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No.
While a Wisconsin state senator, Tom Tiffany voted for state budgets that funded the state Department of Corrections — not for computer tablets the department made available to prison inmates.
Tiffany’s votes were raised by Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, the Democratic nominee in the Nov. 3 election for governor.
Crowley has been criticized for approving tablets for county jail inmates.
In response, Crowley claimed that Tiffany, now the Republican gubernatorial nominee and congressman, “voted for these types of iPads.”
Tiffany voted for the 2017-19 and 2019-21 state budgets. They contained thousands of provisions across numerous departments.
In 2018, Corrections made tablets available to inmates to purchase.
The Legislature did not take votes on the tablet program.
This Fact Brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
- Wisconsin Watch: Did David Crowley approve providing tablets to jail inmates?
- Wisconsin State Legislature: Wisconsin Senate Roll Call 2017 Regular Session
- Wisconsin State Legislature: Wisconsin Senate Roll Call 2019 Regular Session
- CBS 58 TV: 'Misinformation out there which we'd like to clear up': Milwaukee County officials discuss jail-issued tablets
- Appleton Post-Crescent: Wisconsin is spending $2.5 million on new tablets in prisons. Find out what's changing and why.
Did Wisconsin governor candidate Tom Tiffany vote for iPads for prison inmates? is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.
