrounding areas
2020
SENATE 24th
$1,906,723
2024
SENATE 18th
$1,653,101
Oshkosh and Appleton
2022
ASSEMBLY 94th
$1,591,031
2018
SENATE 17th
$1,476,981
2022
SENATE 31st
$1,418,454
The attorney from Whitefish Bay has only raised about $700,000 from donors outside the state party. Her father, the prominent Milwaukee-area attorney Robert L. Habush, has given nearly $800,000 to the state Democratic Party in this election cycle.
The route for that massive party support comes through a loophole in campaign finance law in Wisconsin.
Individuals, other candidates and political action committees can only give a candidate for state Senate $2,000 per election cycle, according to state campaign finance law.
So billionaires like ABC Supply co-founder Diane Hendricks, ULINE co-founder Elizabeth Uihlein, LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman and Hyatt Hotells heir and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker have repeatedly used the loophole to funnel huge sums to their preferred party. They have all given millions of dollars to Wisconsin political parties in this election cycle alone.
Thus campaign spending has exploded in state races since the opening of the loophole, leading to airwaves and mailboxes jammed ever more full with political advertising each election.
Democrats in the state Legislature have offered bills to close that loophole, but the Republican majority has ignored them. So Democrats have taken a different tactic in recent elections: using the loophole to their advantage. The state party has raised nearly $57 million in the 2024 election cycle, compared to just $29 million for the state Republican Party.
That translates into major advertising advantages for Democrats in tight state legislative races across the state.
They hope it will allow them to take back the state Legislature for the first time in more than a decade.
The Badger Project is a nonpartisan, citizen-supported journalism nonprofit in Wisconsin.
Rust Belt voters aren’t all white, but election coverage of the region often ignores the concerns of people of color there
Wisconsin voters lining up to cast their ballots in the 2022 midterm election, Oct. 25, 2022, in Milwaukee.Scott Olson/Getty Images
Every four years, national media turn their attention to the Rust Belt, a term that describes Midwestern industrial and manufacturing states whose economies were decimated by the decline of those industries in the 1970s. This region contains the coveted states of Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.
Yet when reporters descend on the rural Rust Belt to understand voters, the people they talk to are almost exclusively white.
I am a geographer who studies the experiences of communities of color in the rural Rust Belt. Rural is a relative term, but when it comes to policy research, it usually refers to nonmetropolitan areas. From 2021 to 2023, I interviewed 35 people who live or lived in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Indiana and identified as Black, Indigenous or people of color.
I found that these Rust Belt residents have pressing concerns of political importance. Some of these issues are shared by white residents – and, as such, are well documented. But Rust Belt residents of color have additional problems that politicians and the media have long overlooked.
Local impacts
My interviewees described typical rural Rust Belt struggles.
They complained of limited internet access, few or no grocery stores, declining roads and other infrastructure-related challenges. Jobs and opportunities for career advancement were scarce in their communities, while death and suicide rates were high.
These difficulties are faced by white Rust Belt residents as well. But other struggles they mentioned are less often considered part of the rural experience.
They described feeling socially isolated and discriminated against at work and school. Many had experienced racial or ethnic profiling by potential employers and police and been verbally harassed.
One man, Miguel, who worked in carpentry, said his colleagues openly used racial slurs against him.
“I was putting away some boxes, and they said, ‘Oh that’s because you w–backs are good at packing things in trucks,’” he told me.
All names used here are pseudonyms; research ethics require me to protect the identity of my subjects.
“A lot gets brushed under the rug,” said Bao, a Vietnamese American woman whose father also works in a hostile environment. “All the management folks are white,” so “if you speak up, you lose your job or are ignored.”
These comments conveyed an overall sense of not “belonging.”
As one woman from rural Pennsylvania explained, people regularly ask her, “No, really, where you from?”
“They want to hear ‘Asian’ or ‘Korean,’” she said. “It’s very uncomfortable for me.”
These racial tensions worsen during election periods. Some people I interviewed reported having been turned away or threatened at voting stations – harassment they attributed to their religious, cultural and political backgrounds, or the way they looked.
Many Rust Belt voters of color already lack political power because they live in racially gerrymandered districts. When news coverage of the region ignores their voices, too, it compounds that feeling of not belonging.
In 2017, The Washington Post visited the small town of Jefferson, Ohio, in Ashtabula County, to interview voters described as “rural Americans who fear they’re being forgotten” after Donald Trump’s election. Their coverage focused almost exclusively on white residents.
“How did you go to Ashtabula County and not see Black people?” asked Belle, a resident who identified as African American.
Not always Republican
In the past three presidential elections, Ashtabula County has followed state trends: It backed Obama in 2008 and 2012, then voted for Trump in 2016 and 2020.
Trump won Ashtabula with 60% of the vote in 2020. That’s 26,890 votes, which means that 16,497 people still voted for Democrat Joe Biden. In the years since, Ashtabula County residents have also voted with the state in two Democratic-backed initiatives: to protect abortion rights and legalize marijuana.
In other words, just because a state or district backs a Republican for president doesn’t mean everyone is Republican, or that Republican voters always vote the party line. They can split their votes, and have.
Even Ohio’s largely Republican delegation in the House of Representatives is misleading about the state’s political makeup. Ohio is a heavily gerrymandered state where voting districts have been drawn to benefit Republican candidates.
U.S. Senate elections show more diversity in Ohio’s voting base.
In 2018, Democrat Sen. Sherrod Brown won 53% of all votes in Ohio, including 51% of those cast in Ashtabula County. Four years later, both the state and Ashtabula County picked Republican JD Vance over Democrat Tim Ryan to replace the outgoing Republican Sen. Rob Portman.
In my interviews, several participants mentioned how local restaurants and stores owned by Asian Americans had been vandalized. One woman, Lanh, who lived outside Springfield, said her favorite restaurant had to close.
“They started vandalizing the restaurant, writing graffiti and set the restaurant on fire,” she said.
The owners were from Thailand, but, Lanh said, the vandals “thought they were Chinese. Folks around the local community like my parents didn’t feel safe,” she added. “I didn’t feel safe.”
The emergence of Black-owned bee farms in northeast Ohio, for instance, is one small example in a host of businesses started by people of color. Together, they are helping to boost the region’s beleaguered economy, much as Haitian immigrants have been fueling Springfield’s growth.
That figure is probably low because the census tends to undercount nonwhite respondents – a problem that was particularly evident in 2020. Even so, that’s a quarter of rural residents who don’t fit the national stereotype of rural America.
Rural America is white and Republican. It’s also trans, queer, Black, Hispanic, Indigenous, South Asian, Democratic and much more. Even if some are Republican, they still aren’t the rural Rust Belt Republicans portrayed in the national media.
Ignoring these nuances reinforces stereotypes that the rural Rust Belt is the exclusive domain of white conservativism. But this region isn’t now, and never has been, simply red and white.
Christabel Devadoss received funding from the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS).
