It’s the kind of story that news anchor Michele Magadance would have reported at the top of her newscasts back in the day: a candidate for Wisconsin state Senate voting both here and in Georgia while also claiming tax credits in both states that are limited to full-time residents.
Michele Magadance Skinner worked at WEAU-TV in the 1980s and in 2024 was an unsuccessful Republican candidate for a seat in the Wisconsin Assembly. Now she is challenging Sen. Jeff Smith (D-Bruswick) in the 31st Senate District.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported Friday that Magadance Skinner bounced back and forth between voting in the two states earlier this decade. According to their review of records, she voted absentee in Wisconsin for the Nov. 3, 2020 election and 15 days later registered to vote in Georgia for a Jan. 2021 US Senate runoff election. Skinner voted in Wisconsin in April 2022, the report says. State law requires a person to establish Wisconsin residency for 28 days before an election; they are not allowed to vote here if they permanently move to another state.
Last month, the Journal Sentinel reported that Magadance Skinner and her husband claimed primary residences at both homes last year in order to secure tax credits only available to full-time residents. Skinner said it was legal because she claimed residency at their home in Altoona while her husband Robert Skinner is a Georgia native.
The Journal Sentinel also notes that while Magadance Skinner is a member of the Eau Claire County Board, meeting minutes show “Skinner has not attended a board meeting in person during the winter since she was elected in April 2024. Instead, she has attended winter board meetings virtually or been recorded as absent.”
