skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Saturday, February 22, 2025

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

Senate adopts $340 billion budget blueprint for Trump's agenda after marathon vote; MI keeps EV charging plans on track despite federal cuts; Shore power bill would improve WA air quality, cut emissions; Report: Methane mitigation industry grows in LA, nationwide.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Trump wants to eliminate local governance in Washington, D.C., election denier Kash Patel is confirmed as FBI director, and federal cuts to the World Trade Center Health Program hurt ailing first responders.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The Taos County Sheriff says he won't conduct raids or round ups of immigrants, New Hampshire worries a dearth of charging stations will force tourists driving EVs to pick another vacation destination, and Southern states improve education with workarounds.

WI Supreme Court provides clarity on early voting sites

play audio
Play

Friday, June 14, 2024   

Local election administrators have new guidance from Wisconsin's highest court on alternative early voting sites. A political expert says the timing is important for the battleground state ahead of the 2024 presidential election.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court issued a ruling this week that bans the use of "mobile voting sites." That outcome is seen as a victory for conservatives challenging such options, but separately, the court kept in place rules that allow clerks to choose other alternative sites for absentee voting.

University of Wisconsin political science professor Barry Burden said that means these officials will still have flexibility as they sort out logistics.

"They face a lot of difficulties trying to find sites that are available," he said. "They're often repurposing a church or a school or a community building."

With the Supreme Court pausing a lower court's ruling that heavily restricted these other sites, Burden said clerks won't have added confusion as they meet deadlines for this year's election. The case has to do with the interpretation of state law that prohibits alternative sites from being set up in areas that could give one political party an advantage over another.

Burden and other political observers still expect the Wisconsin Supreme Court to issue a ruling soon about the banning of ballot dropboxes.

"The Supreme Court has considered a new case that would allow them again," he said, "and there's a new liberal majority that seems more inclined to permit those again, as they were used in 2020."

After the 2020 election, Wisconsin was one of the states embroiled in the "fake elector" scheme tied to supporters of former President Donald Trump. Even though Trump is the presumptive GOP nominee in this year's race, Burden doesn't predict the same fallout. He noted there are new guardrails, including updates to the federal Electoral Count Act, but he acknowledged there still could be lawsuits and protests in Wisconsin.

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


get more stories like this via email

more stories
According to a 2024 report, 74% of Montana families who received one form of income-based public assistance between 2016 and 2022 were single, aging or disabled adults with kids. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Today is National Caregivers Day, recognizing those who help friends or family members who are living with an illness, injury or disability. A 2024 …


Health and Wellness

play sound

The Alabama Senate has passed a bill which would give gun owners struggling with mental health challenges the option to voluntarily surrender their fi…

Health and Wellness

play sound

As the temperatures drop, some Georgians are feeling more than just the winter chill. Nearly 40% of Americans experience the seasonal mood changes …


Researchers are developing inductive charging technology that could allow EVs to charge without plugging in, using embedded road or parking pad systems. (Kalyakan/Adobe Stock)

play sound

Earlier this month, the Federal Highway Administration stopped new funding for electric vehicle charging stations under the National Electric Vehicle …

Social Issues

play sound

Antihunger advocates and relief organizations are gathering at New Mexico's State Capitol today as part of "Hunger Action Day." Advocates will urge l…

Sorghum matures quickly, some types in as little as 75 days, and can provide up to three harvests a year. (Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

One researcher at the University of Nevada-Reno has developed what she called revolutionary sorghum varieties for dairy cow feed and gluten-free human…

Environment

play sound

If Minnesota wants a strong network of up-and-coming farmers, including those who want to farm on healthier land, the state can help them become …

Social Issues

play sound

In Tennessee and nationwide, communities are celebrating Black History Month, recognizing the contributions and achievements of African Americans to …

 

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