Republican Voter Suppression in Wisconsin Hits Voter Turnout

Madison, Wisconsin — From Republican poll workers, hostile municipal clerks to the Republicans' transformation of "Wisconsin election law," (One Wisconsin Now. v. Thomsen, (p.2)), Republicans worked every angle to obstruct voters and suppress voter turnout.

The years-long voter suppression project continues.

The results are impressive.

Wisconsin traditionally has the highest or near the highest voter turnout.

From Matthew DeFour in the Wisconsin State Journal, (Madison):

Wisconsin’s voter turnout in the November presidential ... declined the second-most from 2012, according to a new report by Nonprofit VOTE and the U.S. Elections Project. 

The ongoing effort by Republicans at the local polling place targets minority and young voters systemically, to be treated with disrespect and hostility. [This Latino writer, working as a poll worker in 2016, pointed out the voter obstruction effort repeatedly since 2011. The response is hostile city of Fitchburg, Wisconsin officials called the police after an August 2016 phone call and contrived a bogus disorderly conduct citation now being adjudicated in municipal court. Resolution is expected in May.]

As a 10-year-plus election inspector, I can tell you this anti-democratic dynamic is widespread and growing.

The anti-democratic phenomenon is the result of the Republican Party changing election laws to usurp control of the voting place, but is difficult to measure in social scientific research such as Nonprofit VOTE and the U.S. Elections Project's.

Most people are not aware there are phone numbers and election officials whom one can contact after witnessing or experiencing voter obstruction.

Illumination of this misconduct depends on poll workers and voters recognizing a hostile polling place is illegal and then speaking up. If you speak up, in accordance with the Wisconsin Elections Commission's advice, you run the risk of a bogus disorderly conduct citation.

This is voting in Wisconsin today.