Examples of Election-Related Activity by Other Groups in Wisconsin

Souls to the Polls Milwaukee

https://soulstothepollsmke.org/souls-to-the-polls-history-and-about/

Souls to the Polls mission is to organize a power bloc of voters through an alliance of inner-city churches.  Our goal is to bring 100,000 souls to the polls in Milwaukee.

The vision: a small group of churches working together to mobilize voters that would let their voices be heard in a community whose voices mattered!  Souls to the Polls began operating as an organization with small donations from local unions, which allowed us to grow and make an impact.

Souls to the Polls- is commitment to educate, register and transport community residents to voting sites for future elections so that we can fulfill our vision of 100,000 Souls to the Polls.  We have canvassed more than 3,400 homes, registers voters, uses media to reach people in the broader community to drive hundreds of people to polling sites on election day. This has increased Milwaukee voter turn-out in the city of Milwaukee.

In 2020, the ministers organized a massive voter campaign kick-off on February 17 at New Holy Tabernacle Church. More than 40 ministers, hundreds of congregation members and concerned citizens rallied to prepare for the February 18 Primary election.  The 2020 campaign moved forward. Churches agreed to set up kiosks so their congregations would have easy access to register to vote, women within the church community were trained to use donated I-pads to register voters. We were scheduling voter registration events within the churches when suddenly COVID -19 struck.

Overnight, everything had changed. Churches were closed, large gatherings became dangerous and door-to-door outreach was off the table. Souls to the Polls had to redesign their entire program, using phones and email for outreach purposes. Our organizing efforts moved to the world of Zoom! We expanded our virtual program to include requesting absentee ballots and registering voters.

Conservative state legislators are committed to suppressing the Milwaukee vote, especially in Black and Brown communities. The legal fight continues, pushing the City of Milwaukee to make sure there are enough voting sites, absentee ballots, ballot drop off opportunities and that the ballots are collected and counted on time.

Souls to the Polls works with groups across the state to defeat all legislature that hinders voters rights to exercise their right to vote. We are now fighting on several fronts:

• Voter registration and mobilization: Church member canvassers are doing outreach by phone, helping church members register to vote if needed and request applications for absentee ballots. Since April, Souls to the Polls canvassers reached over 700 voters and helped 285 people to register.
• Voter outreach and education: I and other ministers have been speaking on religious and community radio stations to keep people updated on the changes in election rules, absentee ballots and attempts to suppress the Black vote. We have developed a social media campaign using Facebook, our website and email to congregation members. We are creating a database system for ongoing communication and organizing.
• Voter Protection: Souls to the Polls has been a leading partner in state wide legal fights to protect voters. We were able to delay the voter purge in April but it is returning this summer. We fought to delay the election in April.  That lawsuit was defeated but the Court agreed to extend time for accepting absentee ballots which meant over 113,000 extra votes were counted. We have led the fight in Milwaukee to make sure the voting apparatus is effective. We have won efforts to expand the number of voting sights, increase the time approved for early voting and secured agreements to make absentee voting easier by providing voter assistance and ballot drop off sites in all 16 precincts, at local libraries.

We have been actively organizing to publicize major issues. In April, we organized an in-car protest over the voting conditions on April 7 and the conservative efforts to defy the Governor and  open business in the state before COVID was under control.

On June 13, Souls to the Polls along with Soul of Solomon Missionary Church and the League of Progressive Seniors held an outdoor sit-in in support of Black Lives Matter calling on people in the community to make their voice heard at the ballot box as well as on the streets.

We are working extremely hard to knock down the challenges we face in the forthcoming November 3, election. The work continues to ensure that 100,000 Souls get to the Polls this year.

Greg Lewis, Executive Director-Pastors United, Executive Director Public Affairs
Bruce Colburn, Executive Director of Operations, Project Manager
Dale Dulberger, Finance Manager
Karen Royster, Project Coordinator, Rally Organizer
Anita Johnson, Voter ID Voter Registration Coordinator, Community Speaker and Trainer
Matt Mixon, Project Media Specialist
Chantel Teague, Social Media Specialist

---

---

Center for Tech and Civic Life (CTCL)
July 7, 2020

CTCL Partners with 5 Wisconsin Cities to Implement Safe Voting Plan

On July 6, the mayors of Wisconsin’s five largest cities announced they secured $6.3 million in grant funds from Center for Tech and Civic Life (CTCL) to support election administration in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The grants, awarded to the cities of Green Bay, Kenosha, Madison, Milwaukee, and Racine, will be used to implement the Wisconsin Safe Voting Plan — a vision for a safe, inclusive, and secure voting process in 2020 elections.

“This year, election departments are facing an unprecedented challenge of administering safe and secure elections that provide healthy voting options to the public,” said Center for Tech and Civic Life Executive Director, Tiana Epps-Johnson.  “To meet this challenge, CTCL is providing support to Wisconsin election officials so no voter is required to make a choice between their health and their ability to vote. From ensuring that polling places are open and following the latest public health guidelines, to providing options for voters to easily and securely return absentee ballots, to making certain that the incredible people who step up to serve as poll workers are protected and well compensated for their service, we’re proud to partner with the five largest cities in Wisconsin to deliver a smooth voting process that inspires confidence.”

While experts estimate it will take ~$4 billion in funding to successfully administer 2020 elections, Congress has allocated $400 million to date.

“Through an extraordinary effort, Madison was able to pull off a safe election in April, but we spent hundreds of thousands of dollars we hadn’t budgeted doing so,” said Madison Mayor, Satya Rhodes-Conway.  “As we have seen in Wisconsin and across the nation, COVID-19 is not gone; in fact it’s getting worse in some places. If we are going to meet our obligations as elected leaders to ensure the safe administration of elections during this pandemic, we have to think differently and bring in help where we can. These valuable resources will go a long way to running successful elections this year.“

Summary of grants
Total by municipality
• City of Milwaukee: $2,154,500
• City of Madison: $1,271,788
• City of Green Bay: $1,093,400
• City of Kenosha: $862,779
• City of Racine: $942,100

Total by use
Support Early In-Person Voting and Vote by Mail: $2,572,839
Expand the number of in-person Early Voting sites (including Curbside Voting).  Provide assistance to help voters comply with absentee ballot requests and certification requirements.  Utilize secure drop-boxes to facilitate return of absentee ballots.  Deploy additional staff and/or technology improvements to expedite and improve accuracy of absentee ballot processing.

Launch Poll Worker Recruitment, Training & Safety Efforts:     $1,810,028
Recruit and hire a sufficient number of  poll workers and inspectors to ensure poll sites properly staffed during virus outbreak, utilizing hazard pay where required. Provide voting facilities with funds to compensate for increased site cleaning and sanitization costs.  Provide updated training for current and new poll workers administering elections in midst of pandemic.

Ensure Safe, Efficient Election Day Administration $876,700
Procure Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and personal disinfectant to protect election officials and voters from coronavirus. Support and expand drive-thru voting on election day, including covering additional unbudgeted expenses for signage, tents, traffic control, and safety measures.

---

---

Focus on Rural America
For Immediate Release
Thursday, July 9, 2020

Wisconsin voters tell Focus on Rural America: Biden is a blank slate.

ALBIA, IOWA - Today Focus on Rural America cofounders Patty Judge and Jeff Link released their latest research on voters in rural and suburban Wisconsin. From June 29 – July 1, Focus on Rural America held four focus groups conducted by David Binder Research. The uncommitted rural and suburban Wisconsin voters, divided into groups by gender and education level, had supported Barack Obama in 2012 and Donald Trump in 2016. Voters shared their views on the economy, the candidates, and current events such as the coronavirus pandemic, and how the President is managing it.
 
The findings show that neither candidate, President Trump nor the former Vice President Joe Biden, is a lock. Past research by Focus on Rural America and David Binder Research showed that Trump defeated Hillary Clinton in 2016 with voters who could rattle off Trump's key messages. However, the President's agenda is now vague and generally refers to a strong economy and political division.
 
Vice President Biden, to these voters, is a blank slate. Uncommitted voters are aware of his time as Vice President but, aside from characterizations by the Trump Administration to define him in a poor light, voters said they do not know much about him.
 
"It's not all candy and roses, not for Biden or for Trump," said Link. "Voter views of Trump have shifted, and they can no longer define what exactly it is Trump wants to do during a second term. They still think he's good for the economy, but he's lost significant ground. Biden, on the other hand, is a mystery to them. He has yet to define himself to these voters, which leaves an opening for Trump to do it, and he's running hard to define Biden as weak."  
 
"These voters don't know Biden," said Judge. "I think he has a real chance to tell his story and remind rural and suburban voters that Donald Trump fights for the rich and powerful, while Joe Biden is a scrappy kid from Scranton who knows what it takes for real people to get ahead, or simply get by. But the time is now. He has got to reach out to these voters and tell them who he is before Trump does it for him."
 
When asked to rate the candidates, Biden squeaked by Trump on ending racial injustice. Voters expressed support for the protests following George Floyd's death and acknowledged a need for greater equality, however, some worry about a sense of lawlessness and think Biden might get pulled too far to the left.
 
Generally, voters did not blame Trump for coronavirus or his handling of it. They don't think someone else would have acted differently given the uniqueness of the pandemic. They gave Trump the edge on continuing to handle it.
 
On the economy, most voters based their views on Trump's performance on the state of things before the pandemic and gave him credit for bringing manufacturing jobs to Wisconsin.
 
However, as much as these voters refer to Trump as a businessman and his strength on economic issues, they get the impression that Biden is better for rural economies and small businesses on Main Street. When asked about Secretary Sonny Purdue's "the big get bigger, and the small get out" comments regarding family farmers and Administrator Wheeler's oil and gas waivers to divert 4 billion gallons of Midwestern ethanol, voters understood that politics were getting in the way of policy. Regardless of ideology, they thought that was wrong.
 
Although they gave Trump the benefit of the doubt on his handling of coronavirus, voters said Trump might have been thinking of his re-election when he delayed action at the start of the pandemic. Also, while voters said they did not know enough about Joe Biden, they said he would be better for rural America, giving Biden his best performance next to racial justice.
 
Obama-Trump voters in Wisconsin have not seen enough to abandon Trump. Still, they express a growing understanding that his policies and behavior are self-serving and in the interest of big business. Whether or not Trump's brazen and divisive campaign style will win them over may depend on how quickly Biden's campaign can introduce and define the Vice President to these voters. 
 
You can download the research summary here.
 
For more information on the focus groups and research, please reach out to katy@linkstrategies.com.