Voters spend just a few minutes to cast their votes, but their ballots will live much longer — and their paths before and after Election Day are carefully documented.
Author Archives: Matt Mencarini / Wisconsin Watch
Matt Mencarini joined Wisconsin Watch in 2022 as an investigative reporter covering voting rights and threats to democracy. Previously, he worked as an investigative reporter for the Louisville Courier Journal where he was part of the team that won the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for breaking news for coverage of hundreds of last-minute pardons and commutations by an outgoing governor. He and a colleague revealed a racial disparity in who received commutations for drug offenses. Before that, he worked at the State Journal in Lansing, Michigan, as well as newspapers in Illinois and Florida.
Posted inDemocracy on the Ballot, Government
Thousands of eligible Wisconsin voters face ballot barriers in jail
While many incarcerated people retain the constitutional right to vote, Wisconsin counties can do more to ensure that right can be exercised.
Posted inDemocracy on the Ballot, Government
In search for illegal Wisconsin votes, activists uncover gaps — but no plot
Elections officials agree the system to track ‘incompetent’ voters needs fixing, but claims by conservative groups of thousands of ineligible voters are overblown
Posted inDemocracy on the Ballot, Government, Justice & Safety
‘A hammer in search of a nail’: Wisconsin AG candidate prosecutes eligible voters for address snafus
Five voters are charged with fraud after they registered using their Fond du Lac UPS Store addresses; one critic calls it an ‘abuse’ of prosecutorial discretion
Posted inDemocracy on the Ballot, Government
‘Blurring of lines’: Private lawyer plays starring role in taxpayer-funded Wisconsin election probe
With no contract and no official role, the work of attorney Erick Kaardal of the Thomas More Society dominates the investigation.