Monthly Archives: November, 2022

(The Center Square) – There’s a lawsuit in Green Bay that accuses the city’s election boss of not allowing poll watchers to actually watch people vote.

The Republican National Committee filed the lawsuit Tuesday. It claims that Green Bay Clerk Celestine Jeffreys is partially blocking election observers.

The suit says poll watchers can witness people sign-in, register to vote, and pick-up their ballot. But the suit says poll watchers are not allowed to see voters certify their ballots or return them to be counted.

“Jeffreys has refused to afford the public with the ability to observe all public aspects of the in-person absentee ballot voting process," the lawsuit claims.

Early voting began in Wisconsin last Tuesday. It will continue until the Sunday before Election Day.

"This is unacceptable: Republicans are going to court to deliver Wisconsinites the ballot box transparency to which they are legally entitled," RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said in a statement Wednesday.

Green Bay’s election managers haven’t commented on the lawsuit.

The case is one of dozens filed by Republicans in several states that focus on election issues, including what poll watchers can or cannot do.

The Green Bay lawsuit wants a judge to not only order Jeffreys to allow poll watchers to watch the entire process, the RNC is asking that a court order be placed at the entrance of every polling place "alerting electors and observers" about their rights as poll watchers.

(The Center Square) – Pollsters are using phrases like “purely a toss-up,” and “dead-tied” to describe Wisconsin’s marquee political match-ups less than one week before Election Day.

The latest Marquette Law School Poll came out Wednesday. It shows both the race for governor and U.S. Senate tied.

“It’s a two-point [Ron] Johnson lead, 50-48. That’s a tightening from a six-point Johnson lead three weeks ago,” Marquette’s director of polling, Charles Franklin told reporters. “On the governor’s race though we have a dead-tie, 48-48.”

Both races have tightened.

Johnson, who is the incumbent Republican U.S. Senator, had a six-point lead over Mandela Barnes in October’s poll.

“In August we had Barnes up by seven, right after the primary,” Franklin explained. “Then Johnson by one point in early September, then we had him up by six points three weeks ago. Now that race has tightened to two-points.”

Franklin said the race for U.S. Senate is now “purely a toss-up.”

The race between Gov. Tony Evers and Republican Tim Michels has been essentially tied for months.

“In August it was a four-point Evers lead. Then a three point lead. Then, three weeks ago, it was a one-point Evers margain. And now it’s a dead-tie,” Franklin said.

He added that the governor’s polling this year is almost identical to the polling from 2018, which had the race between then-Gov. Scott Walker and candidate Tony Evers.

The poll continues to show Gov. Evers has a negative job approval rating. Pollsters say 47% of voters don’t approve of how he’s handled the job of governor, while 46% do.

Franklin said next week’s elections will likely come down to voter turnout.

Which is where he says Democrats currently have an advantage.

“Ten percent of Democrats have already voted. Three percent of Republicans have,” Franklin noted. “It may well be that Republicans make up that gap on Election Day, or before Election Day. It’s possible that Democrats have really managed to mobilize their voters and managed to take advantage of early voting.”

Election Day is next Tuesday.