Wisconsin Legislation May Strip Towns of Authority to Stop Fracking

By Sara Jerving

One of the few tools for Wisconsin citizens to protect their health and land from the hazards of expanded frac sand mining across the state could be weakened by a newly introduced bill in the state legislature.

The state's Senate is considering a piece of legislation today aimed at "limiting the authority" of Wisconsin cities, villages or towns to enact a "development moratorium ordinance" -- a mechanism used recently by several local governments across the state to set aside time so they can investigate the effects of proposed mining on their community.

Sand mining corporations have expanded operations in Wisconsin over the past few years, taking advantage of the lax regulations of non-metallic mining in the state. They are after the state's sand resources, which are high in silica content, for use in the controversial "natural" gas and oil extraction process of "fracking" -- which has been linked to contaminated water supplies across the country. Much of Wisconsin's sand is the ideal shape and strength -- and the state's geologic profile has made it more accessible here than in other parts of the country -- turning the state into a top targeted provider for the "natural" gas and oil industry.


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Hacking the Wisconsin Recalls: Why We Must Have Hand-Counted Paper Ballots and Citizen Exit Polls

By Grant W. Petty and Sheila Parks
It goes without saying that the outcomes of the nine Senate recall elections scheduled in Wisconsin will be of intense interest to most of the UW-Madison community.  Forecasting the outcome of elections weeks in advance is always a risky business; nevertheless, we offer the following bold prediction:

 In at least some cases, the candidate receiving the lesser of the actual votes cast -- perhaps, in fact, the candidate you passionately opposed -- will be declared the official victor.

Chances are, you either think we are nuts or you are already upset with the dismal state of elections in Wisconsin, if not the country.  Either way, we hope this article will change your view of  both (a) the security of the elections and (b) the ability of ordinary citizens like you to improve that security.

Here's a second prediction which gets to the heart of the real problem:

 No one -- not the Government Accountability Board, not the media, not any elected official, and most certainly not you -- has the slightest hope of ever  disproving our first prediction in light of current election procedures and practices. 


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