Thank you so much for volunteering!

Phone likely Democrats from your own home for 5-6 hours between now and October 20.

We've sent postcards to 3000 Milwaukee voters and 2500 North Shore women encouraging early voting, either by absentee ballot or by in-person early voting. Now we need to follow up with a phone call. We have  created a Virtual Phone Bank (VPBs) for you to use as well as a script and a FAQs so you can feel confident about the information you provide.

Sign up by clicking the RSVP button. The automatic response you will receive will invite you to register for a training/orientation program on Tuesday, September 15, at 4:30. If you are experienced and confident, you don't need to attend this training or any subsequent ones we will schedule. As long as you RSVP here, you will receive what up need .

Join us for our renewed series of MythBusters. Here we feature emeritus economics professor Dr. Bill Holahan busting the myth behind the Trump economy.

This program is a series of short videos featuring local experts who dismantle the lies — known in polite circles as lies. During these four-five minutes, these clips will set you straight with the facts around important issues, facts you can use when engaging others. 

This video is on YouTube. Watch .

You have a myth you want to see busted? Let us know either by email or on our Facebook comments section. 

Get your Deb Andraca yard sign here. Just check the box below and submit the form. You'll receive an email with instructions for where to pick up the sign.

Where to Drop Off Your Ballot

Get your Plotkin yard sign here! Just check the box below and submit the form. You'll receive an email with instructions for where to pick up the sign.

This voter registration drive, organized by Civitech, aims to reach 100,000 potential Democrats who are eligible to vote but who need to be registered ahead of the November 3 election.

This Wisconsin Voter Registration Program is a way to register up to 30,000 Wisconsin voters by long distance before the November election.

It is a well-organized, funded and proven effort that works through a two-step process.

Step 1: Civitech sends a mailer to the 100,000 potential voters.
Step 2: Volunteers make follow-up phone calls to help people register to vote.

Originated in Texas in 2018 by Civitech/Register2Vote, this program had a 30% success rate.  They reached out to 534,210 Texans and registered 156,738 (30%) over an 8-week period.  Of those registrants, 112,217 (72%) actually voted. Translated into the numbers for Wisconsin, we could reap 22,000 new votes! 

In 2016, Donald Trump secured his win in the Electoral College by winning Wisconsin with a slim margin of less than 23,000 votes. So every vote we secure for Vice President Biden is a chip out of that Trump vote total.

All you have to do is make the calls, a total of 14-28 hours of them over the 7 week period designated for this process.

We don't have any more Biden signs right now. We hope to have news, if not signs, for the Biden-Harris campaign soon. Stay tuned.

Filling out the form below will tell us that you want a sign once we have some.

Get your Siegrist yard sign here. Just check the box below and submit the form. You'll receive an email with instructions for where to pick up the sign.

Of course you want a Biden-Harris Yard Sign. Reserve yours and receive an email with instructions for picking it up when they become available.

If you live in the 24th Assembly District, you will want your lawn to sport an Emily Siegrist Sign. Sign up for one and get email instructions for picking one up.

 
If you live in Wisconsin Senate District 8 (currently and incompetently represented by Alberta Darling), you have to have Neal Plotkin for State Senate Yard Sign. Reserve yours and receive an email with instructions for picking it up.

If you live in the 23rd Assembly District, you will want your lawn to sport a Deb Andraca Sign. Sign up for one and get email instructions for picking one up.

Congressional District 6: Jessica King

Grassroots North Shore endorses Jessica King, candidate for the 6th Congressional District. A candidate with political experience, Jessica was formerly a member of the Oshkosh City Council and a Wisconsin state Senator. As an attorney, she has been working for patients' rights for the last six years. Before that she advocated for farmers, families and small businesses during the Great Recession against predatory lenders. She currently supports many of the issue positions Grassroots North Shore favors: single-payer healthcare; decriminalizing pot, allowing farmers to grow marijuana and allowing WI to regulate and profit from it. She has grown up in the district and knows its farm culture and communities well. She is a committed activist for the interests of the people she was elected to serve and believes that we have a responsibility to ensure that this generation and future generations have access to clean water, clean air and public spaces to enjoy, protect and conserve. And she has a long standing commitment to civil rights and social justice. We think Jessica King will be a welcome replacement for Glenn Grothman, who is an embarrassment to the state, blurting out nonsense, as the CapTimes put it. The 6th Congressional District will be much better served by someone as thoughtful as Jessica King and she has our enthusiastic support. Visit her website and her Facebook page.

Assembly District 23: Deb Andraca

Grassroots North Shore endorses Deb Andraca, candidate for the 23^rd Assembly District. We are impressed by her challenge to her Republican incumbent Jim Ott , especially in the area of sensible legislation for gun safety. Other key focuses in her campaign are protection and support for the environment and public schools. After earning a BA in political science and public relations and a MA in political management, she worked as Communications Director at the Environmental Law Policy Center of the Midwest. She has also done volunteer work with the Urban Ecology Center, Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense, and as past PTO president. Her work with these organizations shows us her potential as a legislator. Visit her website and her Facebook page for more insight.

Assembly District 24:  Emily Siegrist

Grassroots North Shore endorses Emily Siegrist, candidate for the 24^th Assembly District. She is strongly stepping up to run because she feels the Republican incumbent has been ignoring his constituents’ views, needs, and beliefs on key issues. As the mother of two young children, she supports reinvesting in public schools. As a veteran who served in the National Guard and as a nurse, she will put her skills to work expanding affordable health care for all in Wisconsin and advocating for veterans as they transition to civilian life. She will strengthen Wisconsin’s economy with emphasis on needed infrastructure, guided by respect for the environment. Her goals are our goals. Visit her website and her Facebook page for more insight.

Senate District 8:  Neal Plotkin

Grassroots North Shore endorses Glendale resident Neal Plotkin, who is challenging Republican incumbent Alberta Darling for the Wisconsin State Senate District 8 seat. Neal credits his immigrant parents for instilling in him a strong work ethic that made him the first in his family to graduate from college. After building a successful career in sales and marketing, eventually owning his own agency, he believes new leadership is needed in Madison to (1) reverse the senseless deep cuts to public education and the UW-System; (2) support the Department of Natural Resources to guard Wisconsin’s environmental assets; (3) reduce property taxes to benefit all, not just big business and the politically connected. His values are needed in Madison. Visit his website and his Facebook page for more insight.

Because we cannot be certain that voting in person on Election Day will be safe either for voters or for poll workers, we urge everyone to plan to vote by absentee ballot. (If it is safe, you don't have to use the absentee ballot so you can still vote in person if you prefer.) The dates of the elections are August 11 for the partisan primary and November 3 for the national general election. 

Requesting an absentee ballot online can be frustrating, but it does not have to be. The best way to accomplish the task is to use your smartphone or tablet. In the following illustration, a red arrow signifies a field you must complete. A blue arrow signifies the action to take when you have completed the screen.

Step 1: use an up-to-date browser (older ones are not well supported) and go to myvote.wi.gov.

Step 2: Choose "Vote Absentee" from the menu. The screen should look something like this illustration but it may be formatted differently depending on the device you are using:

Step 3: On the next screen, enter your name and date of birth. The system will then check to make sure you are a registered voter.

Step 4: Assuming you are a registered voter, you will next need to verify your name and address:

Step 5: Select the address you want your absentee ballot sent to. In most instances, you will choose your home address, but college students might well choose an address that is not the one they use when they're at school:

Step 6: On this screen you will choose the election(s) for which you want to vote with an absentee ballot. At this point in the year, you are required to request an absentee ballot for BOTH the August and the November elections. But remember that you can decide not to use the absentee ballot you receive in the mail. You can instead, if you choose, vote in person on election day.

Step 7: You will now be asked to upload a photo ID, usually your drivers license – but NOT A SELFIE!. (Here's a list of acceptable photo IDs.) If you have already done this before, you probably will not have to do it again. But some people have reported that they have needed to complete this step a second time, even though they used the system to request an absentee ballot in the past. Also, if you are using a computer with this system, you will need to take a photo of your ID, send it to yourself (sharing it and emailing it to yourself is usually the simplest method). Then save the photo from your email inbox. At that point, you can use the "Add Files +" button (see below) to upload your picture. If you are having trouble with the photo ID part of the process, please contact the Voter Protection Hotline at 608-336-3232.

If you are using a smart phone or tablet, the screen should look something like this:

After you click the button, the screen should display the following: 

Using the camera in your device, take a picture of your photo ID and then click on "Use Photo."

Step 8: Congratulations! You're done.

Here's a video from the Democratic Party of Wisconsin that shows the steps on a smartphone. For some reason, the sound doesn't play for me (your results may vary) but the dynamic pictures of the screens are very clear. And here's another video, from Citizen Action of Wisconsin. It was made for the April 7 election, but the steps remain the same for every election. Just remember to choose "all elections this calendar year" rather than the April 7 election which is, of course, over and done with!

If you'd prefer to use another method, you can

• Download and print a form, print a copy of your photo ID, and mail both documents to your municipal clerk. You can look up the clerk's name and address on myvote.wi.gov or find it on your municipality's website. Instead of putting your request form in the US mail, you can use a secure dropbox at your village or city hall to turn the documents in.
  
  
• Call, email or fax your municipal clerk. You can find contact information on your municipality's website or on myvote.wi.gov.

Our Spring 2020 Endorsements page is now up. On it you will see that we have endorsed Judge Jill Karofsky for Wisconsin State Supreme Court. We also have endorsed in two races for Circuit Court Judge in Milwaukee County. And we recommend voting YES on the Milwaukee County advisory referendum promoting a nonpartisan process for drawing new electoral maps in 2021. We have made no recommendation on the statewide, binding referendum on criminal justice reform.

We also have links to information about the two candidates for Milwaukee County Executive.

Check it out!

Know something about the two candidates running in the April 7 election to be Milwaukee County Executive. State Representative David Crowley and State Senator Chris Larson have both completed answers to a short questionnaire we have sent them. You can read them on our site.

Grassroots North Shore encourages everyone to stay safe and vote by mail. To do this, use your smartphone (a cell phone that has a camera and an internet connection) to access myvote.wi.gov. Once on the site, choose Vote Absentee. The site will walk you through the application process and will send the request form and your photo ID to the clerk of your municipality. But don't dither. The absentee ballot must be received by the municipal clerk by 8pm on April 7!

Revised: 3/26/2020 at 3:15 pm. Please note that it is now likely that there will be no open polling places on Election Day, April 7, 2020, at least in the City of Milwaukee. The only sure way to vote is to vote by mail with an absentee ballot. The rules for acquiring an absentee ballot have changed slightly to make it somewhat easier to obtain.

The coronavirus has disrupted most things, but our April 7 election remains on the schedule. You can of course show up at the polls on election day to cast your ballot (you can see a sample ballot and find your polling place at myvote.wi.gov) but you would be doing poll workers and yourself a huge favor if instead you vote by mail, using an absentee ballot.  

There are TWO steps you have to perform:

1. Request that your municipal clerk send you an absentee ballot.
2. Fill out and mail the ballot back so that it arrives by 8pm on April 7 (otherwise your vote will not count).

To request an absentee ballot, you have to fill out a form. There are two routes you can take. The first is online.

1. Use a computer or a smartphone and a browser to go to myvote.wi.gov.
2. Click "Vote Absentee". 
3. Fill in your name and date of birth in the online application to check your registration status. 
4. Click the button "Request an Absentee Ballot" on the screen that displays your name, address, and registration status. 
5. Fill in the form requesting an absentee ballot. You can choose to request an absentee ballot for the April 7, 2020 election only or you can choose to request an absentee ballot for the August 11 election and the November 3 election as well. The request form may require you to upload a picture of your photo ID. Try to comply. If you cannot, go to the next step.
6. Choose the box that says that you are "indefinitely confined." The coronavirus has rendered that statement true for everyone but do upload a picture of your photo ID if you are able to do so. If you are not able to upload a photo, choosing the box for indefinitely confined means that you will no longer need to provide a photo ID with your request form.
7. The site will automatically send the request to your municipal clerk.

The second route is to print a copy of the form yourself. Once you have a copy, fill it out, and choose the box that says you're indefinitely confined if you are having a problem photographing and or printing a photo of your photo ID. Then mail the form to your municipal clerk. You can find a pdf of the request form on the site of the Wisconsin Election Commission. When you are filling out the form, we suggest that you request an absentee ballot for all elections for the remainder of 2020. You'll find that selection in box 6 of the form. You can find the mail address for your municipal clerk at myvote.wi.gov. Choose "Find My Polling Place". On the lefthand side of the screen you will see the name and some contact information for your municipal clerk. Clicking on the "More Information" button will bring up the mailing address.

As of March 19, Bayside and Whitefish Bay are sending forms to request an absentee ballot to every registered voter! Some other communities may be doing the same. And if Wisconsin takes steps now to have all votes by mail, we can heave a sigh of relief and avoid the risk of being contaminated at the polls or spreading the virus to others there. Wouldn't that be a good thing?

You can read the text of Milwaukee County Clerk George Christianson's memo:

Grassroots North Shore is proud to announce its 

Endorsement of Judge Jill Karofsky for Wisconsin Supreme Court

The nonpartisan general election of 2020 is April 7. Early voting in most North Shore communities will begin by March 23 (in a few communities it will begin earlier -- check with your village or city administration. It will end on April 3 at 5pm. Before you go to the polls -- either for early voting or on election day -- be sure to check your registration, polling place and sample ballot: myvote.wi.gov.

The only statewide race on your ballot will be the one for Wisconsin State Supreme Court. The candidates are Dan Kelly (incumbent and Walker appointee), and Jill Karofsky, judge on the Circuit Court of Wisconsin. You can read our endorsement of Judge Karofsky and her answers to our Grassroots North Shore Questionnaire. You can also visit the the website and Facebook page for Karofsky's campaign. We urge our supporters to vote for Karofsky. She is the only progressive in this race.

Our Elections 2020 page provides some information about early voting in many North Shore communities, including phone numbers to reach your community's administration. It would be prudent to call to make sure, but most early voting for the nonpartisan election on April 7, 2020, will take place at the city or village hall. So please vote in this election and in all subsequent elections this year!

In addition to the April 7 election, Wisconsin will hold two more: the partisan primary on August 11 and the general election on November 3. Mark your calendars for subsequent dates now so that you don't forget to vote. (If you know you are going to be out of town or otherwise unable to vote early in person or go to the polls on election day, you can always request a mail-in ballot at myvote.wi.gov.)

Early Voting Information*

You can register online before the November election until October 15, 2020. You can also register at the polls, whether you use in-person absentee processes or you go to the polls on election day. Information about what documents you need to register and what you need to vote are available here. You can check and update your registration, find your polling place, see a sample ballot for your location, and request an absentee ballot at myvote.wi.gov. We urge you to do so well ahead of election day!

Be sure to fill out your absentee ballot correctly. See a quick video showing you how.

* Early voting (aka in-person absentee voting) takes place for the two weeks prior to the week of the primary, ending on the Friday before election day.

* Because the November 3 election includes a presidential choice, turnout is likely to be high. In this uncertain time, however, we are encouraging everyone to request an absentee ballot and to return it via a drop box supplied by each municipality. Dropping off your vote is both safe and secure. 

In Wisconsin, 2020 will bring FOUR regularly scheduled elections and TWO special elections (a primary and a general election for US Representative in the 7th Congressional District). It will be an incredibly important and incredibly busy year for Grassroots North Shore. And, we hope, for all of our supporters.

Here's what's coming up:

• Primary for the Partisan Fall election, August 11
• General Partisan Election, November 3

Grassroots North Shore provides information on early (in-person absentee) voting. You can check your own registration and see a sample ballot for each election at myvote.wi.gov.

In these uncertain times, we encourage everyone to request an absentee ballot so you can vote safely and securely from home. All registered voters can request an absentee ballot at myvote.wi.gov. You can find an illustrated, step-by-step guide to using a smart phone to make your request here. Although you can request an absentee ballot as late as August 7 for the primary and October 29 for the general election, it's best to complete the process much earlier to avoid last minute problems.

Once you have requested an absentee ballot, you can track the request at myvote.wi.gov.

Once you have received your ballot, you should complete it and the certification envelope that comes with it as soon as you can. View a video to see how to complete the ballot and certification envelope. The witness signature AND his/her address are required.

When you have voted and sealed your ballot inside the certification envelope, you have two options for returning it: by mailing it or by dropping it off at a specified location. We recommend dropping it off if you can, to avoid overwhelming the postal service and to ensure that your ballot is received by election authorities before 5pm on election day. See the list of drop-off locations for ballots in North Shore communities and for Ozaukee County communities (courtesy of the Ozaukee County Democrats). 

This section of the site provides:

• Endorsements of candidates running for state or federal office who are unopposed within the Democratic party and therefore are not facing a primary in August;
• Statements from candidates for state or federal office who are competing in the August primary;
• Contact information and early voting days and times for our North Shore and Ozaukee County communities.

If we want the court-ordered redistricting process to end partisan gerrymandering in Wisconsin, we will have to orchestrate a public outcry about the secretive and hyper-partisan way district lines were drawn in 2011 (the map the court found to be unconstitutional).

We will have to insist—loudly and publicly and as often as possible—that the new maps must be drawn in an inclusive and transparent way, with bipartisan and nonpartisan input and with public hearings held in locations around the state so as many citizens as possible can participate and be heard.

Do your part and sign up to work to end partisan gerrymandering in Wisconsin NOW.