RandySF
RandySF's JournalSix contested circuit court races on Wisconsin's April 7 ballot
While the Wisconsin Supreme Court race draws most of the headlines — and, even this year with less national attention, most of the money — elections for six county circuit court seats across the state are contested.
The Supreme Court weighs in on the state’s most hot button issues, but during its 2024-25 term issued only 22 decisions. The state’s circuit courts, on the other hand, are responsible for thousands of cases ranging from criminal prosecutions to civil lawsuits and family law disputes.
More than 250 judges across the state are elected to six-year terms. The spring elections are Wisconsin voters’ only real chance at changing their local judges, yet the races often go uncontested. This year, 25 seats on the circuit court bench are up for election, and only six of those races are contested.
https://wisconsinexaminer.com/2026/04/06/six-contested-circuit-court-races-on-wisconsins-april-7-ballot/
Sup. Vincent Faces Challenge in Heated Race for District 11
In Milwaukee County’s District 11, incumbent Supervisor Kathleen Vincent faces a challenge from Ryan Antczak, a frequent candidate for public office on Milwaukee’s South Side who has not yet won an election.
The race for the district on the southwest side of the county has become the most contentious of the county board election cycle. Vincent has filed a criminal complaint alleging Antczak is knowingly spreading false information, and she has since released Antczak’s personnel file from his time as a county employee.
District 11 includes the village of Greendale, the city of Greenfield and a small portion of the southwest side of the city of Milwaukee between S. 83rd Street and S. 27th Street.
Vincent is a two-term supervisor and an educator for the Kenosha Unified School District. Along with serving on the county board, Vincent is also a member of the Greendale school board.
https://urbanmilwaukee.com/2026/04/06/vote-tuesday-sup-vincent-faces-challenge-in-heated-race-for-district-11/
Wisconsin GOP files complaint against Green Bay clerk after more than 150 people received 2 ballots
The Republican Party of Wisconsin filed a complaint Monday with the Wisconsin Elections Commission demanding an investigation after the Green Bay city clerk accidentally mailed more than 150 people two absentee ballots for Tuesday’s spring election.
City Clerk Celestine Jeffreys told local media her office will ensure votes do not get counted twice.
Jeffreys said the ballots were mailed around the time a mid-March blizzard hit the area, closing city hall for a day and forcing staff to work quickly to send ballots on time. She says mailing labels were printed twice and ballots got sent out before the mistake was noticed.
She says the city sent letters to voters who may have received two ballots telling them only to vote on one ballot.
https://www.wpr.org/news/wisconsin-gop-complaint-green-bay-clerk-more-duplicate-ballots
Political money pours into Wisconsin's school board elections
Although school board races are supposed to be nonpartisan, there’s plenty of political money pouring into local campaigns ahead of the April 7 election.
Political action committees, often referred to as PACs, are groups that advocate for or against a referendum or issue or in support of a candidate. They are also defined as using more than 50% of their total spending in 12 months for those purposes. They must share who their donors are and are limited as to how much they can contribute to candidates.
University of Wisconsin-Madison political science professor emeritus Howard Schweber said that in the last few years, the MAGA movement, a form of conservatism associated with President Donald Trump, has risen. The movement has looked “to drive wokeness out of society and education, especially to keep it away from children.” Another part of the movement is to increase the presence and emphasis of Christian religious teachings, issues he said play out in schools.
“Starting a few years ago, there was a very concentrated effort by MAGA groups, the most famous of which is Moms For Liberty, to take over school boards. It was highly successful. They won lots of elections. They were highly organized and well funded, and on school boards across the country, they started to impose the agenda they believed in,” he said.
https://upnorthnewswi.com/2026/04/06/political-money-pours-into-wisconsins-school-board-elections/
Alabama voters to decide constitutional amendment requiring elections to fill lieutenant governor vacancies
The Alabama State Legislature referred a constitutional amendment related to the election of the lieutenant governor to the Nov. 3, 2026, statewide general election ballot. On April 2, legislators passed the amendment, which would require an election for lieutenant governor if a vacancy occurs more than 60 days before the next general election.
The ballot measure would require that, if the lieutenant governor's office becomes vacant more than 60 days before the next general election, voters would elect a replacement at that election. The person elected would serve the remainder of the unexpired term.
As of 2026, Section 127 of the Alabama Constitution provides for an election to be held if "both the governor and lieutenant governor be removed from office, die or resign" more than 60 days before the next general election. If only the lieutenant governor's office becomes vacant, it remains that way for the rest of the term.
The measure would also add a new provision authorizing the state legislature to set the salary of the lieutenant governor and members of the legislature. As of April 2026, Section 49 of the Alabama Constitution sets the annual compensation for state legislators based on the median annual household income in Alabama, and Section 118 makes the salary of the lieutenant governor equal to that of the state's speaker of the house.
https://news.ballotpedia.org/2026/04/06/alabama-voters-to-decide-constitutional-amendment-requiring-elections-to-fill-lieutenant-governor-vacancies/
In latest attack on overseas voters, Republicans sue Virginia
A new lawsuit filed Monday by the Republican National Committee (RNC) seeks to strip voting access from a group of U.S. citizens living abroad. It’s the GOP’s latest move in its growing campaign against overseas voters.
The complaint targets a longstanding Virginia law that allows Americans living overseas to vote using a parent’s last address in the state — even if they themselves have never lived there.
The case mirrors — and expands on — similar Republican efforts in Michigan, Arizona and other states signaling a coordinated push to eliminate voting rights for certain overseas U.S. citizens ahead of the 2026 midterms.
Targeted in the lawsuits is a narrow but significant group: U.S. citizens born abroad, often to military families or Americans working overseas, who inherit voting rights from their parents and remain eligible to vote under state and federal law.
https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/in-latest-attack-on-overseas-voters-republicans-sue-virginia/
New Hampshire GOP bans student IDs for voting, adds to growing restrictions
New Hampshire’s new law eliminating student IDs as valid identification for voting marks the latest move in a broader GOP effort to restrict ballot access in the state.
Gov. Kelly Ayotte (R) signed House Bill 323 (HB 323) into law last week, striking student IDs, even if government-issued, from the list of acceptable identification for voting purposes.
If not blocked by a court, the law will take effect in June.
Under the new law, voters can only use IDs like driver’s licenses, passports or military identification. The law explicitly removes language that had allowed student IDs from New Hampshire public schools — a change that could affect thousands of student voters across the state.
https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/new-hampshire-gop-bans-student-ids-for-voting-adds-to-growing-restrictions/
GOP Reps. Engen, Hudson to be stripped of committee assignments following DWI incident
Republican Reps. Elliott Engen of White Bear Township and Walter Hudson of Albertville will be stripped of their committee assignments following a March 27 DWI incident during which Engen was arrested, according to legislative sources who were granted anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly.
The move by House Speaker Lisa Demuth, R-Cold Springs, is just the latest fallout after Engen was arrested in White Bear Lake on suspicion of driving while impaired around 2 a.m. on March 27, and officers charged him with a DWI. Hudson was a passenger in Engen’s truck, and police said Hudson was impaired while carrying his handgun — a misdemeanor in Minnesota. Police did no screening tests on Hudson, so he will not be charged for carrying while impaired due to the lack of evidence. Police that night confiscated Hudson’s 9mm Smith & Wesson.
The duo will no longer serve on the House’s public safety, judiciary and education finance committees for the rest of the legislative session, which ends on May 18. Hudson will no longer be on the House fraud committee and Engen will no longer sit on the House rules committee.
Engen and Hudson did not immediately respond to the Reformer’s request for comment.
https://minnesotareformer.com/2026/04/06/gop-reps-engen-hudson-to-be-stripped-of-committee-assignments-following-dwi-incident/
Minnesota Supreme Court chief justice to retire
Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Natalie Hudson will soon retire from the high court after serving as the state’s first Black chief justice.
Gov. Tim Walz on Monday thanked Hudson for her service and said her career was “marked by profound integrity, wisdom and grace.”
“Chief Justice Hudson stands among the giants of Minnesota history,” Walz said in a statement. “She will be remembered not only for the glass ceilings she shattered but for a lifetime of service to those seeking fairness and justice in our courts. The rule of law is stronger than ever in Minnesota, and it is in no small part due to her steady leadership.”
Among her most memorable decisions was a dissent in Cruz-Guzman v. the State of Minnesota, the long-running school desegregation lawsuit: Hudson decried the decision’s mandate that parents prove that racial segregation causes academic disparities.
https://minnesotareformer.com/briefs/minnesota-supreme-court-chief-justice-to-retire/
Blumenthal calls for DOJ investigation into sale of the Connecticut Sun WNBA team.
As sports fans across Connecticut continue to process the news that the Connecticut Sun is leaving the state, U.S. Sen Richard Blumenthal is looking to investigate the sale further.
On Monday, the senator said he requested that the U.S. Department of Justice formally launch an antitrust investigation into the WNBA’s role in the Connecticut Sun sale.
“My concern is that the WNBA muscled everyone out and dictated that it go to Houston,” Blumenthal told reporters at a morning press conference in Hartford. “That is a violation of fair competition.”
The team was sold to Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta for a record $300 million. The Sun will move to Houston in 2027, and will be renamed the Houston Comets, reestablishing the city’s WNBA franchise nearly two decades after it disbanded in 2008.
https://rhodeislandcurrent.com/2026/04/06/blumenthal-calls-for-doj-investigation-into-sale-of-the-connecticut-sun/
Profile Information
Gender: MaleHometown: Detroit Area, MI
Home country: USA
Current location: San Francisco, CA
Member since: Wed Oct 29, 2008, 02:53 PM
Number of posts: 84,540