Author: Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism

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Most polling sites in Wisconsin will be open Nov. 3, but a few gaps remain

Unlike the spring primary, most clerks say they will have enough workers to staff all of their polling sites for Election Day, including Milwaukee, where April 7 saw long lines

After a chaotic April primary in which just five voting places were open in Milwaukee, and voters waited for hours in long lines, the city is operating nearly all of its available locations for the upcoming presidential election, mirroring an increase in polling sites statewide.

Matt Millar’s three children play around his home in Blue Mounds, Wis., on Sept. 18, 2020. They started attending school virtually this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, returned to in-person instruction for two weeks but are now back at home learning. Matthias, 5, left, is in kindergarten, Adara, 10, center, is in fifth grade and Sterling, 7, is in second grade.

Wisconsin schools ‘whipsawing’ as COVID-19 hits rural districts

As infections in the state surge, some rural schools are forced to suspend in-person instruction or integrate virtual students into classrooms

More than 15,000 children ages 17 and younger have been infected to date, state Department of Health Services data show. Numerous schools across Wisconsin have suspended in-person classes this fall, at least temporarily, because of cases among students and staff.

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Wisconsin election infrastructure is mostly secure — but inaccurate counts are hard to catch and correct

Despite recent significant upgrades, questions remain about the effectiveness of Wisconsin’s post-election audits and the security of some voting machines

Long-time Wisconsin resident and election reformer Jim Mueller said when he was a municipal clerk two decades ago, elections were not a stressful part of small town administration. And, “in my mother's age, anybody that learned how to count by grade five could be a poll worker,” he said.

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Evictions damage public health. The CDC has banned them — for now.

Housing and health are intertwined, experts have long preached. Now the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is pausing evictions to slow the spread of COVID-19.

When Robert Pettigrew finally saw the sign in August, he believed the “good Lord” had placed him in front of it.

FTC ramping up Big Tech antitrust investigations

Stick up for truth: How to fact-check friends and family on social media

Experts say it’s important to set the record straight to halt the spread of misinformation, but suggest some finesse is needed when dealing with loved ones

As social platforms like Facebook, Twitter and TikTok, and private messaging platforms like WhatsApp and Telegram, have become central parts of everyday life in the United States, falsehoods have flourished and our democracy has been weakened by an inability to agree on basic facts.

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Lost packages and late ballots: Wisconsin’s postal woes predate Trump administration shakeup

Problems delivering absentee ballots before the April and August elections and delays in package delivery are worrying signs for mail-in voting in November

When the packages Susan Brown sent from her business in Fitchburg, Wisconsin took longer than usual to reach customers in New York City and parts of Michigan in late April, Brown figured the pandemic had slowed down the mail. After all, the Japanese kitchen knives she and her husband import and distribute nationwide were bound for two of America’s biggest coronavirus hotspots at the time.

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Wisconsin’s pandemic past offers clues to its coronavirus future

During the 1918 flu epidemic, Wisconsin limited deaths with statewide stay-at-home measures, though some cities reopened early — with deadly results. Will history repeat with COVID-19?

Roy Cummings, a movie house owner in Oshkosh, knew he would lose big bucks — some $400 to $500 a week — if the northeast Wisconsin city shut down his business and other public gathering places. But he believed it was a wise call.

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Flouting stay-at-home order and social distancing, anti-lockdown protesters descend on Wisconsin Capitol

Demonstrators want Gov. Tony Evers to lift restrictions credited with lowering COVID-19 deaths but wreaking economic havoc on the state

An estimated 1,500 protesters, most of them not wearing face masks and many carrying American flags, gathered at the Wisconsin State Capitol on Friday demanding an end to the wide-ranging shutdown of normal life and business in Wisconsin aimed at curbing the coronavirus pandemic.

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‘Over our heads in chaos’: Wisconsin election in flux amid pandemic fears

Gov. Tony Evers calls the Legislature into special session Saturday, pushing for a delay and voting by mail; top GOP leaders say the majority will not go along

As states across the U.S. delay their primary elections in the face of the coronavirus pandemic, Wisconsin decided to stay the course — and found itself in complete disarray.

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How Wisconsinites can help during the pandemic

Donations of money, food, time and personal protective equipment are needed as neighbors help neighbors through the coronavirus crisis

As the COVID-19 pandemic sweeps through Wisconsin, closing schools and businesses and testing the state’s health care workforce, many people wonder how they can help — beyond staying at home to help “flatten the curve” of new infections.