I'm not a conspiracy theorist at all. I've seen a lot of ppl check on theirs and realized their's didn't count for various reasons. So I checked mine. It said the time I voted was in August for the primaries. WTF?!?!? I voted early on the Friday before election day. What do I do?? Is there anything I can do??

https://civicmedia.us/news/2024/11/08/10-takeaways-from-the-2024-election-in-wisconsin?utm_source=csrCM&utm_medium=reddit&utm_campaign=rpolitics

1. Wisconsin nearly defied a national red-wave election 

Heading into Election Day, seven states polled as near toss-up contests. And while every state shifting in favor of Donald Trump and the Republican Party did not seem like the most likely outcome in the final stretch of the race, it was certainly one of the potential outcomes, and was indeed what happened. Typically, you don’t see diverging trends from state to state. They move in concert, and voters moved toward Republicans this year.

This was a national red-wave election. Perhaps Democrats’ better-than-expected 2022 midterm election performance obscured a larger rightward lurch of the nation’s electorate, but it came through in full force here in 2024. This outcome is also part of an international trend of voters going against the incumbent party, regardless of ideology, in these post-pandemic years. 

But as clear and as overwhelming as this red-wave trend was, Wisconsin nearly defied it. Of those seven swing states, Kamala Harris performed best in Wisconsin. She actually won more votes in Wisconsin in 2024 than Joe Biden did in his victory in the state in 2020. Wisconsin even voted to the left of Michigan and Pennsylvania in this election, which hasn’t happened since 1988.

...

6. State Senate Democrats were the biggest bright spot in the legislature

There were five targeted races in the State Senate. Democrats swept them all. Going five-for-five in these races is an unqualified success. 

The biggest victory was with Democrat Jodi Habush Sinykin defeating longtime Republican incumbent Duey Stroebelin the most Republican-leaning district of the five. This is a district that, while shifting toward Democrats in recent years, was one that both Ron Johnson and Tony Evers won two years ago. In a red-wave year, you’d expect the Republican to win out. But that was not the case. 

Stroebel ended his campaign with the same prickly, insulting demeanor that he brought to his years in the Wisconsin State Legislature, complaining in his statement on the results that part of the district includes “an area whose constituents have elected Congresswoman Gwen Moore.” Subtle! Yeah, he will not be missed in the State Senate. His loss and Habush Sinykin’s victory is one of the biggest silver linings of the election in Wisconsin. That is a massive upgrade in representation.

With these five victories, Democrats ended the supermajority, narrowed the gap to 18-15, and are now in position to compete for the Senate majority in 2026. Republican incumbents who will be on the ballot in two years will include Rob Hutton in District 5, Howard Marklein in District 17, and Van Wanggaard in District 21 — each of which were districts won by Tony Evers in 2022. 

The last remnants of The Gerrymander will be gone by 2026, and then, Democrats will have the opportunity to win the majority in both chambers in the Wisconsin State Legislature. 

more at the link

Tagging as NSFW because presumably beer.

We are going to visit this area a few times and considering a move and I’ve never visited Wisconsin at all. What do you recommend trying? Are there any times of the year where it’s especially fun (Christmas festivals, Oktoberfest?)?

We like food (my fiance has a cheese drawer in the fridge), beer, nature (hiking with our dog), I like holidays, and it would be fun to try stuff somewhat unique to Wisconsin.

https://myvote.wi.gov/en-us/My-Voter-Info

Does anyone know why, so many state patrol and police are all over hwy41?

Driving upnorth and this is the most police I have ever seen, from milwaukee to fondulac alone we saw over 50 papatrol cars, and we havnt even hit oshkosh. What's up?

ok so stream of consiousness post but remember when trump said he "didnt need people to vote" anyway?

then stories came out about possible election interference- e.g. the box full of absentee ballots found in the middle of the road in florida

now my story: i am a college student and when i went home (IL --> WI) to fill in my absentee ballot, the envelope you were supposed to mail the ballot back in was FULLY sealed - like someone had licked it. it was SO hard to open i ended up ripping it and i had to tape it shut after. obviously, then, my ballot got rejected and they sent it back with new envelope -- this time perfectly open and not presealed. thank god im close enough to where i could fix it and resend my ballot in time.

however here's the kicker: my friend in college from the same town as I am in WI also had their absentee envelope like COMPLETELY sealed. we thought it was weird but now i think that that was REALLY weird... not pointing fingers or anything, but... that was rlly sus, no?

I was on unemployment for two weeks in January this year for the first time in my life, and recently got a letter from them in the mail about Instacart. I was annoyed, but filled it out anyway and mailed it back. Then today I got a call from them. They said they are going as far as 10 years back to determine if these 1099 gigs should be considered/reclassified as W2 jobs.

I remember back in January having them declare my DoorDash and such as W2. I’m not sure why the Instacart thing came later.

Pretty sus but if they are trying to go 10 years back, someone else should have received a call and/or letter on here.

I just don’t want to fail it lol

After digesting information the last few days, and as a person who grew up in a diverse community and had a liberal upbringing (union father, working class), here are my thoughts on Tuesday’s outcome and why Democrats lost:

1. Democrats need to stop soliciting celebrity endorsements because they don’t work. Nine times out of 10, their votes won’t make any impact, considering they where they live (predominant liberal states like California). 

Republicans already have a disdain for celebrities and middle-class Americans don’t like being told what to do from a person who makes millions of dollars. 

2. Instead of seeking out celebrities, replace them with farmers and rural voters who are moderate, because that is where Democrats have lost the most votes. 

3. Stop depending on minority votes and women. At the end of the day, it shouldn’t be these group’s jobs to rescue Democrats election after election, and often ignores a large block. Democrats can garner a larger coalition with a broader message and still appeal to women and minority groups.

4. Democrats should know the Republican playbook by now (Economy, immigration). It happens every election. It is like a baseball team who willingly trots out a hitter who often strikes out at high and outside pitches. 

5. Stop obsessing over polls. They won’t work in Trump’s America because Trump voters don’t respond to polls.

6. People gloated about the House GOP disarray ousting McCarthy. But the Biden fiasco was far worse. Dropping out in the middle of an election cycle and throwing everything on the lap of Harris was just unfair. 

7. Stop riding on Barack Obama’s coattails. He left office eight years ago and most people still likely adore him. However, times have changed. It is time to make way for a new generation.

8. Find candidates in your communities. Time and time again, Democrats have recycled old candidates (see Bryan Steil’s district). It takes at least two years to polish new candidates for office and develop intrigue.

9. Society and the economic structure has changed. Higher education is expensive and more high school graduates are entering trades such as plumbing, electrical, construction, where there is more demand. Democrats need to focus on these changes.

10. Republican endorsements for Harris were half-hearted and carried little influence (see number one above). 

11. It is not Kamala Harris’s fault. She had seven months to pick up the pieces left from Biden dropping out and there is still a large segment of the population who would never vote for a woman as president. 

12. Go back to the initial foundation of Bill Clinton’s strategy. His legacy may have been tarnished toward the end but he managed to be elected president as governor of a now very red state. 

13. Democratic candidates need to get involved EARLY, not a year before a major election. It doesn’t mean campaigning but get out in the community and listen to people. 

14. Casual voters who only cast ballots in Presidential Election often don’t see how important state and other federal races are. It starts from the bottom with the state legislature and congressional races.

15. Clean house. On the federal level, Sen. Chuck Schumer has served as Senate Majority Leader for years. Democrats need to start pushing the party to look into the future. 

16. Candidates get old and retire. Candidates don’t last forever. There will come a time when Tammy Baldwin will retire and liberal Supreme Court justices retire. Democrats need to start thinking of the future and develop young candidates.

17. People have short-term memories. As much as I hate to say this, most people are focused on the here and now, and not the past. That is why Trump lost in 2020 because of his response to the COVID pandemic. If anything, focus on the last two years, when things are more fresh.

18. Show. Not tell. Democrats should know the Republican playbook by now (immigration, economy). Biden drew high criticism for never visiting the border. While immigration has declined based on some stats, he should have known they were going to target him for it. He could have visited and conveyed timely stats. It took him nearly three years to file an executive order. 

19. Confront attack ads. Democrats allowed the GOP to define them way too much through attack ads. They could have been highly exaggerated, or embellished, but they should have known  this. 

New candidates need to acknowledge this will come up, and at least do something at the forefront. Even Bill Clinton said something about immigration during his early days. Come up with some solution to appease independents and moderates.

I'm just a layman who's been to Wisconsin a grand total of once as a side trip while in Chicago. I'm like reasonably politically active, so it's up to y'all how much to believe what I say, but most of the facts that make up my opinion are verifiable if you talk with constitutional scholars.

Basically, right now, the GOP have a majority but no longer do they have a supermajority in either state legislative house.

For 2 years, that legislative supermajority will be hamstrung by Mr. Evers sitting in the governorship. But, if Republicans win the governorship, then Republicans will have a trifecta like they did before Evers got elected. But, this time could very well be different. Scott Walker, as evil as he was, did not change the law to promote the cancellation of the 2012 or 2016 presidential election, which, by the way, states unfortunately are allowed to do and send their votes to whatever candidate they feel like. But he didn't. You don't know that Wisconsin's next Republican governor won't try to pull that stunt, ending Wisconsin's status as a swing state and pretty much just giving their electoral votes to the candidate they feel like every time.

Also, next time Republicans take the trifecta, they may very well try to gerrymander unbreakably like they did the first time. But this time could be very very different. Conservative justices on the Supreme Court don't believe in one person, one vote. They believe it is ok to draw district lines with wildly varying populations. So, basically, this could manifest in them drawing lines such that they'll make 98 districts of like 1,000 people each and then there would be one mega district in the rest of the state. The state Supreme Court in theory has unlimited power over the state legislature maps and very limited power over Congressional maps, but they can be impeached way too easily in Wisconsin and are held off the court til a trial is completed (ie the legislature would just never hold the trial. All that is to say, a Democrat governor's legislative veto is the best safeguard for Wisconsin to have any sort of democracy.

I know my post won't change anyone's vote, but I just wanted to share a random Redditor opinion in terms of how important Wisconsin is to the health of democracy nationwide.

Young Incel looking stranger rang the door bell and was told to leave. Seemingly random stop as he can be seen on camera only coming to my house and none of the neighbors. No political signs in any of our yards, red or blue.

Anyone else had visits from these kind of folks?

I bought a car last week from Copart via an online broker in one of it's auction. The auction took place in Minnesota. The car was hauled by the shipping company to my home. However I don't have any title yet. It takes 2 to 4 weeks to receive the title from Copart. I thought of driving the car to see what are the issues or take it for an inspection to a mechanic. How do I do drive this legally without a title? I don't see an option to get Temp plates for a WI resident.

Or both?

Hey folks...I know it's s dumb question but wanted to seek your opinion.

If you were offered a job in Wisconsin near the border of WI-IL, (say 50 miles north of Chicago, inside Wisconsin), will you prefer to live in Wisconsin or Illinois?

I can handle a commute of 20-30 min. but not more unless it's going to significantly save me a lot in taxes (say salary is 150-170k for example)

How will this affect your state tax? Will you pay tax where you live or where you work? Thanks.

So, I’ve never owned a gun before. But I want to get one.

Can I really just walk into Fleet farm with my ID, money and fill out paperwork and do a background check and be able to buy a gun?

Is that all I need to do? Or is there more?

I plan on taking a conceal and carry class, but can I legit just get a gun before that?