The Lamest Duck: Holding Republicans Accountable for Denying the Will of Voters and Stripping Away Voting Rights
After Wisconsin voters elected a Democratic governor and attorney general in the midterms, Republicans used their last bit of time with control to limit early voting and restrict the power of incoming leaders.
This is unacceptable. What’s scarier is that it could become the new norm for Republicans hell-bent on denying voters a say in the political process after the GOP loses elections.
Let America Vote is expanding to Wisconsin — and 12 other states — in 2020. It’s our mission to win the political argument for voting rights. If you’re upset by Wisconsin Republicans’ move to strip Democratic leaders of power and restrict voting rights, text DEMOCRACY to 44939 to join our team.
Here’s are a few ideas for standing up for voting rights and safeguarding our democracy in Wisconsin:
1. Organize and hold these politicians accountable. Yes, Wisconsin’s districts are gerrymandered like nobody’s business, but there are vulnerable politicians we can target in 2020. The election may seem far away, but we must start organizing right now. Sixteen state Senators and all 99 Assembly seats are up in 2020. Let’s continue drawing attention to politicians’ assault on voters, recruit candidates to challenge them in 2020 and organize to flip Republican seats. Here are some Wisconsin state Senate candidates up for re-election in 2020 to keep your eye on:
Sen. Patrick Testin’s district includes Portage County, which Governor-elect Tony Evers won in 2018. If we knock doors and have conversations with voters, we can defeat Sen. Testin at the ballot box in 2020.
Sen. Alberta Darling represents District 8, the area north of Milwaukee. Sen. Darling ran unopposed in 2016. Let’s recruit a strong candidate to challenge her in 2020 and organize to protect voting rights.
Sen. David Craig represents District 28, which includes Milwaukee, Waukesha and Racine counties. Scott Walker won Waukesha with 73 percent of the vote in 2014, but Walker lost ground in 2018 with just over 66 percent in 2018. This is our opportunity to have conversations with voters and turn them out the polls to defeat Sen. Craig in 2020.
2. Register voters. Strong turnout among young Wisconsinites helped elect Tony Evers as Governor this year. Statistics show the earlier people get registered and vote, the more likely they are to vote in every election. Let’s continue organizing young Wisconsinites and getting them registered as soon as they’re eligible to vote.
Let America Vote’s youth voter registration program Cap, Gown, Vote! is focused on helping register eligible Americans before they graduate from high school. We helped register people across the country in 2018 thanks to our partnership with 21 mayors. We’re going to continue working to register young Americans and will expand the program in 2019 and 2020.
3. Help Wisconsin voters get IDs they need to vote. Once Republicans had power of the state legislature and governor’s seat in 2011, they swiftly enacted a restrictive voter-ID law. Ultimately, the law confused and intimidated people and is credited with keeping tens of thousands of eligible voters from the polls in 2016.
VoteRiders helps people get the IDs they need to vote in Wisconsin. This is something that can take weeks or months for some people who lack required paperwork, so focusing our energy on getting underserved communities the identification they need to cast their ballots should be a priority right now.
