Today’s Key Reads cover the gamut, from public opinion polling to ballot drop boxes to food on a stick.
Some of the topics are more tasty than others.
The Institute for Reforming Government commissioned a poll of Wisconsin voters, and the results show inflation and the economy are front and center.
In election year, Wisconsinites focused on kitchen table issues | Dairyland Sentinel
In polling commissioned by the Institute for Reforming Government ahead of next week’s Republican National Convention, the people of Wisconsin make clear what issues are their top priorities.
“Wisconsinites are focused on the issues that impact their daily lives because they are struggling in today’s economy,” said CJ Szafir, President and CEO of the Institute for Reforming Government.
POLLING HIGHLIGHTS:
- 47% of all respondents cite the economy as the most important issue
- 71% of respondents say their income has not kept up with the pace of inflation
- Lower food costs, lower taxes, and lower housing costs are the top 3 items that respondents say will help most with their personal finances
- 62% of respondents favor reducing government regulations if it meant more business could be created in Wisconsin.
- Nearly 60% of Republicans and Independents and almost half of Democrats support eliminating Wisconsin’s income tax
- Only 9% of independents cite abortion as their top issue while 49% cite the economy and 24% cite border security as their top issue.
Independents, a crucial voting block in Wisconsin, are skeptical of both of the current Presidential candidates.
- 25% of Independents prefer someone other than Biden or Trump
- 16% of independents are still unsure who they will vote for
- 28% choose Trump, while 27% choose Biden for President
- 64% of independents do not approve of the way President Biden is doing his job.
Polling of 800 Registered Wisconsin Voters was conducted by Scott Rasmussen National Survey June 20-26, 2024. Margin of error +/- 3.5%
Click here for more information on this poll
Wisconsin gets high marks for community drinking water systems, overall.
Drinking water systems have sterling pass rate | The Center Square
Wisconsin has the most public drinking water systems in the entire country, and almost all passed the standards in the state’s latest water report.
The Department of Natural Resources this week released their Annual Drinking Water Report for 2023. The state has 11,206 systems statewide.
The report said in part, “During 2023, more than 99% of Wisconsin’s public water systems provided water that met all the health-based Maximum Contaminant Level standards for regulated contaminants. Only 70 systems experienced MCL exceedances. Exceeding a maximum contaminant level does not necessarily mean that consumers experienced adverse health effects from drinking the water, but it does require a water system to notify consumers and take action to correct the problem.”
The Department of Natural Resources said Wisconsin has 1,034 different community water systems that serve 70% of the state’s population. The remaining 30% of people receive their water from private domestic wells.
The analysis looks at the five major contaminants – radionuclides, microbial contaminants, arsenic, lead and copper. The report, again, found that only a tiny percentage of water systems across the state had any problem with any of the five.
There is a brief mention of PFAS chemicals, but Wisconsin did not test for PFAS levels in the state’s water supply system in 2023.
The Supreme Court has deemed ballot drop boxes legal. They will be used this fall, throughout the state, but especially in urban areas. Wisconsin election officials are beginning to provide a roadmap how local clerks should implement and administer them. But they stopped short of mandating practices via administrative rule.
Wisconsin election officials tell clerks best ways to operate absentee ballot drop boxes | The Associated Press
The bipartisan Wisconsin Elections Commission on Thursday unanimously approved a set of best practices to ensure the security of unstaffed absentee ballot drop boxes that the state Supreme Court last week ruled could be installed for the fall elections.
…The best practices approved Thursday, to be distributed to the state’s 1,800 local officials who administer elections, detail ways to make drop boxes and surrounding areas safe, well-lit and accessible to voters.
…The guidance does not specify that the boxes be emptied on any type of regular interval. It also says recording when the drop box is emptied, who did it and how many ballots are retrieved is encouraged.
The commission opted not to adopt an emergency rule, which carries the weight of law, and instead issued the guidance to clerks which is in response to questions that came in the wake of the court’s ruling last week.
The Wisconsin State Fair is next month, and we’re looking forward to renewing traditions. We may even try out some of these new offerings.
Wisconsin State Fair: 100 new foods, beverages for 2024 | Fox 6
[T]he Wisconsin State Fair is celebrating the 100 new food and beverage options available to all fair goers for 2024. They include the family-sized Strawberry Funnel Cake Sandwich, Elote Dog, and Cream Puff Soda.
The 2024 edition of the fair kicks off Thursday, Aug. 1 and runs through Sunday, Aug. 11. Before visiting State Fair, officials urge you to search for available food and beverage items with ease using the Food Finder on WiStateFair.com.
