For Release: Thursday - July 9, 2020
Common Cause in Wisconsin Signs onto Legal Brief Seeking Safe Voting for Citizens During Pandemic
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday – July 9, 2020
Contact: Jay Heck, Common Cause Wisconsin; 608-512-9363, jheck@commoncause.org
Dean Strang, Strang Bradley, LLC; 608-535-1550, dean@strangbradley.com
Madison, Wisconsin – Common Cause in Wisconsin (CCWI) yesterday filed an amicus brief in four cases under the caption Democratic National Committee v. Bostelmann. That first case is a lawsuit filed by the DNC in March in federal district court in Wisconsin seeking the extension of the deadline for return of absentee ballots and suspension of other voting requirements, such as the requirement to provide proof of residence and a witness signature to vote absentee—with respect to the state’s April primary and any other election held during the pandemic crisis -- including the November general election.
The CCWI brief, written by Madison lawyer Dean Strang, was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin on Wednesday evening, July 8th and is aimed at ensuring that eligible Wisconsinites have a genuine opportunity to vote safely in the midst of the current COVID-19 Pandemic and have the ability to do so this November. The brief and the plaintiffs whom CC/WI supports ask the court to take a balanced consideration the following:
- The nation never has tried to conduct a presidential election during a pandemic. The November 1918 election, during the midst of the great influenza pandemic, was a midterm election.
- Because both the August and November 2020 elections are certain to be held during an ongoing public health crisis, given the persistence of the pandemic, absentee voting will be crucial if people (especially those with compromised immune systems or other risk factors, including just age) are to participate in our democracy. These four combined lawsuits (in the DNC v. Bostelmann case) seek, at their core, to make registration and absentee voting more reliable, secure, and safely accessible for all lawful voters. The cases are essentially the same ones filed before the April 7 election, but now seek prospective relief for the fall elections (and perhaps beyond).
- The April 7, 2020 Wisconsin elections, also conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic, saw more than 964,000 votes cast by mail. The previous high had been the April 2016 election, with just over 170,000 mailed ballots (and that was an election with overall turnout of 2.1 million, compared to the 1.55 million in this past April election). Sensibly, then, Wisconsin voters demonstrated tremendous demand both to vote lawfully and to do their part to reduce the spread of the coronavirus. In both ways, Wisconsin voters acted responsibly and with a sense of national duty.
- Perhaps most importantly, our April 7 election proved just how important the voter protections these cases seek really are. Only one form of relief that Judge William Conley granted before the April 7 election survived the cutbacks that the Seventh Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court made to voter access and protection in the days immediately before that spring election: the higher courts let stand Judge Conley’s order requiring the Wisconsin Elections Commission to count mailed absentee ballots that were postmarked on or before election day, but not received until after the election (the judge set the deadline for receipt of those ballots at April 13, six days after the election). What impact did that narrow judicial protection of voting rights have? On the WEC’s own statistics from the April 7, 2020 election, an additional 79,054 lawful Wisconsin voters had their votes counted—and none of those votes would have counted if the WEC had been allowed to do business as usual. For context, that number is higher than the population of every man, woman, and child in the City of Racine—the state’s fifth largest city.
- In spite of the success of even that narrow relief (which came at zero real cost of voter fraud, double-voting, or any other improper voting, based again on WEC statistics), the WEC and the other defendants want to eliminate even that small, successful measure of protection now, as coronavirus infections and deaths in Wisconsin soar far above where they were in April. The WEC and the other defendants also are opposing every other common-sense protection of the right to vote and the health of voters and other Wisconsinites in the upcoming fall elections. Common Cause in Wisconsin is proud to stand with this state’s lawful voters, and to advance the health both of our democracy and of the public that a democracy serves.
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Common Cause in Wisconsin is the state's largest non-partisan citizen political reform advocacy organization with more than 7,700 members and activists. They have worked for honest, clean, open and accountable government and politics in Wisconsin since 1972 and are the state affiliate of national Common Cause.
CONTACT:
Jay Heck
608/256-2686 (office)
608/512-9363 (cell)
Common Cause in Wisconsin
152 W. Johnson St., Suite 212
Madison, WI 53703
608/256-2686
Want Good Government?
Join Common Cause in Wisconsin!
www.CommonCauseWisconsin.org
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For Release: Thursday - July 2, 2020
Something effective, safe, and patriotic YOU can do this 4th of July weekend!
Request your ballot today directly from the official source, the Wisconsin Election Commission, at myvote.wi.gov.
What's more patriotic than voting safely and protecting your fellow citizens?
Continued uncertainty about the duration of the nationwide pandemic and how it might adversely affect the "regular" voting process of physically going to your polling place to cast your ballot has resulted in many more Wisconsinites requesting absentee ballots for the upcoming August 11th primary election and for November 3rd general election.
The tremendous surge in absentee ballot requests for the April 7th election overwhelmed the election infrastructure in many areas of the state and that demand is likely to be higher for August and November.
It makes sense to make plans now to vote safely in August and in November. And voting by mail is one way you can do so.
Any registered voter can request an absentee ballot by mail. Some benefits to this process:
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You don’t have to make time in your day on Election Day to vote. Or wait in line. Vote on your own time when it works for you.
- You can take your time to review the ballot and look up candidate information. No rushing and you can do your research with your ballot in hand.
- Your postage paid reply envelope can be returned by mail or you can drop it off at clerk designated spots.
How do mail-in absentee ballots work?
You will receive your ballot in an official designated envelope from your municipal clerk. Remove all the contents, which should have one official, authorized ballot and one postage paid return envelope. There might also be additional instruction sheet(s). If your envelope is missing a ballot or return envelope, contact your clerk.
Use black or blue pen to fill out your ballot. Instructions for filling it out the ballot are right on the ballot. Follow those.
NOTE: The August election is a primary election. In this election, voters in Wisconsin must choose only one party for which you cast votes. Here on this ballot are the Democratic, Republican, and Constitution parties.
First choose the party you wish to vote for the offices on the remainder of the ballot. After you choose the party, find the beginning of that party’s offices.
Continue to fill out the ballot, but only for that party. If you vote for multiple parties, your ballot will be spoiled and will not be counted. All the candidates running for offices will continue down the column and may continue into the next column. After the last office, you will see a note that says “End _____ Party Primary.”
Be sure to check both sides of your ballot.
Read the instructions on the front of your return envelope. The next steps need to be done with a witness in sight. These steps can and should be completed using social distancing unless the person is from your household. (NOTE: Witnesses, like voters, need to be 18 years or older and a U.S. Citizen.)
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Put your marked ballot in the official envelope.
- Complete your address in section 2 (some clerks complete this section for voters)
- Sign and date your envelope
- Your witness will also sign and provide their mailing address
Your ballot needs to be received by your clerk on Election Day to be counted. If you are mailing it, it’s a good idea to put it in the mail at least a week prior to Election Day. (For the August 11th Election, best to get it in the mail on August 4th). Otherwise, find out from your clerk what drop-off options you have to get your ballot in on time.
If you haven’t yet made your request for an absentee mail-in ballot, do so now: myvote.wi.gov.
Then you can also use MyVote to track your ballot, check your voter registration status, and make any updates to your voter file (like a change of address). Your clerk contact information is also searchable on MyVote.
If you experience problems with the online process to request your ballot by mail, contact WEC’s helpdesk or your municipal clerk.
Have additional questions or need additional resources?
Before you can request your ballot, you will need to register to vote. Find out how at MyVote.wi.gov
Want to know how to request an absentee ballot: As Goes Wisconsin has an excellent video and step-by-step tutorial.
Find information about photo IDs that you can use for voting at the official site: Bring It to the Ballot.
Want to know which candidate best represents your values? Find candidate and ballot information from the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin at Vote411.
Having problems or need additional help? Election Protection Wisconsin are ready to take your questions. Also find them on Facebook or Twitter.
CONTACT:
Jay Heck
608/256-2686 (office)
608/512-9363 (cell)
Common Cause in Wisconsin
152 W. Johnson St., Suite 212
Madison, WI 53703
608/256-2686
Want Good Government?
Join Common Cause in Wisconsin!
www.CommonCauseWisconsin.org
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For Release: Tuesday - June 23, 2020
Long-Time Community Leader Supports Voting Rights, Ending Partisan Gerrymandering
Wanda Sloan, a life-long resident of Beloit and a long-time educator and community organizer, has been elected to the State Governing Board of Common Cause in Wisconsin (CC/WI), the state's largest non-partisan political reform organization with more than 7,700 members and activists. Sloan is currently an independent consultant on issues of race relations, diversity/inclusion, and cultural competency. She is retired from Blackhawk Technical College after 34 years of serving as Minority Student Advisor, and as a Human Resources Diversity and Training Development Specialist and adjunct faculty member teaching diversity and inclusion.
"Wanda Sloan brings a wealth of experience and expertise in community building and in connecting people to bring about inclusion and active participation in the community and in the positive functioning of our local and state institutions. These are the very fundamental building blocks of our democracy," said former State Senator
Tim Cullen of Janesville, the current Chair of CC/WI, who has known Sloan for many years and nominated her to serve on the CC/WI Board.
Ms. Sloan has a MS degree in Public Administration and a minor in Business Administration from Cardinal Stritch University and is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Rosa Parks Activist Award at national, regional and local levels. She is currently a member of the Beloit NAACP, serving as the State Youth/College Advisor. She is also a member of the Beloit League of Women Voters and the National Affirmative Action Association.
"I look forward to joining the Board of Common Cause in Wisconsin to help restore Wisconsin to its rightful place as a leader in voting rights and participation and to ensure fair voting maps so that citizens can choose their elected representatives instead of the opposite, which is what we have now in this state," Sloan said.
Sloan joins Common Cause in Wisconsin Board Members: Tim Cullen of Janesville, Penny Bernard Schaber of Appleton, David Deininger of Monroe, Mike Drew of Milwaukee, Kristin Hansen of Waukesha, Bill Hotz of Brookfield, David Martin of Muscoda, E. Michael McCann of Mequon, Calvin Potter of Sheboygan Falls, Robert Schweder of Princeton and Roger Utnehmer of Wausau. Sue Conley of Janesville and Kriss Marion of Blanchardville recently resigned from the CC/WI Board to run as partisan candidates for the Wisconsin Assembly, which is required by CC/WI by-laws.
Common Cause in Wisconsin is the state's largest non-partisan political reform advocacy group with more than 7,700 members and activists. For more information, go to commoncausewisconsin.org or call 608-256-2686.
CONTACT:
Jay Heck
608/256-2686 (office)
608/512-9363 (cell)
Common Cause in Wisconsin
152 W. Johnson St., Suite 212
Madison, WI 53703
608/256-2686
Want Good Government?
Join Common Cause in Wisconsin!
www.CommonCauseWisconsin.org
Read More...
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