The Supreme Court race has monumental consequences as the balance of the court will be determined by the outcome of this race. Although issues like school choice, Act 10, and 2nd amendment rights hang in the balance, and many contend that democracy itself is at risk. Brad Schimel promises to interpret the law as what “the elected legislature intended” while Susan Crawford promises to “do the right thing.” Susan Crawford contends that Brad Schimel dropped the ball on rape kits while he was attorney general, but Schimel points out that he has a better track record than the current democrat AG Josh Kaul. The Schimel campaign points out that Susan Crawford takes a “soft on criminals” approach on the bench while Schimel is tough on crime. Susan Crawford degrees.
PHOTO ID QUESTION:
Question: “Photographic identification for voting. Shall section 1m of article III of the constitution be created to require that voters present valid photographic identification verifying their identity in order to vote in any election, subject to exceptions which may be established by law?”
What the supporters are saying: The State of Wisconsin already has a law that requires voters to show a Photo ID to vote. The referendum question if approved by a majority of voters would add the language to Wisconsin’s State Constitution. The benefit of passing the resolution and including Photo ID in the Constitution is two-fold. First, the photo ID requirement could not be reversed by a simple vote in the legislature, it would require a Constitutional amendment. In other words, identical bills would need to be passed by both houses in two consecutive sessions and then be approved by the voters. The second benefit is that the Supreme Court would find it very difficult to declare a Constitutional amendment unconstitutional.
What opponents are saying: The State of already has a law. The law makes it difficult for some of the marginalized members of society to vote by requiring these extra steps. Even though the state provides free IDs to vote, many voters still find obtaining an ID difficult.
Department of Public Instruction
Jill Underly – Current DPI Chief
Jill Underly despite opposition from the teacher’s union and criticism from Governor Evers, did very well in February’s primary election between her, Brittany Kinser and Jeff wright. Underly has been under fire for her part in lowering the standards for achievement in Wisconsin’s public schools. Opponents accuse her of trying to cover up a downward spiral of student test scores by lowering the thresholds for school report cards. Underly maintains that education has improved under her watch. Her website states that education in Wisconsin has gained a higher national rating since her election.
Brittany Kinser – Former School Principal & Special Education Teacher.
Brittany Kinser is running on a “putting children’s education first” platform. She touts high standards, a focus on reading, writing and arithmetic, transparency and working with parents as the key to academic success. She as an advocate of school choice and says that education needs to be “rethought” through innovation. She also did very in the February primary over Jeff Wright, a union backed Superintendent from Sauk Prairie.
