Wisconsin Ethics Commission Administrator Brian Bell returned to his old job at the state Department of Safety and Professional Services on Thursday, two days after Senate Republicans refused to confirm his appointment to the commission.
Read More »Tag Archives: Government Accountability Board
GOP votes to oust elections, ethics agency heads
The Wisconsin Senate was scheduled to vote Tuesday on whether to confirm the administrators of the state agencies that run elections and oversee the ethics laws that office holders, candidates and lobbyists have to follow.
Read More »Wisconsin GOP set to rebuke elections, ethics agency heads
Republicans still smarting from a secret investigation into conservative groups and Gov. Scott Walker have scheduled a vote to oust leaders of the bipartisan state agencies charged with running elections and overseeing ethics laws.
Read More »Elections head says Republican Schimel can’t be trusted
The chairman of the Wisconsin Elections Commission said Thursday that Republican Attorney General Brad Schimel can't be trusted to conduct an "objective and complete investigation" into former employees of the now-defunct Government Accountability Board.
Read More »Wisconsin Senate panel votes to authorize probe into GAB (UPDATE)
Wisconsin Senate Republicans voted Thursday to authorize Attorney General Brad Schimel to start an investigation into the conduct of former workers at the now-dissolved agency that oversaw state elections and ethics laws.
Read More »Schimel stands by Walker probe report, despite criticisms (UPDATE)
Wisconsin ethics and elections officials are expected to respond to what they have said are inaccuracies in a report by Attorney General Brad Schimel about a now-closed secret investigation into Gov. Scott Walker's campaign.
Read More »Schimel defends not asking journalist for source of leak
Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel didn't ask a journalist to reveal who leaked documents to him that were collected during the investigation of Gov. Scott Walker's campaign out of respect for the reporter's free-speech rights, Schimel's spokesman said Thursday.
Read More »No criminal charges following John Doe leak investigation (UPDATE)
The Wisconsin Department of Justice is not recommending the filing of any criminal charges following its investigation of a leak of information collected during a now-closed secret investigation into Gov. Scott Walker's campaign.
Read More »CLOSING ARGUMENTS: Is the breaking up of the GAB justified?
Will the breaking up of the state’s Government Accountability Board into two agencies controlled mostly by representatives of the main political parties result in nothing more than gridlock and inaction?
Read More »Wisconsin elections board can keep records secret
Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen says the state elections board does not have to turn over its investigative records to auditors.
Read More »Wis., Romney campaign settle ballot lawsuit
The state of Wisconsin has settled a federal lawsuit brought by Republican Mitt Romney's campaign seeking more time for military and overseas voters in Wisconsin to return ballots that were sent past a federal deadline.
Read More »Editorial: The cost of justice
Although it appears Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice David Prosser is about to win the biggest legal battle of his career, he should be worried, even embarrassed, about the cost.
Election chief hopes for post-Nov. voter ID ruling
Wisconsin's elections chief says a state Supreme Court ruling on voter ID before Nov. 6 wouldn't provide enough time to get ready for the change at the polls.
Read More »Retired judge Nichol re-appointed to Wisconsin elections board
Gerald Nichol has been re-appointed to the Wisconsin state elections board.
Read More »A slow fade: Problems arise as lawyers drop from the Legislature
Robert Kovach, chief of staff for state Sen. Frank Lasee, falls silent to consider the consequences of confusing wording in a major new landlord-tenant law.
Read More »Attorney: Officials can ban weapons at polls
Local governments can ban concealed weapons at all manner of polling sites, from city halls to assisted living facilities, state election officials have concluded.
Read More »Walker appoints ex-judge Vocke to elections board
Gov. Scott Walker has re-appointed a former judge to the board that oversees state elections and ethics compliance.
Read More »State Supreme Court dismisses campaign case (UPDATE)
The Wisconsin Supreme Court on Monday unanimously dismissed a case challenging campaign rules that require financial disclosure from groups running issue ads for or against candidates.
Read More »GAB to meet, discuss appealing voter ID ruling
Wisconsin's board of elections says it will meet soon to discuss whether to appeal a judge's ruling to stop the state's new voter identification law.
Read More »Judge temporarily stops new voter ID law
A Wisconsin judge on Tuesday granted a temporary injunction to groups trying to stop the state's controversial new voter identification law.
Read More »Federal trial under way in election-map case (UPDATE)
The voting rights of Milwaukee's Latino community would be "significantly diminished" under the redrawn voter maps that the Republican-led Legislature passed last year, an expert witness testified Thursday.
Read More »More groups file lawsuit against voter ID law
A Washington, D.C.-based group is the latest to file a federal lawsuit against Wisconsin's new voter identification law.
Read More »Judges want lawmakers to reassess voting maps (UPDATE)
Federal judges on Tuesday postponed a trial over the state's latest election maps, telling lawyers for both sides to spend the day determining whether lawmakers would consider drawing new maps.
Read More »Groups hope to stop voter ID law
When Florence Hessing tried to get a state-issued photo identification card to comply with Wisconsin's new voter ID law, the 95-year-old was told she needed her birth certificate.
Read More »Court vacates ruling on recall signatures (UPDATE)
Democrats got a victory Friday when the Wisconsin Court of Appeals overturned a judge's order for state election officials to be more aggressive in ferreting out fake or duplicate signatures on recall petitions.
Read More »Judge extends recall verification period
A Madison judge has granted state election officials an additional 30 days to verify nearly 2 million signatures on recall petitions against Gov. Scott Walker and five other Republicans.
Read More »Judge Niess delays decision on voter ID lawsuit
A Wisconsin judge has delayed a decision on whether to let a lawsuit challenging Wisconsin's new voter identification law to proceed.
Read More »Deininger selected chairman of elections board
Judge David Deininger has been selected as chairman of the nonpartisan board that oversees elections in Wisconsin.
Read More »Ethics complaint filed against Justice Gableman
Another ethics complaint has been filed against Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman, claiming free services he received from a law firm violated state law.
Read More »Judge: Remove fake names from recall petition
State election officials must "take affirmative steps" to remove fake or duplicate names from recall petitions, a judge ruled Thursday, handing a victory to Republican officials who felt the Government Accountability Board wasn't planning to be aggressive enough in vetting signatures.
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