Democrats Need to Learn How to Speak about Liberty

Commentary

Fitchburg, Wisconsin—Wrote a piece eight years ago on voting rights work by city of Madison, Wisconsin, (In These Times).

Imagine a municipality affirmatively advancing the personal liberty of voting, a fundamental Constitutional right. That's what Madison, and other Wisconsin municipalities did.

But I had trouble getting a decent quote from Madison, and had to settle for Madison City Clerk Maribeth Witzel-Behl's statement. "Our goal is for each eligible voter to be able to cast a ballot and have that ballot counted."

Witzel-Behl's statement is bureaucratic, almost defensive, and neither mentions or shows explicit reverence to people's personal liberty to vote. Typical Democrat. No values, no understanding of what voting means as a liberty.

Liberty is ours, and Democrats don't get that.

That's because Witzel-Behl and virtually every Wisconsin Democrat in office do not believe in our foundational liberty of voting in Wisconsin, under Article III, Suffrage, Wisconsin Constitution. Democrats are little more than victims from multi-front attacks on cherished liberties. 

And federally, with a few exceptions, national Democrats are not much better. See Democracy Docket for an example of how to talk about and litigate liberty.

If Democrats want to establish a political culture defending and advocating for Constitutionally guaranteed liberties such as voting rights, they have failed—a dangerous defect when judicial supremacy reigns under a Republican judicial assault against liberty led by Republican partisans on the U.S. Supreme Court.

Civil Rights Movement

Memphis, Tennessee, USA, Civil Rights Marchers with 
"I Am A Man" Signs, 1968—Image Bettmann/CORBIS
Zinn Education Project

The 1950s-60s-70s succeeded culturally, legislatively and in federal court because grassroots Americans and citizen groups presented clear, moral and constitutionally grounded arguments for liberty, equality and the promise of America.

No DEI, no politically correct, scolding semantics, no identity-politics polemics that today seeks to foist and instruct a flight from reason onto the grassroots whose duty is perceived as mindless compliance.

Voting is your liberty, voting is your right. Anybody tries to stop you has to answer to us. That' needs to be the political message. This commitment and political statement is something we rarely get from Democrats.

The current assault on voting ofcourse is a long project of Republicans.

Wisconsin 2008 Voter Obstruction Effort

Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen and the Republican Party leveled their guns to obstruct voting rights on Wisconsin in 2008, lest too many of the wrong type of voters showed up for Obama.

Trump is attempting to replicate what Van Hollen wanted.

See Van Hollen's and the GOP 2008 efforts at voter suppression in which Van Hollen's ridiculous effort was tossed out of court.

In the 2008 case, (J B Van Hollen vs. Government Accountability Board (GAB) et al) Van Hollen tried to create a new Wisconsin constitutional qualification to vote by fiat: A perfect match of spelling of voters' names in state bureaucracies, after first secretly assuring fellow Republicans he would commence this frivolous legal action at the 2008 Republican National Convention held in Minneapolis, as first reported by WisPolitics in a scoop that includes audio.

Several former judges serving on the state Elections Board would have failed Van Hollen's new constitutional standard proposed in 2008, as this GOP effort drew wide ridicule and defeat in court.

"Nothing in state or federal law requires that there be a data match as a prerequisite for a citizen's right to vote," Judge Maryann Sumi said in dismissing Van Hollen's lawsuit that tried to use the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) as a voter suppression tool.

Today, Trump is attempting his similar anti-voting project by trying to nationalize state-administered elections. Trump is trying to create federal bureaucratic lists of state voters, and appointing his administration as the sole deciders who determine who gets to vote, based on bureaucratic and documentary exact matches of voters' names with mandated new documentation.

Elected Democrats need to comprehend and explain what Trump and Republicans are up to: Creation of anti-voting federal bureaucracies, unconstitutional bureaucracies, and simply speak out in clear terms: Don't fuck with voters.

I have my doubts Democrats' are equipped to stand with voters.

Republican Stop-Voters Project Puts Racism on Display

Update: "Over 10,000 absentee ballots were dropped off with poll workers stationed at parks throughout Madison Saturday, and hundreds registered to vote during a first-time event called Democracy in the Park," reports The Capital Times.

Madison, Wisconsin — The Republican Party reaction to the Democracy in the Park initiative is telling.

Democracy in the Park is a City ballots event here that for two consecutive Sept-Oct Saturdays allows voters to drop off ballots at over 200 secure locations sited in City parks, and staffed by sworn election officials in blaze vests.

Madison residents can also get their absentee ballots witnessed, and can register to vote there, though they cannot obtain ballots in the manner of a polling place.

Wisconsin Republicans and rightwingers across the nation responding to news of last Saturday's Democracy in the Park were incensed.

"It’s going to take six months to unravel the Democrat fraud in this election," writes Republican actor James Woods.

Woods did not cite one instance of fraud, but to a Republican a black or brown person voting is an act of fraud in itself, as black or brown citizens are impersonating regular folks.

This is the fight of the modern Civil Rights movement playing out again, and it's a losing battle for Republicans and any Democrat who shies away from this fight.

People with black hair and dark skin are normal folks. But in Wisconsin, in Fitchburg alder District One, and among Republicans, this fact is under hysterical dispute.

Next Saturday is the second Democracy in the Park. 

News is after the first event, Madisonians may have gone too far: A statement from the City Clerk reads that the Madison Fire Dept washed the poll-workers' vests.

It's an outrage, call the police!

A big thank you to @MadisonWIFire for washing our poll worker high visibility vests this week! And thank you to the @CityofMadison City Assessor and Fleet Service Superintendent for also offering to help with this big task! #TeamCity pic.twitter.com/pdlpCG6Q8Q

— Madison WI Clerk (@MadisonWIClerk) September 27, 2020

I have worked as a poll worker in Madison and journalist covering the Madison commitment to allow voters to cast ballots and have ballots counted.

White rightwingers will, seriously, call the police on pro-voting activity. 

I have seen this racism and experienced it personally on multiple occasions.

The wrong people voting is a phenomenon white racists will never accept.

"The threat that this procedure poses to ballot integrity is manifestly obvious,' writes Misha Tseytlin, former Republican Wisconsin Solicitor General, on behalf of Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, (R-Juneau), and Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, (R-Rochester).

The Madison City Attorney responded to Republicans in a two-page letter which makes quick work of the unsupported allegations. The City letter dated Sept 26, 2020 is reproduced below:

September 26, 2020

Dear Misha:

I am responding to your letter to Madison City Clerk Maribeth Witzel-Behl regarding the City’s Democracy in the Park event being held this weekend to facilitate voter registration and the legal return and collection of absentee ballots.

Your letter states that this event constitutes an “illegal collection of ballots” and “falls outside lawful categories” but you provide absolutely no legal support for that allegation. You simply cite statutes that outline the process for absentee voting. If you could please identify a statute that you believe is being violated, I could try to respond to your broad unsupported allegations.

You also state that the threat to ballot integrity is manifestly obvious. The procedures that the City Clerk has established to secure ballots are equivalent to the procedures used to secure all absentee ballots, which your clients have helped to establish in Wisconsin Statutes and found to be acceptable. Sworn election officials will retrieve ballots that have already been issued and will ensure that ballots are properly witnessed and are secured in sealed in absentee ballot envelopes and ballot containers with tamper-evident seals, to be tabulated on Election Day. The election officials will maintain a chain of custody log that is open to public inspection. No new ballots will be issued in the parks.

As you know, both major political parties are able to nominate election officials to work at polling places. The City of Madison invited election officials nominated by both the Republican and Democratic Parties to work at Democracy in the Park, and received no complaints or concerns regarding the procedures to be used from those officials.

You also state that there is no justification for this “ad hoc, unsecure and unlawful approach.” Clearly this event is neither unsecure nor unlawful or you would have cited a relevant prohibition. And the definition of “ad hoc” is “for this purpose only.” The justification to sponsor this event “for this purpose only” is that COVID-19 has placed significant pressure on both voters and election officials to facilitate as much voting as possible prior to Election Day. Governmental leaders from both political parties have
acknowledged this reality and encouraged voters to submit ballots early. In addition, the well-publicized challenges of the U.S. Postal Service have diminished the public’s trust in that agency to deliver ballots in a timely and transparent manner.

Your letter states that there is a “grave risk” that all of the ballots collected at Democracy in the Park will be challenged in court and ultimately invalidated. You cite Wis. Stat. § 6.93 in support of this statement. That statute states that absentee ballots may be challenged for cause. The administrative rules implementing that statute establish specific reasons for challenging a voter when the challenger has first-hand knowledge to suspect that the voter is not a qualified elector because 1) the person is not a citizen of the United States; 2) the person is not at least 18 years of age; 3) the person has not resided in the election district for at least 10 days; 4) the person has a felony conviction and has not been restored to civil rights; 5) the person has been adjudicated incompetent; or 6) the person has voted previously in the same election. See EL §§ 9.01 and 9.02, Wis. Adm. Code.

The allowable reasons do not include that the challenger does not like the manner in which an absentee ballot is returned. Any elector who abuses the right to challenge may be subject to sanctions under Wis. Stat. §7.41(3). EL § 9.02, Wis. Adm. Code. Given these provisions, I do not understand why you believe Wis. Stat. § 6.93 supports your threat that all ballots collected at Democracy in the Park are subject to challenge. If you have some legal basis for that statement, please share it so that the City can address your concern before the election and resolve any confusion that your allegations have caused. If there is
no legal basis, we request that you retract your letter to Clerk Witzel-Behl.

Absent any directive from the Wisconsin Elections Commission or a court, the City will proceed with Democracy in the Park, and it will process the ballots collected with other absentee ballots pursuant to Wisconsin Statutes. All voters are welcome to participate and observe the process which is designed to bring the entire community together to participate in democracy. I trust that is a goal you and your clients can support.

Finally, I invite you and your clients to pick up the phone and contact me or the City Clerk if you have additional questions or concerns about the manner in which the City of Madison conducts elections. I am glad to discuss your questions directly so that we can alleviate any concerns you and your clients may have, rather than having to obtain your letter from the media. This tactic demeans the seriousness of your allegations and signals a desire to simply discourage participation by voters in Madison.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Michael Haas
City Attorney

Wisconsin Republicans: Cease and Desist Voting in Madison Now

Updated: Madison, Wisconsin — Republicans are angry at a City of Madison effort to help voters cast their ballots.

Voters will be able drop off their absentee ballots, have their ballots witnessed and register to vote at one of over 200 City parks in a City initiative called "Democracy in the Park," held on Sept 26 and Oct 3.

Writes the Madison City Clerk:

Democracy in the Park: created by, planned by, staffed by, and paid for by the @CityofMadison Clerk’s Officehttps://t.co/1hyEAzhX2I#MadisonVotes2020 #VoteByMail #vote #elections2020 pic.twitter.com/TWRbdyk00p

— Madison WI Clerk (@MadisonWIClerk) September 25, 2020

The problem for Republicans is many of the voters at Democracy in the Park events are likely to include the wrong kind of voters — black, brown and young voters — the very people whom Republicans have worked to stop from casting votes.

The ballot drop-off sites also have the effect of alleviating the burden of delivering a voluminous number of ballots through the mail, an effect which would be beneficial to voters.

The City of Madison will not discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, political orientation and age, and such non-discriminatory administration is an electoral problem for the Republican Party that relies on discrimination and gerrymandering to win elections.

Most voters of varied race and ethnicity live close to City parks.

Reports Elizabeth Beyer in the Wisconsin State Journal:

The state’s two most powerful Republican lawmakers sent a cease-and-desist letter to the Madison City Clerk’s Office on Friday ahead of a ballot collection event to be held in city parks Saturday, calling the effort 'illegal' and warning the ballots would be challenged in court and potentially invalidated.

'The threat that this procedure poses to ballot integrity is manifestly obvious,' Misha Tseytlin, former state solicitor general, wrote on behalf of Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, and Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester.

The Madison City Attorney responded to Republicans in a two-page letter which made quick work of the unsupported allegations. Reads the City letter in part:

I am responding to your letter to Madison City Clerk Maribeth Witzel-Behl regarding the City’s Democracy in the Park event being held this weekend to facilitate voter registration and the legal return and collection of absentee ballots. 

Your letter states that this event constitutes an 'illegal collection of ballots' and 'falls outside lawful categories' but you provide absolutely no legal support for that allegation.  You simply cite statutes that outline the process for absentee voting.  If you could please identify a statute that you believe is being violated, I could try to respond to your broad unsupported allegations. 

You also state that the threat to ballot integrity is manifestly obvious.  The procedures that the City Clerk has established to secure ballots are equivalent to the procedures used to secure all absentee ballots, which your clients have helped to establish in Wisconsin Statutes and found to be acceptable.  Sworn election officials will retrieve ballots that have already been issued and will ensure that ballots are properly witnessed and are secured in sealed in absentee ballot envelopes and ballot containers with tamper-evident seals, to be tabulated on Election Day.  The election officials will maintain a chain of custody log that is open to public inspection. No new ballots will be issued in the parks.

Sworn City election inspectors collecting ballots at official drop-off sites will not discriminate against voters, per training, sworn documentation and adherence to large body of state, federal and Constitutional law.
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In other voting news in Dane County Wisconsin, the Fitchburg Common Council passed a resolution 6-2 this week that moves a polling site to a more inclusive and accessible place in the notorious anti-voting rights Dist One, a polling place marked by open racism from white Fitchburg polling workers.

Alds Dorothy Krause and Joe Maldonado and Gabriella Gerhardt worked against anti-voting rights forces all year to accomplish this objective of helping voters cast their ballots.
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A statement from Madison City Clerk Maribeth Witzel-Behl is reproduced below:

Statement of Madison City Clerk Maribeth Witzel-Behl Regarding Democracy in the Park

Friday, September 25, 2020 - 3:29pm

Democracy in the Park is an event created by, planned by, staffed by, and paid for by the City Clerk’s Office.  This event will simply make it easier for residents who have received their requested absentee ballot to drop it off in person.

This is not in-person absentee voting. Poll workers will not be able to issue anyone a ballot at the park. The only way to receive a ballot right now is through the mail. In-person absentee voting begins October 20, and voters will be able to receive and cast an absentee ballot at any of our absentee voting sites at that time.

The poll workers in each City park tomorrow have taken an oath of office. They are the same dedicated public servants who administer elections at your polling place on Election Day.

Absentee voting by mail is underway. Voters may return their absentee ballots by mail, or in person. Our ballot drop boxes are still on order, and voters have been requesting a location close to home where they can deliver their ballot.

By having poll workers receive the delivery of the absentee ballot, we are able to double-check that the voter has completed the certificate envelope so the ballot can be counted at the polls on Election Day.

Voters who want a poll worker to serve as their absentee witness need to bring their ballot and envelope from home, show the blank ballot to the poll worker, mark the ballot in a way that the poll worker cannot see how they are voting, and then seal the ballot in the envelope they received in the mail.

The City Clerk’s Office is non-partisan. Regardless of who people vote for, our goal is that each eligible voter will be able to cast a ballot and have that ballot counted.

Republican Voter Obstruction Is Firewall Against Americans

Wisconsin metro voting officials are coming to
the rescue of voters targeted by Republicans.

Madison, Wisconsin — Republicans nationwide are working feverishly against voting rights to stave off the will of the American people.

Wisconsin, after seven years of Republican Party voter obstruction, has seen a proliferation of municipalities helping voters.

This effort is a success story.

"That’s thanks in part to a nonpartisan counteroffensive led by election clerks in metro voting districts," notes In These Times, pointing to public-private partnerships that have emerged in reaction against the Republican Party, (WISC-TV).

North Dakota and Georgia present the most egregious efforts of Republican Party fascism against democracy.

What’s happening in North Dakota and Georgia are examples of why Democrats have to be tough and be prepared to fight for democratic ideals and American values. Many call it voter suppression by Republicans. More simple than that: it’s cheating. Be strong - vote! https://t.co/MNEPgeM5Dp

— Eric Holder (@EricHolder) October 16, 2018

But voting rights are individual liberties, not mere instruments of a game.
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It will be ironic if near-presidential-level turnouts in the midterm elections signal the "end of the Republicans’ voter obstruction project," (In These Times).

Absentee Voters Begin Casting Ballots this Week in Wisconsin, Rights Workers Eye Hostile DoJ

Updated - Madison, Wisconsin — An expected 100,000s of absentee voters begin casting ballots this week in the midterm Wisconsin general elections.

In the last gubernatorial election in 2014, 374,075 residents cast absentee ballots,(General Election Voter Registration and Absentee Statistics 1984-2016. 2014 voter turnout, 54.84%, Wisconsin Election Commission).

This year both absentee voting and turnout are expected to soar following increased efforts of election clerks in metro voting districts to help eligible voters cast their votes, (In These Times).

The metro clerks, who administer elections, have been freed from Republican-enacted restrictions to serve eligible voters since July 2016 when a federal voting rights case ruling swept away large elements of the Republican Party's voter-obstruction legislative initiative.

Madison has led the way in assisting voters. Most recently, a record (unofficial) turnout of 42.76 percent in the August primary elections was achieved in a continuing effort to secure the right to vote under Article III of the Wisconsin Constitution.

Madison announced its tentative schedule and new record number of locations for early voting, slated to begin on Sept 20 at City Hall.

Did you know that early voting starts soon in some communities - Madison on Sept. 20 and Milwaukee on Sept. 24! What a great service for voters. Do you know any other places where early voting starts this month? @LWV_WI @COVOBCWI @MadisonWIClerk

— EPWisco (@EPWisco) September 17, 2018

The federal Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act (MOVE) law mandates states and territories transmit ballots for federal elections "to absent uniformed services and overseas voters no later than 45 days before federal elections," (Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act (MOVE). This year the 45-day mandate makes Sept 24 the deadline.
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Voting rights workers are watching the Republican Wisconsin Dept of Justice for whom voting rights are a societal defect to be overcome.

The Republican DoJ could attempt a last-minute legal effort to halt voting rights, as the DoJ did in 2014 in a widely criticized state action and federal appellate ruling.

Two federal voting rights cases  — One Wisconsin Institute v. Thomsen and Frank v. Walker — are before the full circuit at the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, (Marley, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel).

In August, Mal Contends emailed a voting rights question to two state DoJ officials, Mss. Ballwegra and Mikalofsky, reading: "Can we expect a new filing to Seventh Circuit from DoJ in the next several weeks Re One Wisconsin Now and Walker v. Frank?"

No response has been received. ---

Have you requested an absentee ballot for the Nov. 6 election? If so, we're diligently working to get your ballot to you. This is a fraction of the thousands of ballots that will be shipped out, beginning this week. For info on how to vote absentee, visit https://t.co/pdwvaBFqe7 pic.twitter.com/BpohJAk1hv

— Madison WI Clerk (@MadisonWIClerk) September 18, 2018

Wisconsin's Fight for Voting Rights Means Preserving Democracy Against Racism

Molly McGrath (L), a voting rights attorney with the ACLU,
works with Madison residents to get the IDs they need
to vote under Wisconsin’s restrictive voter-ID law.
(Courtesy of Molly McGrath); used at In These Times.

Madison, Wisconsin — In Wisconsin, Republican electoral success depends on appealing to white supremacists, and blocking black, brown and young voters from casting ballots.

It's a grand, racist tradition, ole-time religion supported by white Evangelicals.
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"What do you call 1,000 niggers at the bottom of the ocean?" asks a popular joke at a Fond du Lac elementary school, Liz Waters, in the 1970s.

The punchline is, "A good start."

You get it?

The answer to this riddle is not what the niggers are doing at the bottom of the ocean — that's a red herring.

Rather, the significance is the niggers are dead and drowned, and this is just the beginning of the whimsical genocide Wisconsin parents bequeathed to their children during family-time.

Wisconsin is about race — no matter that race is a psychological delusion, and an enduring deadly myth.

Wisconsin racism is why, for example, U.S. Rep Tom Petri (R-Fond du Lac, (1979-2015)), voted against establishing the Martin Luther King, Jr, federal holiday in 1983.

Racism undermines human rights, and racism props up the Republican Party's hold onto power by attacking voting, (Isthmus, In These Times).

Voting as a human and civil right is a societal defect to be overcome for the Republican Party.

As a political issue, opposing voting rights and being seen as opposing voting rights is red meat for the white base of the Republican Party of Wisconsin.

Because while 1,000 dead niggers at the bottom of the ocean doesn't play well, lies of voter fraud and illegal voting is soothing to Republican whites in Wisconsin.

Madison, Wisconsin Announces Early-Voting Sites and Hours

Record number of 16 sites for eligible voters

Madison, Wisconsin — That crazy City Clerk in Madison is going to do it again.

Madison announced its tentative schedule and locations for early voting, slated to begin on Sept 20 at City Hall.

A record 16 early-voting sites are planned, pending Common Council approval.

A record (unofficial) turnout of 42.76 percent took to the polls in the Primary elections as the City continued its mission to serve eligible voters who wish to cast ballots.

Another record is expected in the mid-term General Election.

Ready to start your countdown to In-Person Absentee Voting for the November Election? Although nothing is official until Council passes a resolution, you can find the tentative schedule and locations here for the City of Madison: https://t.co/3o9TCBRkcw pic.twitter.com/6wesB5jV3A

— Madison WI Clerk (@MadisonWIClerk) August 23, 2018

Voting Rights Are Still Wrong for Republicans

Madison, Wisconsin — The performance of metro and University officials helping eligible voters cast ballots places voting rights workers at odds with the Republican Party from Wisconsin to Georgia to the White House and across the country.

Republicans are desperate to hang onto power so they're continuing their long war against voters, in accordance with Party political beliefs that ruling is preferential to representing.

Gov. Scott Walker's (R) fascist leanings did not propel him to the Republican Party's nomination for the presidency in 2015, but only because Walker became an embarrassment after attempting to think on his feet, (Glueck, The Politico, ABC News).

Wisconsin Republicans and only Republicans have been targeting and obstructing voters for seven years, but after a federal voting rights case ruling in 2016, municipalities are free to help voters.

Madison has led the way, garnering a record 42.8 percent turnout in the Fall primary election.

The federal voting rights case, One Wisconsin Institute v. Thomsen, is now consolidated with Frank v. Walker, and both cases are being heard before a three-judge panel at the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, (Marley, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel).

In the current iteration of a Republican Party holding to anti-liberty views, voters must be stopped to the extent possible.

As Wisconsin election officials tabulate and certify the Fall Primary results in the coming days, looming is the Republican Wisconsin Dept of Justice for whom voting rights are a societal defect to be overcome.

Voters must be stopped from casting votes or Republicans face the prospect of defeat such as the special election of State Sen. Dist One that Walker and Republicans went to absurd lengths to block this year.

Two federal voting rights cases  — One Wisconsin Institute v. Thomsen and Frank v. Walker — are before a three-judge panel at the U.S.  Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, (Marley, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel).

This week I emailed a voting rights question to two state DoJ officials, Mss. Ballwegra and Mikalofsky, reading: "Can we expect a new filing to Seventh Circuit from DoJ in the next several weeks Re One Wisconsin Now and Walker v. Frank?"

No response received.

The three judges who would consider new filings in the voting rights litigation are: Frank Easterbrook, Michael Kanne and Diane Sykes.

Easterbrook and Sykes are corrupt and craft their election-law opinions to most benefit the Republican Party.

Both judges would be willing to issue an order in the next eight weeks eviscerating the effect of pro-voting rights decisions that have resulted in high voter turnouts during the last two years.
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In just five weeks, absentee voting begins in the Wisconsin Fall General Election, per the Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act (MOVE), a federal law that mandates states and territories transmit ballots for federal elections "to absent uniformed services and overseas voters no later than 45 days before federal elections."

Election Day is Nov. 6.

Madison Wisconsin Delivers Record Turnout in Fall Primary Election

Madison, Wisconsin — The best news out of Wisconsin last night comes from Madison.

A record (unofficial) turnout of 42.76 percent in this vibrant oasis took to the polls as the City continued its mission to serve eligible voters who wish to cast ballots.

This performance in democracy is not an accident.

The Madison City Clerk's motto — we exist to assist — is a mission every voting rights worker, every poll worker, every assisting staffer at Madison libraries, appears to take very seriously.

The unofficial final turnout in the City of Madison today was 42.76% of registered voters with 66,653 Madisonians casting ballots. pic.twitter.com/UeBvr3PQjT

— Madison WI Clerk (@MadisonWIClerk) August 15, 2018

Who can argue with the results?

Gov. Scott Walker (R) and Wisconsin Republicans do.

Even as Madison election officials tabulate and certify the Fall Primary results in the coming days, looming is the Republican Wisconsin Dept of Justice for whom voting rights are a societal defect to be overcome.

Voters must be stopped from casting votes or Republicans face the prospect of defeat such as the special election of State Sen. Dist One that Walker and Republicans went to absurd lengths to block this year.

Two federal voting rights cases  — One Wisconsin Institute v. Thomsen and Frank v. Walker — are before a three-judge panel at the U.S.  Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, (Marley, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel).

This week I emailed a voting rights question to two state DoJ officials, Mss. Ballwegra and Mikalofsky, reading: "Can we expect a new filing to Seventh Circuit from DoJ in the next several weeks Re One Wisconsin Now and Walker v. Frank?"

No response received.

The three judges who would consider new filings in the voting rights litigation are: Frank Easterbrook, Michael Kanne and Diane Sykes.

Easterbrook and Sykes are corrupt and craft their election-law opinions to most benefit the Republican Party.

Both judges would be willing to issue an order in the next eight weeks eviscerating the effect of pro-voting rights decisions that have resulted in high voter turnouts during the last two years.
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In just five weeks, absentee voting begins in the Wisconsin Fall General Election, per the Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act (MOVE), a federal law that mandates states and territories transmit ballots for federal elections "to absent uniformed services and overseas voters no later than 45 days before federal elections."

Election Day is Nov. 6.

Wonder what Republicans at the Dept of Justice are thinking about today.

Independence Day Means Resist, Vote and Fight

Emboldened American racists feel free to act out and display
antipathy towards those with dark complexions. The crowd
at the Make America Great Again rally in Minnesota on
June 22, 2018 joined the president in jeering and outrage.
Photo by Tom Brenner, the New York Times

Madison, Wisconsin — A University of Wisconsin at Madison press release reminds the community that residents can vote absentee now in the coming Aug. 14 state and congressional primary elections.

Gov Scott Walker (R) and legislative Republicans (and only Republicans) passed dozens of voter obstruction laws making voting and registering more difficult.

Communities like UW-Madison are fighting back by helping voters cast ballots.

Wisconsin Republicans realize their only chance of hanging onto to power is to obstruct voters who are likely to vote against Republicans. Voter obstruction is a brazen, partisan project, and like Walker' effort to block elections and close early-voting sites reveals a hostility to democracy and liberty, the foundation of our society.

The sight of black voters casting their Article III right to vote under the Wisconsin Constitution is appalling to Republican white supremacists who dominate the Party. I witness this hostility every Election Day.

Republicans see young, black and brown folks canceling proper, informed white votes as illegitimate. White supremacists on Madison's southwest side and in the city of Fitchburg's City Hall, for example, have worked as enthusiastic partners in the Republican voter-obstruction project.

The Republican strategic war against voting in 2015 (Wisconsin Act 261) outlawed most municipal Special Registration Deputies, (except for care homes), who formerly could resister voters and verify residency and voter identity.

At the annual Wisconsin Republican convention this Spring, Republicans vowed to stop same-day voter registration and out-of-state college voters because of the anti-Republican bent of these two demographics.

The July 3 UW-Madison news release is reproduced below. The release offers a step-by-step guide to absentee voting.
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You can vote now in the August primary election

It’s not too early to vote in the Aug. 14 primary election.

Offices on the ballot are governor, U.S. senator, U.S. representative, odd-numbered Wisconsin State Senate seats, and all Wisconsin Assembly seats.

You can request an absentee ballot now using your spring 2018 Madison address, so even if you’re away for the summer (or don’t want to go to the polls), you can still be a Madison voter (If you have graduated and have no plan to return to Madison, you should re-register wherever you are moving).

What to do:

• Snap your ID: Take a picture of your voter ID (Wisconsin driver’s license, passport, or student voter ID). If you’re using the student voter ID, visit go.wisc.edu/verify and take a screenshot of your enrollment verification.
• Email your request: Send the pictures to voting@cityofmadison.com. Use the subject line “August Absentee” and include your name, your current Madison address, and “send me a ballot.”
• Be sure to say if you’re already registered to vote; if not, you can send the registration form in now, too.
• Finally, give the mailing address or email where you are now. If the delivery address or method changes, just email voting@cityofmadison.com
• Questions? Email voting@cityofmadison.com

Want to vote in person? Already you can vote in-person absentee at the city clerk’s office, 210 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Room 103, from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday until Aug. 10.

Most other in-person absentee voting sites don’t open until late July or early August, including three on campus.
#

Wisconsin Midterm Primary Voting Has Begun — Absentee Ballots Are Being Mailed

Madison, Wisconsin — Voting in the Wisconsin midterm primaries has begun.

Today, the Madison City Clerk reported absentee ballots for the Aug 14 Primary Election are being mailed to voters.

Absentee voting is expected to spike in the primary and general midterm elections as election clerks in metro voting districts have expanded in-person-absentee voting stations, (In These Times).

The Madison City Clerk sent out the following communication this morning:

If you requested that the Clerk's Office mail you an absentee ballot for August, your ballot is on its way! This is the type of primary where you choose a political party at the top of the ballot, and then vote for individual candidates in that party's section of the ballot. pic.twitter.com/qNl48vlyVT

— Madison WI Clerk (@MadisonWIClerk) June 25, 2018

Four out of the five most-populous Wisconsin cities are implementing or contemplating expanded voter access to the ballot box this summer. Green Bay, Wisconsin's third most populous city, has no such plans though it reportedly includes voter info in its water utility bills.

Gov. Scott Walker (R) and Wisconsin Republicans have passed dozens of laws intended to obstruct voters. Several voter obstruction laws have been successfully challenged in federal court by voting rights workers.

Wisconsin Metro Clerks Stand Up for Voting Rights

Voters in Wisconsin are getting help from
municipal bureaucrats who administer
elections at the local level, reports the
Chicago-based In These Times.

'Republicans won't let me vote.' But many city workers help against Republican Party efforts

Madison, Wisconsin — Since 2011 Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) worked on his ambitious agenda that obstructed voters, closed early-voting sites, gerrymandered districts and even blocked elections until Walker was ordered by judges to follow the law, allowing voters to choose their state representatives.

The extraordinary state judicial intervention was preceded by less than two years by a major federal case, One Wisconsin Now v. Thomsen (2016), that swept away much of Walker's work against voters.

But it's not just judges defeating Walker's anti-voting purposes.

A nonpartisan effort by Wisconsin election administrators in metro voting districts is offering expanded access for voters, reports a piece in the Chicago-based In These Times.

Four out of the five most-populous Wisconsin cities are implementing or contemplating expanded voter access to the ballot box this summer. Green Bay, Wisconsin's third most populous city, has no such plans though it reportedly includes voter info in its water utility bills.

The mayor of Milwaukee, Tom Barrett, posted a communication on Facebook this week, saying:

Barrett linked to a piece at Fox6Now News-Milwaukee.

From voting rights worker and attorney, Molly McGrath, who works around the state to help voters blocked by Wisconsin Republicans' anti-suffrage work:

"They won't let me vote." That's what one Wis woman told volunteers from this @peoplepower group when they knocked on her door. She didn't have the ID required by the state's strict #voterID law.

Are you near SE Wis? Join their canvass on May 12 and May 20. DM me for details. pic.twitter.com/0sNSxHfrYW

— Molly McGrath (@votermolly) May 10, 2018

Wisconsin election clerks are helping voters now against a determined foe, the Republican Party.

Concludes In These Times: Near-presidential-level turnouts will signal the end of the Scott Walker voter obstruction project by defeating Walker at the polls with a lot of help from voters' municipal friends.

Wisconsin Republicans Vow to Stop Same-Day Voter Reg and Out-of-state College Voters

Wisconsin Republicans keep up
their effort to stop voters from voting

Wisconsin Republicans vowed to further block voters in a resolution at their annual convention in Wisconsin Dells this weekend.

The Republican delegates passed a resolution that would halt out-of-state college voters, and would end same-day voter registration, JR Ross reports.

Convention resolutions are a wish list of state Republicans, reflecting what Republicans wish were public policy.

Writes JR Ross on Saturday:

Delegates just approved resolution to end same-day registration and require voters to be registered at least 10 days before an election. Also, temporary residents (college students) would be required to vote in place of permanent residence. https://t.co/aJRyjmK71Z

— JR Ross (@jrrosswrites) May 12, 2018

That the Wisconsin Republican wish list is unconstitutional appears not to be a concern, notes Stephen Wolf.

Wisconsin Republicans plot to make voting harder & implement an unconstitutional restriction on out-of-state college student voters because they lean Dem. The Supreme Court guaranteed residential college students the right to vote at their school in Symm v. U.S. (1979) https://t.co/yUqMUmnsOf

— Stephen Wolf (@PoliticsWolf) May 13, 2018

Wolf notes the United States Supreme Court decision, SYMM v. U.S , 439 U.S. 1105 (1979), (Justia), that finds the denial of college students' right to vote violates federal law, and the Fourteenth, Fifteenth, and Twenty-sixth Amendments of the United States Constitution.

Since 2011, Wisconsin Republicans have worked to enact a massive anti-voter legislative project, significant parts of which have been found to be unconstitutional, though a host of anti-voter initiatives remains in effect for the 2018 elections.

The Republican strategic war against voting in 2015 (Wisconsin Act 261) outlawed most Special Registration Deputies, (except for care homes), who formerly could resister voters and verify residency, and passed one of the nation's most anti-voter photo-ID laws.

This Spring Gov. Scott Walker blocked two special elections until Walker was forced by three different judges to hold the elections.

Madison, Wisconsin Turns out to Vote, Fuels Blue Wave as Scott Walker Whines

Madison, Wisconsin early voters cast their preference in
March in collaborative effort to secure the franchise

Madison, Wisconsin—When citizens are welcomed to vote by a city protecting voting rights, then people will exercise their franchise under the Wisconsin Constitution.

Madison again led the state in turnout with 45.39 percent turnout yesterday in the Spring General election, doubling state turnout of 22 percent.

With each Wisconsin election, it becomes more apparent why Scott Walker and the Republican Party so fear elections and voters.

Walker complained on Twitter that voters are full of "anger" at his "bold reforms."

From Madison:

Unofficial final turnout of registered voters in the City of Madison for the 2018 Spring Election was 45.39%. Congrats to ward 40, Olbrich Gardens, which had a whopping 73.58% of registered voters vote.

— Madison WI Clerk (@MadisonWIClerk) April 4, 2018

Blue wave? Sure.

Another way of looking at the soaring voter turnouts is Article III, Wisconsin Constitution wave.

Wisconsin State Journal Shielded Scott Walker and Republicans in Blocking-elections Scandal

The Wisconsin State Journal fronted
for Scott Walker and legislative
Republicans in its coverage of
the unprecedented effort by the
Wisconsin GOP to block elections.

GOP election-blocking spectacle tamped down in news coverage of Madison daily

Madison, Wisconsin—Press coverage of Scott Walker and state Republicans' scheme to block two elections reveals the Wisconsin State Journal misled readers in what amounted to a propaganda exercise covering for the Wisconsin governor with laudatory or vague headlines, an examination shows.

On March 24, two days after Dane County Judge Josann Reynolds, (Branch two), ordered Scott Walker to call two special elections, and one day after Republicans vowed to enact legislation blocking the judicial order, the Wisconsin State Journal ran a banner, 3/4-inch headline reading "State GOP seeks swift action" in its print edition.

This March 24 headline misleads readers with the undefined "seeks swift action," omitting the fact state Republicans scrambled to continue to block elections, (as the news piece reports).

The Republican effort to block elections was an unprecedented project that involved legislative Republicans, Walker, and the Republican Dept of Justice. Republicans demonized the judiciary and an entire Wisconsin county, Dane County.

On March 28, the Wisconsin State Journal ran the headline, "Walker denied extra time," after Judge Richard Niess humiliated DoJ attorneys in open court and legislative Republicans plotted their next move.

On March 29, the Wisconsin State Journal ran the headline, "Gov won't appeal ruling," after a third judge in a state appellate court rebuffed Walker, excoriating Walker's failure to perform his duty, and after Republicans abandoned their scheme to change the special elections statute in a new special session.

On March 30, the Wisconsin State Journal ran the headline, "Walker: Two open seats to be filled," omitting that Walker blocked elections, was being ordered to call elections, and Walker's move is a reversal coming only after a third judicial defeat by three different judges, two of whom are Republican.
--
In objective journalism, headlines should be accurate summations of a news piece.

Headlines should inform readers about major occurrences in continuing coverage, especially in a spectacular and rapidly developing story such as Wisconsin Republicans blocking elections and fighting judicial orders mandating elections be held.

Readers often will scan only headlines.

The Wisconsin State Journal copy editor(s) know these facts and chose to abandon journalistic obligations in service to the Republican Party in an election year.

Scott Walker Does Not Understand Democracy and Voting Rights even After Three Judges Attempt to Explain

Confirmed—Scott Walker is not very bright, and does not
know much about public affairs or democracy.

Madison, Wisconsin—Blocking elections. Blocking voters. Gerrymandering. Transforming election law.

The list of Scott Walker and Wisconsin Republicans and only Republicans' opposition to fundamental rights and democratic norms keeps getting longer and more alarming.

Scott Walker's hostility to voters is also insidious as again Wisconsin is revealed as vulnerable to anti-democratic forces, Republicans, dedicated to blocking elections and obstructing voters. [Voters and pro-voter election personnel can expect more harassment from white poll workers and municipal police on April 3, Spring General Election.]

State appellate judge Paul Reilly, (a Waukesha Republican), humiliated Scott Walker in denying Walker's desperate motion by pointing out, "Representative government and the election of our representatives are never 'unnecessary,' never a 'waste of taxpayer resources.'"

If Reilly were trying to edify Scott Walker, he would have better luck shouting at the wind.

Scott Walker does not understand what elections and voting rights are.

Every anti-Scott Walker citizen who warned the career pol who never held a real job is opposed to democracy was again proven correct this week.

Even after Reilly denied Walker's 11th-hour motion, a sullen and uncomprehending Scott Walker declared the two special sections he was forced to call are "meaningless," (WTMJ).

Some 229,000 Wisconsin voters will now have representation for June, July, August, September, October, November, December and part of January 2019, in accordance with the law and Article III of the Wisconsin Constitution.

To Walker, this is meaningless.

Scott Walker

Scott Walker is opposed to democracy. Scott Walker does not understand democracy.

Put simply Scott Walker is a lightweight, a ridiculous figure.

Today is Friday and Walker has failed to post executive order #280, calling for the special elections after his dereliction of his oath of office.

The Republican Wisconsin Dept of Justice also has not presented a news update of the unprecedented legal victory for voters against Scott Walker and the Dept of Justice.

Wisconsin should be blinking red.

Gov. unintimidated is now uninformed, unprepared, hostile, petulant and corrupt.

Time for Article VII, Section 1 of the Wisconsin Constitution —
Impeachment

The court for the trial of impeachments shall be composed of the senate. The assembly shall have the power of impeaching all civil officers of this state for corrupt conduct in office, or for crimes and misdemeanors; but a majority of all the members elected shall concur in an impeachment. On the trial of an impeachment against the governor, the lieutenant governor shall not act as a member of the court.

Wisconsin Voters Get Win Against Scott Walker Who Blocked Elections

Scott Walker bows to judge, law and voters in humiliating defeat for gov facing reelection

Madison, Wisconsin—Gov. Scott Walker issued an executive order (#280, not yet posted) this morning to fill two legislative vacancies with elections in a victory for some 229,000 Wisconsin voters, democracy and the rule of law, (AP).

The bizarre action by Walker and legislative Republicans to block elections created an unprecedented spectacle confirming Wisconsin Republicans are still pursuing an anti-democratic, anti-voter agenda.

Walker confirmed last night he would call what he termed "meaningless" elections.

The so-called meaningless elections will ensure that 229,000 Wisconsin citizens have representation for June, July, August, September, October, November, December and part of January 2019.

Another election that begins June 30, (for citizens casting absentee ballots), will ensure citizens are represented by their chosen candidate from Jan 2019 to Jan 2021.

Democracy, elections and voting rights are not meaningless, except apparently in the minds of Wisconsin Republicans.

Walker's executive order comes some three hours before the deadline set by a judge last week demanding that Walker call two special elections in Robert Dallas Newton Jr. et al v. Scott Walker, (Dane County Case Number 2018CV000519).

The Walker blocks-elections scandal reveals again the vulnerability of Wisconsin to determined, anti-democratic political forces that achieve electoral success in part by rigging election law and obstructing voters.

Meanwhile, Wisconsin Republicans are trying to change the subject and flood social media in an attempt to deflect attention from another Scott Walker scandal.

Wisconsin State Sen. Scott Fitzgerald Lies about Overseas Servicemembers as GOP Blocks Elections

Updated:

AG @BradSchimel says Legislature is giving up its plans to pass a bill to cancel special elections. https://t.co/JmKUpEm4IN

— Patrick Marley (@patrickdmarley) March 29, 2018

Wisconsin State Sen. Scott Fitzgerald, (R-Juneau, Wisconsin) spoke a blatant falsehood in defense of the unprecedented Republican effort to block elections disenfranchising over 229,000 Wisconsinites.

As reported in the Wisconsin State Journal today:

Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, testified at the hearing that anywhere from 85 to 150 overseas voters, including some in the military, could be disenfranchised if the special elections proceed under the timeline set up in current state law. He noted there were no overseas ballots cast in the 10th Senate District special election in January, which was called 10 weeks in advance of the election.

"This is a real group that could be disenfranchised if this bill doesn’t pass," said Fitzgerald.

Fitzgerald is lying, lying to all Wisconsinites, including military and overseas votes.

Point One: Without special elections that Scott Walker has refused to call, all constituents of the two vacant legislative districts have been and are disenfranchised. Every constituent has been disenfranchised since Walker refused to call elections the last three-plus months.

Point Two: On a previous lie on March 23, Fitzgerald said, "After consulting with DoJ and other, we have decided it's best to move forward on an extraordinary session in order to clean up the statute on special elections ensure that it aligns with the Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act."

Bull.

The Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act (MOVE) is a federal law with which Wisconsin is in full compliance, and is aligned.

MOVE mandates states and territories transmit ballots for federal elections "to absent uniformed services and overseas voters no later than 45 days before federal elections."

The next Wisconsin federal election is on Aug. 14. This means the state must mail ballots on or before June 30, 45 days prior to Aug 14.

If special state elections are held in June, May, or any other month, the state will continue to be in compliance with MOVE and related regulations and consent degrees.

MOVE does not apply to Wisconsin's Spring elections and special state elections because there are no federal elections involved.

Fitzgerald's latest ploy is a red herring meant to district from the fact he and Scott walker are illegally disenfranchising overseas servicemembers and 100,000s of other citizens for the benefit of the Republican Party.

That Fitzgerald is now disgracing the service of our armed forces by lying and blocking elections is a disgrace.

Wonder if Fitzgerald asked overseas servicemembers if they serve so Republicans can block elections.

Scott Walker Appealing Ruling He Must Call Elections

Update: See also AP report.

Madison, Wisconsin — Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and the Republican Party have gone to extraordinary lengths to block special elections.

Now, Republicans are going further.

In Robert Dallas Newton Jr. et al v. Scott Walker, (Dane County Case Number 2018CV000519), Scott Walker has appealed the ruling of Dane County Judge Richard G. Niess this morning, March 28, while moving on the legislative front to block all special elections.

Walker's move is an apparent attempt to further stall the elections that he has been ordered to hold in last week's judicial writ or order of mandamus.

Robert Dallas Newton Jr. et al v. Scott Walker, (Dane County Case Number 2018CV000519)