skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, July 26, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Arson attacks paralyze French high-speed rail network hours before start of Olympics, the Obamas endorse Harris for President; A NY county creates facial recognition, privacy protections; Art breathes new life into pollution-ravaged MI community; 34 Years of the ADA.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Harris meets with Israeli PM Netanyahu and calls for a ceasefire. MI Rep. Rashida Tlaib faces backlash for a protest during Netanyahu's speech. And VA Sen. Mark Warner advocates for student debt relief.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

There's a gap between how rural and urban folks feel about the economy, Colorado's 'Rural is Rad' aims to connect outdoor businesses, more than a dozen of Maine's infrastructure sites face repeated flooding, and chocolate chip cookies rock August.

WI Watchdog: Election Audit Demands Merely "Campaign Fodder"

play audio
Play

Tuesday, August 10, 2021   

MADISON, Wis. -- A pro-democracy group said the latest attempt to pick apart Wisconsin's vote totals from the 2020 presidential election doesn't hold any merit. It hopes a separate review, expected later this year, will end the "Big Lie" rhetoric once and for all.

A state Republican lawmaker raised eyebrows last week when she issued subpoenas demanding election materials from Milwaukee and Brown counties. It followed repeated calls from former President Donald Trump to question the legitimacy of Joe Biden's victory in Wisconsin.

Jay Heck, executive director of Common Cause in Wisconsin, said a partial recount already affirmed that Biden won the state.

"You can be sure that all of this stuff is campaign fodder not just for 2022, but for 2024 as well, by the far-right base," Heck asserted.

Those behind the move cited reasons such as the timing of when Milwaukee County officials posted their results. However, previous claims of fraud in Wisconsin and elsewhere have been widely discredited by election authorities and the courts.

It is unclear if GOP leaders will allow the subpoenas to be carried out.

Meanwhile, Heck pointed out a separate examination by the nonpartisan Legislative Audit Bureau is a legitimate review that will provide a definitive summary.

In the meantime, Heck argued giving the claims new life once again raises concerns about the threat to democracy, similar to what was debated in the weeks after the election.

"There's nothing inherently wrong about demanding a recount in a close election, provided it comes within the bounds of the law," Heck acknowledged. "The question is that if you don't like the outcome by charging falsely things like fraud, and if you can't provide proof of that, you are really doing a disservice to all of the other voters."

Heck added Wisconsin is on a dangerous path toward replicating the widely criticized audit of election totals in Arizona. Meanwhile, the state lawmaker behind the Wisconsin subpoenas said the current reviews are taking too long, and residents demand more transparency.

Support for this reporting was provided by The Carnegie Corporation of New York.


get more stories like this via email
more stories
According to the Tax Policy Center, for higher-income earners, sales taxes consume a lower share of their income than for other households. (Vitalii Vodolazskyi/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

As Nebraska state lawmakers convene for a special session on property tax reform called by Gov. Jim Pillen, groups are weighing in on the details …


play sound

Traveling around rural Minnesota can be difficult but in more than half the state, nonprofit transit systems are helping people get where they need …

Social Issues

play sound

Student loan forgiveness took center stage on Thursday at the American Federation of Teachers conference. The Biden administration has canceled more …


The Oregon Health Authority's hepatitis plan includes four goals: prevent new infections, improve health outcomes, eliminate health disparities and inequities, and improve the use of surveillance and data. (Azeemud-Deen Jacobs/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

World Hepatitis Day is this Sunday, and for the Oregon Health Authority, it's an opportunity to promote its plan to eliminate hepatitis across the …

Social Issues

play sound

Columbia County, New York, is implementing new facial recognition and privacy policies, following new upgrades to the county's surveillance cameras…

Although the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated existing barriers to employment for people with disabilities, it created new opportunities through remote work. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

New York disability-rights advocates are celebrating the 34th anniversary of the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The 1990 …

Social Issues

play sound

As summer winds down and North Carolina students prepare to return to school, the focus shifts to the urgent need for better public education funding…

Social Issues

play sound

A new design competition is looking to find better housing for Fargo's aging population. Like many other states, North Dakota has a growing number …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021