Wisconsin Weekly: Election fraud in Wisconsin: It’s probably not what you think

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This week we highlight a story by Wisconsin Watch reporter Matt Mencarini, who examined 10 years of election fraud cases to document what it is in Wisconsin — and what it is not. Mencarini found that the most common alleged crime was voting while on probation or parole, often by people who did not know they were voting illegally. In the past 10 years, just 192 cases of alleged election improprieties have been charged of more than 31 million votes cast. Proposals to change election and voting laws in Wisconsin have focused on issues such as voter impersonation — a crime rarely found in Wisconsin. Reporting on this project was supported by the Fund for Investigative Journalism.

Election fraud is rare in Wisconsin, with fewer than 200 cases prosecuted over the past decade. More than half of those cases are for those with felony convictions who vote or register while still on probation. (Amena Saleh/Wisconsin Watch)

‘Election integrity’ proposals do not address most common voting infraction in Wisconsin

Wisconsin Watch — March 9, 2021

Election fraud is exceptionally rare: Over the past decade in Wisconsin, it has been prosecuted fewer than 200 times, or about once for every 163,000 ballots cast. And within that tiny universe, the most common reason for criminal charges is not double voting or voter impersonation, it’s a voter’s probation status, a Wisconsin Watch analysis of every Wisconsin election fraud case since 2012 found.

Death on a dairy farm

ProPublica — March 7, 2023

When an 8-year-old Nicaraguan boy was run over on a Wisconsin dairy farm, authorities blamed his father and closed the case. Meanwhile, the community of immigrant workers knows a completely different story.

3 Madison-area nursing homes under fire after series of ‘immediate jeopardy’ citations

Wisconsin State Journal — March 7, 2023

A speech therapist said Bob Nichols, who had few teeth, trouble swallowing and dementia, should be closely supervised while eating. His daughter said he should never be left unattended at meals. But at The Bay at Belmont Health and Rehabilitation Center, Nichols slumped over in his wheelchair, turned blue and died in the dining room at dinner time on Aug. 15, 2018. The cause of death: choking on food.

Related coverage from the Wisconsin State Journal: Unsanitary kitchens, unmonitored bed sores, 911 call for help among nursing home violations

Milwaukee is turning around one of the most degraded sites in the Great Lakes. Here’s how.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel — March 6, 2023

Strides have been made to restore the Great Lakes over the last 50 years, but the legacy of unbridled pollution still haunts the basin. One such place is the Milwaukee River Estuary, where the Milwaukee, Menomonee and Kinnickinnic rivers meet before heading into Lake Michigan. Troubled by polluted sediment, poor water quality and habitat loss, the estuary is designated as an “area of concern” – one of the most degraded places in the entire Great Lakes region. Projects underway to remove contaminated sediment and restore habitat could change that.

Millions of households across 32 states and the District of Columbia are receiving far less in SNAP benefits this month as Congress unwinds pandemic-era assistance. (Getty Images)

What SNAP recipients can expect as benefits shrink in March

WPR — March 7. 2023

This month, as many as 16 million American households have received a sharp reduction in the size of their benefits — including in Wisconsin — under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as SNAP, as part of a federal unwinding of pandemic-era assistance.

YOU’RE INVITED TO THIS FREE SPECIAL EVENT!

Administrators of the Pulitzer Prizes are coming to Wisconsin and invite the public to an evening of discussion. Pulitzer Prize winning reporters Corey Johnson of ProPublica and Raquel Rutledge of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel will discuss how journalism can help improve societal problems. “Pulitzer on the Road: How Local Journalism Helps You,” will be held Tuesday, March 28 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the Overture Center for the Arts in Madison. There will be a reception with light food and beverages following the program. The event is free, but please register here.

Access to some stories listed in the Wisconsin Weekly roundup may be limited to subscribers of the news organizations that produced them. We urge our readers to consider supporting these important news outlets by subscribing.

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