Yes. In an appearance at the Milwaukee Rotary Club, Republican Wisconsin gubernatorial candidate Tim Michels said it takes 2.6 hours to find a job — not 26 weeks, which is the typical amount of time a person who is unemployed can receive state benefits.
Category: Fact briefs
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Posted inFact briefs
Did Mandela Barnes vote against a law that expanded penalties for ‘battery and threats’ against public officials?
Yes. When Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes — now the Democratic U.S. Senate candidate in Wisconsin — was a state legislator, he voted against a 2015 Republican-proposed bill that made it a felony to “intentionally cause bodily harm or threaten to cause bodily harm” to a judge, prosecutor, public defender or law enforcement officer acting in their official duties. The previous law designated only threats against judges and battery against judges and law enforcement officials as felonies.
Posted inFact briefs
Does Ron Johnson favor letting the market set wages over having a federal minimum wage?
Yes. U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson has said that he favors letting the market determine wages rather than having the federal government set a minimum wage:
Posted inFact briefs
Did Tim Michels say COVID-19 relief created a class of ‘lazy people?’
Yes. In the first and only gubernatorial debate for the Wisconsin 2022 election, Republican candidate Tim Michels said one of the things he would do to address worker shortages in the state is “get people off their couches.”
Posted inFact briefs
Does Mandela Barnes decide who gets paroled?
No. As lieutenant governor of Wisconsin, Democrat Mandela Barnes has no authority to grant parole to incarcerated people.
Posted inFact briefs
In the 2020-21 school year, did zero students at Westside Academy in Milwaukee test proficient in math?
Yes.
For the 2020-21 school year, no students out of 32 tested at the Milwaukee Public School’s Westside Academy scored “proficient” in math, according to data from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. The majority scored “below basic” — the lowest rank. However, the state notes that the 2020-21 school year data should be used with caution due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused low participation rates.
Posted inFact briefs
Are ballot drop boxes in Wisconsin illegal?
Yes. In July, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled that absentee ballot drop boxes in the state were illegal in a lawsuit filed by the conservative group Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty on behalf of two voters against the Wisconsin Elections Commission.
Posted inFact briefs
Did Tony Evers veto a bill that would have created criminal penalties for riot-related actions?
Yes. In March, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers vetoed Senate Bill 296, which created a definition for “riot” and provided criminal penalties for participation in one. He stated that current laws already prohibit these activities and that the law could lead to First Amendment violations.
Posted inFact briefs
Did the Wisconsin Elections Commission violate state law by refusing to remove voters from the rolls?
No. In 2019, conservative law firm Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty filed a lawsuit against the Wisconsin Elections Commission challenging the latter’s decision not to remove thousands of voters from the registration rolls ahead of the 2020 election.
Posted inFact briefs
Do Wisconsin Republicans want to defund the police?
No. Wisconsin Republicans oppose defunding the police, going as far as passing a 2021 bill — vetoed by Gov. Tony Evers — that would have reduced state funding to municipalities that cut police funding.
Posted inFact briefs
Did Ron Johnson say he opposes gay marriage?
No. Wisconsin U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson has not directly expressed his opposition to gay marriage in recent years. But he recently said he opposes the proposed Respect for Marriage Act — a bill to codify gay and interracial marriage into law — that passed the U.S. House:
Posted inFact briefs
Did Eric Toney say he would not rule out prosecuting abortions even in cases of rape and incest?
Yes.
Wisconsin Attorney General candidate Eric Toney, the current Fond du Lac County district attorney, said in an interview with WKOW TV that he would decide whether to prosecute abortions — including situations involving rape or incest — by looking at cases “on an individual basis.”