PFAW Member,
What happened this week in Wisconsin was an outrage. A devastating example of the Right’s obsession with holding onto power by any means necessary, even if those means run roughshod over Americans’ fundamental rights and endanger tens of thousands – if not many, many more – American lives.
To recap: State Republican lawmakers – backed up by the right-wing majorities on both the Wisconsin and the U.S. Supreme Courts – refused to push back Tuesday’s election (as many other states have done with their primaries) or extend absentee voting, all in a naked attempt to win by reducing voter turnout, especially in minority communities and the Democratic stronghold of Milwaukee.
Voters were forced to choose between breaking the state’s “stay at home” order and risking their health (or even lives), as well as the health of others and the further spread of COVID-19, or be denied their right to vote.
This is the ruthlessness we’re up against. It seems downright sociopathic, but Trump Republicans’ animating principle of holding onto power at ANY cost is reaching new lows that most of us wouldn’t be able to fathom if we weren’t witnessing it in real time.
We need to win in 2020. Plain and simple.
We need to hold far-right leaders accountable and we need to wrest power away from them – in the states, in the White House, and in the U.S. Senate, which also has everything to do with the courts – the only way we can: BY VOTING THEM OUT.
Our electoral programs are in full swing. Wisconsin is one of our highest priority target states. And we need YOU to be part of this fight by helping to fund our urgent efforts with a 3X-MATCHED donation TODAY.
In an interview on MSNBC, one Wisconsin woman in line to vote expressed her shock and sadness that GOP officials would put citizens in this situation for political gain and implored them to “stop playing politics with our lives.”
The New York Times’ “On Politics” update on Tuesday evening covered the situation that day in Wisconsin well. Just look at some of these accounts:
What we do know is that in Milwaukee, the biggest city in the state and the base of Democratic voters in Wisconsin, voting has been a public health and civic catastrophe.
At each of the city’s five polling sites (in a normal year, there are 180 locations), voters waited more than two hours to cast their ballot, as lines of hundreds of people stretched for blocks.
…
A lot of voters did not want to go to the polls: Nearly 1.3 million absentee ballots were requested through Monday, though only about 860,000 had been returned. And stories poured in today of voters unable to cast their ballots.
- Hannah Gleeson, 34, is a health care worker who lives in Milwaukee, is 17 weeks pregnant and recently tested positive for the coronavirus. She requested a ballot more than a week ago, but it never arrived in the mail, and she cannot vote in person or she would be putting hundreds at risk.
- Marcelia Nicholson is a supervisor and vice chair for Milwaukee County and is up for re-election today. But she was recently exposed to the virus and her absentee ballot was delayed in arriving, so she may not get to vote for herself.
- Jill Swenson, 61, a literary agent, is self-quarantining in her Appleton home. A widow, she lives alone, has a chronic lung disease and fears contracting the coronavirus. She requested an absentee ballot, but is unable to find a witness to sign her ballot. “I don’t know anyone who has been self-isolating who could be a witness for me,” she said.
- Laura Arvold’s rural Oneida County home has been a refuge for an immunocompromised relative who moved temporarily from Milwaukee. Amid the pandemic and the governor’s “safe at home” order, and lawsuits from liberal-leaning groups, she and her husband thought the election would be postponed, and didn’t request a ballot in time.
------Fight back NOW! All donations 3X-MATCHED!------
|
The Times also had their Wisconsin readers write in with more personal stories leading up to Election Day…
From a woman in Cambridge, WI:
My husband and I requested absentee ballots and never received them. We are seniors who always vote and today we will not vote. Human lives are at stake and the safe thing to do is to stay in place and not vote. It is a sad day in Wisconsin and our representatives did not do the honorable act by standing by the governor and postponing the election. Then the Wisconsin Supreme Court also failed Wisconsin.
From a poll worker from Brookfield, WI:
I am a poll worker and will be responsible for counting/validating absentee ballots at tomorrow’s election. I was relieved initially to see that Tony Evers, our governor, had been successful at postponing the election. Shortly after, I got the call: It was back on. I am a Democrat, and very nervous about going in tomorrow. I am 62 with no health issues but I understand the gravity of the situation. I feel responsible to our democracy to support this process but I’m very conflicted. Initially I requested an absentee ballot but never received the ballot in the mail. After waiting 11 days, I went into our clerk’s office to vote early.
An election worker in Milwaukee:
I am sick from the idea that Wisconsin’s Republican leaders believe that winning a 10-year seat on the Supreme Court is worth endangering so many lives, let alone mine. That is the only reason this election will be conducted in person tomorrow.
From a voter in Oshkosh, who titled her letter, “The least safe thing most of us will do this week”:
I was at my polling place when the polls opened at 7, and there was already a line of people, most of whom had requested an absentee ballot a couple of weeks ago. The poll workers were doing their best to wipe down the voting stations and to stay safe, but there were multiple times when people stood too closely without realizing it, and one person accidentally sneezed on the check-in desk. This was the least safe thing most of us will do this week. I have been so careful, and I may have just negated all my efforts to keep myself and my family safe because I needed to vote. There was generally a feeling of frustration and resignation at the polls — but also feelings of defiance and suspicion of authority — and that is not the spirit that we should be fostering in our communities right now.
This is not an exaggeration: Republicans are endangering lives – all of our lives, because of the nature of how this virus spreads – to suppress the vote.
If you’ve had enough then it’s time to get in this fight.
Right now, all online donations will be 300%-MATCHED!
Chip in right away and let’s defeat Trump Republicans and save our democracy>>
Thanks for everything. Your support has never been more necessary or more appreciated.
-- Ben Betz, Digital Director
|
|
Do not reply directly to this e-mail. Please use [email protected]. Trouble viewing the email? THANK YOU for your support of People For the American Way! This email was sent to [email protected]. Reaching you over email is the best way we have to let you know about the ways you can take action to fight the Right Wing and defend our constitutional rights and values. If you have any thoughts, comments, or criticisms, or if there's a better email address at which to reach you, please let us know>> If you'd like to unsubscribe from our list, you can do that here>> Radical Right extremists are trying to turn back the clock on a century of advances in civil rights, women’s rights, workers’ rights, the social safety net and more… With Donald Trump in the White House, they’re waging an all-out assault on the fundamental pillars of our country – democracy, checks and balances, a fair and independent judicial branch, and core values like fairness, equality, and justice for all. PFAW is fighting back every day with: ✔ Grassroots organizing But we can’t do this vital work without the robust grassroots financial support of our members and activists.
|
|||
|
