Category: Election

Show Your Support for Fair, Representative Maps

On Thursday, October 29, you have the opportunity to testify on why you believe in the importance of nonpartisan, fair and representative maps at a public hearing held by the People’s Maps Commission. The hearing will take place virtually from 6 to 8:30 p.m.

The hearing is the second in a series of at least eight meetings, one for each of Wisconsin’s eight congressional districts. The focus of the hearing will be a retrospective of how Wisconsin’s maps were drawn in 2011, featuring Wisconsin’s Fifth Congressional District. Although this hearing will focus on the Fifth Congressional District, all Wisconsin residents are encouraged to watch and participate.

If you are interested in testifying, please register here. The deadline for registering to testify is Tuesday, October 27 at 5 p.m.

If you would like to comment but cannot make the hearing, you can submit a written comment here at any time before the hearing.

* Each speaker will have 3 minutes to speak. Registration is on a first-come, first-serve basis, with priority to residents of Wisconsin’s Fifth Congressional District.

Helpful Resources:

Every 10 years, each state redraws their legislative and congressional districts using data from the decennial census. In addition to the data from the 2020 U.S. Census, the Commission will use information gathered during the public hearing process to prepare new maps. It will then be up to the Legislature to take up and approve the maps created by the Commission.

Selected by a three judge panel, the Commission is a nine-member nonpartisan redistricting commission charged with drawing fair, impartial maps for the state of Wisconsin. More information about the Commission, its members and its activities is available here.

FREE Rides to Early Voting

The Coalition of Voting Organizations of Brown County, WI – COVO – is offering FREE rides to early voting hours. COVO is a  non-partisan group assisting with voter registration, absentee ballots, getting a photo ID for voting, and any other help you may need to vote. Call them at 920-445-8671 to schedule your ride, at least one day ahead of time. Avoid the lines on Election Day.

https://www.facebook.com/COVOBCWI

https://www.covobcwi.org/

COVO is a non-partisan, all-volunteer organization located in Brown County, Wisconsin.

Reward Offered to Stop Theft and Vandalism of Political Signs

I will find you and I will reward you.

The Democratic county parties that comprise the 8th Congressional District have pooled their resources to create a $300 reward system that will pay for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of individuals who are doing malicious damage to and theft of Democrat candidates’ signage. This behavior by individuals who have issues with the First Amendment is not only illegal and has stiff penalties but is morally wrong. Anyone with information on offenders should report that person to local law enforcement, and also contact the Democratic chairperson of that county, recommends Mary Ginnebaugh, chair of the Democratic 8th Congressional District.

“The widespread theft and destruction of political candidate signs is unprecedented in my years of experience,” says Ginnebaugh. “Local law enforcement officials do what they can, but the problem is clearly widespread and requires citizens to help stop this behavior. Hopefully, this reward will encourage people to keep a closer watch in their neighborhoods for political candidate sign thefts and destruction.”

More than a hundred signs have been reported as stolen in Brown County alone in this year’s election season.

For more information contact:

Brown County Mike Moran mjmoran@gmail.com (920) 216-8096
Calumet County Jim Brey jbrey419@gmail.com (920) 203-2686
Door County David Hayes ddixonhayes@gmail.com (920) 493-1113
Kewaunee County Mimi Dobbins medobbins@tm.net (920) 360-3087
Marinette County Tom Faller tgfaller@gmail.com (906) 290-3312
Oconto County Mark Smith morgsat1@gmail.com (920) 671-4495
Outagamie County Matt Lederer ledererdc@gmail.com (920) 284-0054
Shawano County Jan Koch cjakoch71@gmail.com (715) 296-6726
Waupaca County Clif Morton clif68morton@gmail.com (920) 472-1021
Winnebago County Marcia Steele mlsteele1@charter.net.net  

Top 10 reasons to fill out an Absentee Ballot request and Vote By Mail

By Dr John Warren

 1. It is SAFER with the pandemic around. 

 2. It is easy to have an absentee ballot mailed to your house. (go to https://MyVote.wi.gov/)

 3. You do not have to worry about long lines, bad weather and same day voting hassles. (Think April only worse)

 4. It IS safer with the pandemic around.

 5. You and a friend can witness each other’s ballots and send them in prior to the election.

 6. You do not need to wake up early on election day, shave or put makeup on, or find a parking space.

 7. It is safer with COVID-19 around. 

 8. You do not need to worry about rushing after a long day of work to get to polling place on time to vote

 9. You do not need to be worried about being kicked off the registered voter lists.

10. It IS SAFER with the PANDEMIC around!

One doctor’s perspective on COVID-19

By Dr. John Warren, Green Bay

We are all very tired of hearing and worrying about COVID-19 and are ready to have our lives return to normal as soon as possible. Unfortunately, we cannot wish this virus away. No one can predict the future, however physicians and scientists expect this virus to be around until an effective vaccine is developed. It clearly is not a “flu” virus as noted by the already 100,000+ deaths from this virus. 

The death rate is dropping, which is good. Medical doctors are getting better at treating this virus.  The infection rate is variable, obviously helped by the social distancing we all are doing. However, the basic facts persist.  This virus is still active throughout the USA and remains more deadly to older people and those with multiple health issues but may be lethal for anyone, regardless of age and health. 

Choosing lower risk activities when those options are available is the best choice for everyone.  This will be especially important this winter when we all congregate indoors again. No one expects the virus to disappear this winter. Voting absentee (Voting By Mail) is clearly a safer, lower risk, option for everyone.  We are fortunate to have this option in our state.  Please use it. 

Dr. John Warren

Resource-Voter Suppression

Can we stop the election from being stolen, yet again?

How Trump’s going to steal the 2020 election

Palast with KPFA’s Sabrina Jacobs, JAN 14, 2020, Greg Palast and Sabrina Jacobs for KPFA

https://www.gregpalast.com/how-trumps-going-to-steal-the-2020-election/

Wisconsin 2020 Voter Purge

“Elections officials sent the letters based on information compiled by the Electronic Registration Information Center, or ERIC, a coalition of 28 states and Washington, D.C. that tries to keep voter rolls as accurate as possible. 

ERIC flags voters who file address changes with the post office or register vehicles at new addresses.The Elections Commission, which consists of three Democrats and three Republicans, doesn’t want to immediately remove people from the voter rolls because in some cases their information is faulty and the voters haven’t moved. For instance, people could be flagged as having moved if they registered a vehicle at a business address instead of their home address. 

Voters who are removed from the voter rolls, whether correctly or mistakenly, can regain the ability to cast ballots by re-registering online, at their clerk’s office or at the polls on election day.

Of the 234,000 letters that were sent, about 60,000 were returned as undeliverable as of Dec. 5, according to the Elections Commission. As of then, about 2,300 recipients of the letters said they continued to live at their address and about 16,500 had registered to vote at new addresses.”

Letters were sent in October when the purge was scheduled for after the 2020 election. The court ordered them to be purged but did not require people to be notified of the change in timeline of the purge.

Judge orders state to purge more than 200,000 Wisconsin voters from the rolls

https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/2019/12/13/judge-orders-wisconsin-purge-more-than-200-000-voters-list/4412776002/

Wisconsin Voter Purge: Every City Ranked https://patch.com/wisconsin/milwaukee/wisconsin-voter-purge-every-city-ranked

4% of the entire population of Green Bay will be purged! 

4371 City Of Green Bay – Brown County
1177 City Of De Pere – Brown County
741 Village Of Howard – Multiple Counties
694 Village Of Ashwaubenon – Brown County
632 Village Of Bellevue – Brown County
478 Village Of Suamico – Brown County
469 Village Of Allouez – Brown County
406 Village Of Hobart – Brown County
330 Town Of Ledgeview – Brown County
67 Town Of Wrightstown – Brown County
53 Town Of Green Bay – Brown County
40 Town Of New Denmark – Brown County
39 Town Of Eaton – Brown County

Audio of Republicans OWNING their voter suppression ‘TRADITION‘ https://www.facebook.com/100733121336161/posts/155621792513960/?d=n

On-Going Developments in Purge of Wisconsin Voter Rolls

Thanks to the members of LWV La Crosse Area for putting together this timeline of events connected with the maintenance of the Wisconsin voter registration lists:

12/13: Ozaukee County Circuit Court 1) ordered the Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC) to immediately purge over 234,000 voters from the rolls and 2) denied the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin’s request to join an existing lawsuit as an intervening defendant.

12/17: The League of Women Voters of Wisconsin and two registered Wisconsin voters filed a federal due process case in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin to delay until after April 7 the voter purge of registered voters who may have moved.

12/17: The Wisconsin Department of Justice filed suit in District IV Court of Appeals in Madison, asking the court to stay the Ozaukee County ruling. More detail, including the legal brief, can be found here.

12/20: The Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty (WILL) asked the Wisconsin State Supreme Court to take up the DOJ appeals case, preventing the appeals court from acting on that request until the Supreme Court decides whether to take the case.

12/23: WI Supreme Court Justice Daniel Kelly recused himself from the voter roll purge case if it is taken up by the WI Supreme Court.

12/30: WI Supreme Court set 1/3 as a deadline for submission of more information related to this case. The WI Election Commission (WEC) deadlocked 3-3 on a motion to begin purging registrations of voters who may have moved since the last election.

1/2: WILL asked the Ozaukee Circuit Court to find the WEC in contempt and impose $12,000 a day in fines until it immediately purges more than 200,000 voters from the rolls. More here.

1/6: The Wisconsin Legislature files to intervene in the Federal Court case.

Subsequent Developments

1/13: Wisconsin Elections Officials Held in Contempt for Refusing to Purge Voters
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/13/us/wisconsin-voter-purge.html

Hours later, a divided Wisconsin Supreme Court declined to take the case. That shifted the fight back to the appeals court, which sided with the elections commission on Tuesday and put the judge’s original ruling on hold.

1/14: Wisconsin Appeals Court Puts Voter Rolls Purge On Hold
The court handed Democrats who had fought the move a victory in the battleground state

Wisconsin Supreme Court

Here is some information on the candidates for the Wisconsin Supreme Court


98% of judges support Lisa Neubauer for #WISupremeCourt https://www.facebook.com/WisDems/videos/276404729945957/

Comparison of Newubauer and Hagedorn Neubauer_Hagedorn V3Download

Bice: Supreme Court candidate once wrote that gay rights ruling could lead to legalized bestiality (Journal Sentinal) https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/investigations/daniel-bice/2019/01/31/wisconsin-supreme-court-candidate-once-tied-gay-rights-bestiality/2699726002/