Madison officials plan for clerk's maternity leave

QUOTE OF THE DAY
“I think Madison always kind of is under scrutiny by the state, our residents and other people who are involved in the process, and so we've had experience working under that kind of pressure the last couple elections.”

– Kaitlyn Bernarde, Madison’s deputy clerk, who will be running the Nov. 3 election

Madison City Clerk Lydia McComas took over her job in September 2025 with the city under heavy scrutiny from state election officials after nearly 200 absentee ballots were lost during the 2024 election. During the April 2026 state Supreme Court election, 23 late arriving absentee ballots nearly weren’t counted after a staff error. On Nov. 3, McComas will be on maternity leave. Henry Redman reports on the city’s plan to make sure the election goes smoothly without her.

In a commentary, Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council President Bill Lueders delves into the dirty tricks that unseated two Oneida County board members more than a decade ago and the man behind the deceptive ads in that race: Tom Tiffany.

The Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission is condemning what it calls a lack of communication between state agencies and tribal communities after nine wolves were trapped and euthanized in Price County. Isiah Holmes has the details.

A federal judge has dismissed a civil rights lawsuit stemming from the non-fatal shooting of Damiso Lee by Wauwatosa police officers in April 2022. In a court document filed in late September, U.S. District Judge Brett Ludwig said that among the reasons he issued the summary judgement were the fact that Lee was armed with a handgun, disobeyed officer commands and attempted to run, Holmes reports.

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