Alexander Shur

After a slow start, there are some signs that absentee voting this election may surpass that of '22 midterms. Eight days out from election: 200k early votes, 441k total absentees returned as of this AM 127k early votes, 445k in '22

As of earlier today, WI voters had cast more than 103,000 in-person early ballots. That’s compared with 65,000 in-person early votes at this time in the November 2022 midterm election.

votebeat.orgCan unarmed ICE agents watch voting? In Wisconsin that depends who you ask.A dispute between the state’s second-largest county and its election agency highlights different approaches to the prospect of federal intervention at the polls.

WEC told clerks that federal agents from the FBI and ICE can be legitimate election observers at the polls in some cases. Dane County took issue with that, telling WEC it vehemently disagrees with the agency's interpretation of federal law. More on that dispute here www.votebeat.org/wisconsin/20...

votebeat.orgHere’s why Wisconsin voters are opting out of the mail and into early in-person votingVoters from around the Milwaukee metro area told Votebeat that in-person absentee voting is a simple way to avoid a mail system that they say has become risky.

In Wisconsin, voters cast early in-person ballots as distrust in the mail grows www.votebeat.org/wisconsin/20...

For years, cybersecurity experts have been telling election officials to use government email and web domains. But in Wisconsin, a third of clerks -- all in small towns -- still use emails like Hotmail and Gmail. WEC is driving the shift to .gov but it's a heavy lift

votebeat.orgHundreds of Wisconsin jurisdictions not using cybersecurity best practicesGovernment entities have been pushing all election officials to use government domains, but that is a challenge for small Wisconsin jurisdictions with limited resources.

...and WEC warns it's running out of money for the purpose. STORY: Hundreds of Wisconsin election offices not using cybersecurity best practices votebeat.org/wisconsin/20...

votebeat.orgMilwaukee election audit logs show no evidence of fraud, experts sayExperts say the logs confirm what had been clear from the start: A human error delayed results in the August primary but there was no tampering.

11 Sept

Remember all the conspiracy theories about Milwaukee's August 11 election error? We had three experts look at the tabulator audit logs Milwaukee released after the election and the consensus is the same: Nothing was askew. Read more: www.votebeat.org/wisconsin/20...

votebeat.orgInside the long wait for Milwaukee’s election resultsMilwaukee was on pace to report election results relatively quickly — but an error delayed them until after 1 a.m.

12 Aug

NEW: Here's my full report on what went wrong in Milwaukee last night, and how it overshadowed city plans to show the public how it was more efficiently and transparently processing absentee ballots on Election Day. Link: www.votebeat.org/wisconsin/20...

12 Aug

Milwaukee officials are done counting absentees. They got up to around 28k, and hope to report them by 10:30 p.m. That would be a relatively early night for the state's biggest Election Day operation.

11 Aug

Hello from Milwaukee’s central count, the largest Election Day operation in the state. I’ll be here all day, covering the officials processing around 25k ballots today. Let me know if you have any questions/concerns!

votebeat.orgA big election is coming up in Wisconsin. Here’s when to expect results.Municipalities like Milwaukee sometimes take until the wee hours of Wednesday to report election results. Here’s why.

10 Aug

What to expect when you're expecting election results in Wisconsin www.votebeat.org/wisconsin/20...

16 June

One of Votebeat's very best resources is one that all election reporters can use. This year @votebeat.org is relaunching its experts desk, a Slack channel with hundreds of reporters and election experts, where you can experts your election questions and get (many) correct answers

electionexpertdesk.orgElection Expert Desk - Votebeat Election Expert DeskElection stories move fast. Election law is technical. Local procedures vary widely. And the loudest voices about voting systems are not always the people who understand them. Votebeat’s Expert Desk i...

16 June

Here's the link to sign up. It'll be launching in mid-September. electionexpertdesk.org

Alexander Shur reposted

Carrie Levine

@levinecarrie.bsky.social

8 June

Exclusive new details on who the FBI is talking to in Wisconsin about the 2020 election, from Dion Nissenbaum and @alexandershur.bsky.social on @votebeat.org today. www.votebeat.org/national/202...

votebeat.orgThe Trump administration is investigating the 2020 election. It may be laying the groundwork for 2026.Claims of mass voter fraud have been debunked again and again, but the Trump administration is still relitigating the 2020 election.

votebeat.org‘Fundamentally unfair’: Lawsuit alleges voters are being treated differently across WisconsinRight now, some Wisconsin clerks let voters fix mistakes with their absentee ballots, and others don’t. A new lawsuit seeks to impose a uniform standard.

26 May

The League of Women Voters of Wisconsin recently sued to require every clerk to give voters an opportunity to fix mistakes on their absentee envelopes Currently clerks can choose whether to reach out to affected voters. Here's what clerks/experts say about the suit www.votebeat.org/wisconsin/20...

votebeat.orgJudge orders Madison to count 23 rejected absentee ballots in state Supreme Court raceA judge ruled that 23 late-arriving Madison absentee ballots must be counted after voters argued they were being disenfranchised due to election officials’ errors.

15 May

23 late-arriving Madison absentee ballots must be counted, judge rules www.votebeat.org/wisconsin/20...

votebeat.orgMequon clerk appears to have rejected ballots that met even her own strict standard, Votebeat review findsMequon’s clerk rejected ballots from places like Fox Point — even though those municipalities are uniquely named and should have met her own standard.

30 Apr

NEW: A Votebeat review found that Mequon Clerk Caroline Fochs has applied an unusually strict standard in rejecting ballots -- and misapplied her stated standard in her rejection of at least 10 ballots since 2024. WEC is meeting about Mequon as we speak. www.votebeat.org/wisconsin/20...

votebeat.orgFlexible rule for Wisconsin absentee ballots leads to rejected votes, possible legal actionThe Mequon fight centers on who can reject ballots — and who gets the final say.

28 Apr

A municipal clerk in Ozaukee County has an unusually strict standard to decide whether witness addresses are valid. In this past election, the Mequon clerk's standard led to five ballot rejections -- two of which may have been due to bad data on her part. www.votebeat.org/wisconsin/20...

votebeat.orgRunning an election is harder than ever. This Wisconsin county makes it easier on new clerks.As Wisconsin wrestles with unprecedented clerk turnover, the county is taking an all-hands-on-deck approach to keep new clerks in the field.

16 Apr

🧵Post-election Old Fashioneds? Running elections from a beef farm? A county that in this time of unprecedented turnover has come up with a collaborative and helpful system for training new clerks? All that and more in my latest dispatch, from all over Rock County: www.votebeat.org/wisconsin/20...

Alexander Shur reposted

Nathaniel Rakich

@baseballot.bsky.social

14 Apr

We've obtained emails between the top election official in Maricopa County, AZ, and the Department of Justice, raising questions about whether he's helping their investigation of the county's elections. www.votebeat.org/arizona/2026...

votebeat.orgThe feds are going after the nation’s biggest election battleground. Is this election official helping?New emails raise questions about whether a top Republican official coordinated with federal officials who are investigating his own county.

votebeat.orgSmall ballot error in Wisconsin could have big legal consequencesIt could just be a matter of time before Wisconsin’s mail-ballot deadline law winds up in court.

14 Apr

🧵NEW: Ahead of Madison & Dane County election boards deciding to count 23 late-arriving ballots, an attorney for the state GOP told city and county officials that doing so would be illegal. The city and county decided to count them after their lawyers' go-ahead www.votebeat.org/wisconsin/20...

13 Apr

I am (virtually) live from the Dane County Board of Canvassers board, which, unlike the city, doesn't appear on the same page about counting the late-arriving ballots. One canvasser says he doesn't want to count any ballots that arrive at polling places after 8 p.m.

Alexander Shur@alexandershur.bsky.social

🧵NEW: 23 Madison ballots arrived after 8 p.m. to polling places on Election Day despite law saying they need to arrive before then Some court cases offer leniency in these situations, but it's unclear if those ballots can count or will be challenged in the certification process

10 Apr

The Madison canvassing board unanimously decided to count the ballots today. The county will discuss the matter on Monday. But yes, this seems to be a bit of a gray area.

Rick Hasen@rickhasen.bsky.social

Well they better figure it out definitively before the midterms. This is not tenable in the current political atmosphere.

10 Apr

votebeat.orgCan Madison count some ballots delivered after an 8 p.m. deadline?There is no obvious exception within the law, but court cases carve out some exceptions.

10 Apr

LINK: Can Madison count some ballots delivered after an 8 p.m. deadline? www.votebeat.org/wisconsin/20...

votebeat.orgNew Wisconsin law seeks to prevent another election certification messGov. Tony Evers signed a law aligning the state's election certification timeline with federal rules and vetoed a GOP bill related to HAVA complaints and voter citizenship audits.

9 Apr

Wisconsin is the latest state to bring its laws up to speed with the 2022 federal law seeking to prevent a repeat of the post-2020 attempt to disrupt election certification. www.votebeat.org/wisconsin/20...

votebeat.orgWhat should the penalty be for disenfranchisement? In Madison, affected voters are splitSome stopped voting or abandoned absentee ballots. Others oppose the lawsuit filed over the error — revealing deep divides among affected voters.

1 Apr

A city error in 2024 left 193 ballots uncounted. Some of the affected voters have lost trust in the system, and some oppose the lawsuit meant to hold the city accountable. www.votebeat.org/wisconsin/20...

votebeat.orgWithout election committee, Wisconsin Senate drags its feet on election billsThe Assembly has moved most election bills this session, while the Senate — which now lacks a dedicated elections committee — has let most of them stall.

2 Mar

At a recent WisPolitics event, Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu said the absence of a Senate elections committee this session hasn't slowed down voting legislation. But a Votebeat analysis shows the Senate lags far behind the Assembly on voting bills www.votebeat.org/wisconsin/20...

NEW: Madison this week appealed a court ruling that found the city can be sued for monetary damages for disenfranchising nearly 200 voters in 2024. The appeal focuses on the threshold for monetary damages -- and alleges it requires more than Madison's unintentional errors

votebeat.orgIn appeal, Madison warns disenfranchisement ruling could trigger wave of election lawsuitsThe city said that the lower court decision on uncounted absentee ballots in 2024 would unrealistically require “error-free” elections statewide.

Story here: In appeal, Madison warns disenfranchisement ruling could trigger wave of election lawsuits www.votebeat.org/wisconsin/20...

Alexander Shur reposted

Votebeat

@votebeat.org

bit.lyIn appeal, Madison warns disenfranchisement ruling could trigger wave of election lawsuitsThe city said that the lower court decision on uncounted absentee ballots in 2024 would unrealistically require “error-free” elections statewide.

The city said that the lower court decision on uncounted absentee ballots in 2024 would unrealistically require “error-free” elections statewide.

Alexander Shur reposted

Justin Levitt

@justinlevitt.bsky.social

washingtonpost.comTrump, seeking executive power over elections, is urged to declare emergencyActivists who say they are in coordination with the White House are circulating a draft executive order that would unlock extraordinary presidential power over voting.

Am looking forward to WaPo reporting on Elon's draft executive order that would "unlock" time travel.

votebeat.orgSmall-town Wisconsin is struggling to find its next election clerksIn Wausau and across rural Wisconsin, aging clerks are hard to replace — straining the state’s decentralized election system.

24 Feb

Who's going to run elections in small-town WI? In many places, it's a question w/o a clear answer. Take it from the Town of Wausau, which has had 4 clerks in just over a year. It's a problem w/o a neat solution, but clerks still sure decentralized elections are best www.votebeat.org/wisconsin/20...

votebeat.orgLawsuit seeking money over disenfranchised Madison votes can proceed, judge rulesA state law describing absentee voting as a privilege does not mean absentee ballots receive less constitutional protection than in-person votes, the court held.

9 Feb

Court says Madison can be liable for disenfranchising voters www.votebeat.org/wisconsin/20...

documentcloud.orgJudgeOrderVotebeat

9 Feb

HUGE court ruling 1) dismisses Madison's argument that absentee voting is a privilege, not a right; and 2) allows for lawsuits seeking damages against officials disenfranchising voters *even if the disenfranchisement is only because of negligence Story TK www.documentcloud.org/documents/26...

votebeat.orgCondemnation of Madison’s defense in missing-ballot lawsuit grows louderIn a rare intervention, the Wisconsin Elections Commission filed a court brief denouncing the claim by the city and its former clerk that absentee voting is a “privilege.”

4 Feb

Wisconsin Elections Commission steps in to challenge Madison’s argument on absentee voting www.votebeat.org/wisconsin/20...

bit.lyAs Trump calls for nationalizing voting, election officials draw on lessons of 2020Those who lived through the threats and pressure campaigns say the president’s authority may be limited, but the guardrails that once held him back are weaker now.

4 Feb

No reprieve for Madison after arguing in court that absentee voting is a privilege, not a right. Yesterday, WEC filed its first ever amicus brief to dispute the argument. Today, six voting groups released a letter calling on the city to abandon its argument. Here's that:

Alexander Shur reposted

Votebeat

@votebeat.org

3 Feb

Those who lived through the threats and pressure campaigns say the president’s authority may be limited, but the guardrails that once held him back are weaker now.

votebeat.orgAs Trump calls for nationalizing voting, election officials draw on lessons of 2020Those who lived through the threats and pressure campaigns say the president’s authority may be limited, but the guardrails that once held him back are weaker now.

3 Feb

Election officials draw on sobering 2020 lessons as Trump calls for nationalizing voting www.votebeat.org/2026/02/03/e...

Alexander Shur reposted

Votebeat

@votebeat.org

30 Jan

Got questions about how Wisconsin's voter list is maintained? Reply here and @alexandershur.bsky.social may answer them in his newsletter!

Votebeat@votebeat.org

It’s another of a series of misleading claims about registration data that raise alarm about fraud. bit.ly/4rh1YMs

votebeat.orgNo, these Wisconsin voter roll figures aren’t a sign of ‘fraud waiting to happen’People on Wisconsin’s inactive list aren’t eligible to vote, but their records stay on file indefinitely — a practice that actually helps reduce the likelihood of fraud, election officials say.

29 Jan

A post shared by President Trump that's going viral misinterprets key aspects of how Wisconsin retains voter records. It conflates active voters and the voter database, and baselessly says the current maintenance standard is conducive to fraud www.votebeat.org/wisconsin/20...

votebeat.orgWisconsin’s governor disputes Madison’s argument that absentee voting is a ‘privilege’Tony Evers warned in a court filing that accepting the former city clerk’s defense would free election officials to diminish voting rights. It’s an unusual intervention by a governor in a municipal el...

26 Jan

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers in court is disputing Madison and its former clerk's legal argument that they aren't liable for 193 lost ballots because absentee voting is a privilege, not a right. www.votebeat.org/wisconsin/20...

Alexander Shur reposted

Jessica Huseman

@jessicahuseman.bsky.social

20 Jan

National news outlets with this big of a platform should really weigh analysis like this with local perspective, which - I promise - comes to the opposite conclusion. This really makes me very sad.

Jane Mayer@janemayer.bsky.social

Sorry to say, the 2026 election may not happen, our guest warns: www.newyorker.com/podcast/poli...

newyorker.comA Stark Warning About the 2026 Election, with Robert KaganCan American democracy come back from the brink?

Alexander Shur reposted

wortnews.bsky.social

@wortnews.bsky.social

13 Jan

Their attorneys pointed to a state law that says absentee voting is a privilege - not a constitutional right. @alexandershur.bsky.social joins @fayeparks.bsky.social to explain why experts in election law are sounding the alarm. www.wortfm.org/madison-form...

wortfm.orgMadison, former city clerk ask court to dismiss uncounted ballot lawsuit - WORT-FM 89.9The city and its former clerk can’t be sued for the 2024 election snafu, their attorneys argue, because state law says absentee voting is a privilege – not a right.

14 Nov 2025

You know the Monday processing bill -- the long-awaited reform that Wisconsin election officials have spent years asking for? Well, as the GOP remains torn between election reforms sought by clerks and conspiracy theories, this looks like another session it won't become law.

votebeat.orgStalled reforms highlight Wisconsin GOP’s rift over election policyRep. Scott Krug says his Republican colleagues should adopt a “reality-based” mindset in the fight over ballot drop boxes. But he’s struggling to win them over.

14 Nov 2025

Read about more here, and the rift emerging among GOP lawmakers focused on elections. Exhibit A is Rep. Dave Maxey, chair of the Assembly Elections Committee, who said he's a "no" on Monday processing. www.votebeat.org/wisconsin/20...

votebeat.orgWisconsin judge orders citizenship checks for all votersThe ruling doesn’t specify how state agencies should handle the task, but sets a target for completion: the next election, in February.

3 Oct 2025

BREAKING story: Wisconsin must verify citizenship of registered voters and new applicants, judge rules www.votebeat.org/wisconsin/20...

Alexander Shur reposted

Jim Malewitz

@jmalewitz.bsky.social

24 Sept 2025

“I don’t give a shit about getting my head kicked in by both sides.” GOP Rep. Scott Krug hopes to quiet conspiracy theories and rebuild public faith in elections — even if his proposals don’t make it. Great profile from @alexandershur.bsky.social wisconsinwatch.org/2025/09/wisc...

wisconsinwatch.orgState Rep. Scott Krug emerges as GOP’s voice of pragmatism on Wisconsin election policyVeteran lawmaker hopes to quiet the conspiracy theories and rebuild public faith — even if his proposals don’t make it.

18 Sept 2025

NEW: For years, Wisconsin election officials' top legislative priority have been lobbying for a bill to process absentee ballots beginning on the Monday before an election. Votebeat got an early look at this year's version of the bill (cont.)