One week to go!
We're one week away from what we used to call Election Day but is now better called "the end of voting day." We're unlikely to know the complete results here in Wisconsin that night because the law does not permit any processing of absentee ballots until 7am when the polls open on November 3. And as of this morning, 1,771,503 ballots have been issued, and 1,451,462 reported returned, including 352,073 in-person absentee ballots (clerk's office) cast since 10/20. In other words, about half of the 2.9 million votes in 2016's presidential election have already been cast. And, depending on where you live, there are still three to five days of early voting yet to come.
We don't know, of course, what this avalanche of early voting means: it could mean people — presumably on both sides — are just that eager to vote or it could mean that voters in Wisconsin are deeply concerned about the explosion of COVID-19 cases we're currently seeing. In any case, people are voting early in droves. If you have not voted yet, TODAY'S THE DAY TO DO SO. And if you still have an absentee ballot kicking around, fill it out, get the certification envelope signed and witnessed, and take it to the DROP BOX in your community. You can find a list of drop box locations by using the Wisconsin Democratic Party's website.
The COVID-19 situation in Wisconsin is almost catastrophic: the per capita rate of infection is the 3rd highest in the nation, according to the New York Times. And the total deaths from the coronavirus so far have exceeded 225,000 nationwide. In other words, "American carnage" for real this time. Mark Meadows, the Chief of Staff to the orange occupant of the oval office, has signaled that the administration's policy is to avoid blame for the explosion of infections by doing nothing itself but pointing to governors' policies in the states. In a CNN interview on Sunday, he said, "We're not going to control the pandemic." Although some of the press have called Meadows's statement "admitting defeat," it is in fact merely making plain what has been the de facto federal policy all along. Meanwhile, a study from Kansas University has shown that COVID-19 is spreading half as quickly in counties with mask mandates than in those without.
As we round the last turn and head down the stretch toward the end of voting, there are still plenty of opportunities to help make sure Wisconsin corrects its error of 2016.
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Phonebanking. This is the most important thing you can do to make sure the turnout in Milwaukee and all across the state is as robust as we can make it. The Biden campaign is holding phone banks for the four days of the traditional Get Out the Vote, when we would ordinarily be knocking on doors. So if you live in Milwaukee County sign up for shifts on Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. If you live in Ozaukee County, sign up for shifts for Mequon and Thiensville or Cedarburg, Grafton, and Port Washington. We need to get every last person who is going to vote for Biden (and other Democrats down the ballot) to turn out. It's how you do your part!
- Work with Supermarket Legends by handing out flyers at busy locations. Pick up flyers and a list of places to distribute them at Linea Sundstrom's home, 1320 Lake Bluff, Shorewood. Flyers are in the red box near her garage. For questions, email Terri Lowder.
- Volunteer to drive sound trucks in Milwaukee to help turn out the vote during the Final Four days (10/31-11/3), and especially Election Day, when we'll want about 10 of these trucks. Drivers will pick up the trucks the campaign is renting, large speakers and gas cards from the office, and routes to drive in high-priority, low turnout wards. The campaign would love to have people who are committed to all four days, but if that's unrealistic it would be great if volunteers could form their own teams to cover the period. To get involved, contact Millicent Cripe. She'd love to have volunteers connect with her by noon on Wednesday, October 28.
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Drop literature on behalf of the Biden Campaign:
- Wednesday, 10/28
- Friday, 10/30
- Saturday, 10/31
- Sunday, 11/1 (the last day of early voting in Milwaukee)
- Monday, 11/2
You'll also find phone banking and lit drop opportunities for specific candidates in the events list.
Read moreNOW it's a sprint!
Early in-person voting has begun in Wisconsin! The chair of the Milwaukee County Democratic Party has informed the Executive Committee that by tomorrow, voters in Wisconsin will have already cast over a million votes. Yesterday's Journal Sentinel analyzed the absentee ballots received before the early in-person voting began. "Wisconsinites have now returned more than 860,000 absentee ballots by mail, according to the latest statewide data released Monday. That is the equivalent of 29% of the state’s 2016 turnout of just under 3 million. And it’s astronomically more ballots cast by mail than in any previous fall election in Wisconsin. Dane County has returned the most ballots as a percentage of its 2016 vote (45%), followed by Brown (35%), Door (34%), Milwaukee (32%) and Bayfield, Ozaukee and Outagamie at 31%." In the North Shore, "communities that have hit 50% of their 2016 turnout include Bayside, Shorewood and Whitefish Bay in Milwaukee County...." In short, turnout is already high and climbing.
If you yourself have not already voted, now would be a good time to do so. For early voting days & times in your community, see our Early Voting page on our website. Voting early means that if you are not in a high risk group for Covid-19, you can sign up to be a "poll observer" and help ensure that voters are not intimidated or challenged when they go to vote on election day. Sign up here.
And here's some analysis you can use — and we have published on our website — to talk about the economy and jobs with that shrinking pool of undecided voters. Bill Holahan and our own Keith Schmitz have teamed up to bring us another "Mythbusters" segment. Bill dissects the latest jobs report, the last one the Federal government will release before Election Day. Be sure you watch it and refer others to it.
The events list is suddenly quite full and long! Lots of opportunities to help win races in Wisconsin. So be sure you sign up for something. Although voters are turning out in droves around here, our candidates will need your help to chase down every last one of our left-leaning supporters to turn them out by or on election day. Only two weeks remain: get busy!
Read moreFour weeks to go
With only four weeks to go, Grassroots North Shore is putting the pedal to the metal. And you should too. The polls are looking good but we all know we cannot entirely rely on them. So what are you prepared to do? Here are some suggestions:
- For some inspiration, watch Grassroots North Shore's Sweet Sixteen presentation with John Nichols, associate editor of the CapTimes and National Affairs correspondent for The Nation.
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Call Dems in the North Shore to urge them to vote early.
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Volunteer with the Ozaukee Dems to make calls for Neal Plotkin (running to defeat Alberta Darling in the 8th state Senate District) and Deb Andraca (running to defeat Jim Ott in the 23rd Assembly District), and other phone banks on the Oz Dems calendar.
- Call with the Democratic Party from now until election day:
You'll find other opportunities to contribute your energies to worthy candidates and causes in the events listing.
The latest forecast for the electoral college from fivethirtyeight.com predicts that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will win 83 out of 100 times in the 40,000 simulations the site runs frequently. It's based on both state and national polls and is a pretty reliable guide to where things stand right now. The chances of a Biden/Harris win have been increasing steadily over the past week. So I'm cautiously optimistic. The site has Wisconsin at 52.6% for Biden and 46.5% for Drumpf. The margin is a mere 6.1% but the really important piece of data is that Biden is well over the 50% mark!
RealClearPolitics has the national polling at +9.2% for Biden and the Senate going BLUE if its state-by-state projections pan out. Although we should not rely on polls and relax, you might want to bookmark these two sites. RealClearPolitics runs a bit to the right while fivethirtyeight.com tries to hew to the objective, statistical probabilities. Between the two, you are likely to get a fairly clear picture of the state of the race.
Finally, the results of the first debate between the disgrace of a president and former VP Biden are in. Daily Kos has the story.
A new CNN-SSRS national poll released Tuesday puts Joe Biden up over Donald Drumpf by a whopping 16 points among likely voters, 57%-41%. And the poll isn't exactly an outlier. Another national poll released over the weekend by NBC News/Wall Street Journal gave Biden a 14-point advantage among registered voters.
Both polls were taken entirely after Drumpf's off-the-rails performance last Tuesday, but CNN's poll—taken Thursday-Sunday—also captured most of the window in which the public learned Drumpf had tested positive for COVID-19. In fact, support for Biden's response to the pandemic spiked in the latest poll, giving him a 21-point advantage over Drumpf on the matter.
Overall, on the issues, voters gave an advantage to Drumpf on basically nothing. Even on the economy, Biden held a slight edge, with voters preferring Biden over Drumpf 50%-48%. And then there was everything else—where Biden dominated.
- Coronavirus: Biden 59%, Drumpf 38%
- Health care: Biden 59%, Drumpf 39%
- Racial inequality: Biden 62%, Drumpf 36%
- Supreme Court nominations: Biden 57%, Drumpf 41%
- Crime and safety: Biden 55%, Drumpf 43%
Now get busy. We can win this election and take back the Senate. But we need all hands on deck.
Read moreLet's Get Ready to Rumble
Important things to do this week: Watch the first presidential debate, perhaps, but for sure sign up for our Sweet Sixteen afternoon party and FUNdraiserat 4:30 on Sunday, Oct. 4, with our guest and good friend John Nichols. He's bound to lift our spirits and get us well and truly pumped up ahead of the election. In the spirit of the Wisconsin we used to know, John is a true progressive through and through. He believes in the power of collective action, both in marching for justice and in voting for change. The event itself is open to the public. But we encourage you to support Grassroots North Shore with whatever donation you can afford.
In this year of multiple elections, and of Covid-19, we have still been hard at work, teaming up with Souls to the Polls to recruit Election Inspectors (aka poll workers), with Civitech and Indivisible groups in northern Illinois to register voters, and with the Democratic Party of Wisconsin to make direct voter contact. We have now sent voter information postcards and follow-up phone calls to more than 10,000 voters in Ozaukee County, the North Shore, and the city. We've helped sponsor a candidate forum with the Ozaukee Dems and held another candidate forum for four candidates running for Assembly and state Senate. And now we're experimenting with innovative pantomime canvassing — with poster boards — to maintain appropriate social distancing while refusing to give up door-knocking altogether. Volunteers have stepped up to make all these activities possible. But without funds, the vibrant and creative talents our supporters provide can't continue. And that's why we need your financial support as well.
Partnering with others is one way we multiply the energy and talent in the Grassroots North Shore Community. So let Jim Brown with Supermarket Legends know if you want to help Milwaukee optimize its early voting period (from October 20 through November 1). The plan is to do signage and visibility near early voting sites (there are 18 of them) without any direct contact with people. Near some of the sites where signs might be most effective, cars with EARLY VOTE HERE NOW signs will be placed on top of cars and trucks. Volunteers who are comfortable with it can stand nearby and wave bright orange signs with arrows pointing to the voting locations without risking anyone's health. Supermarket Legends will supply the signs and everything else you need.
Grassroots North Shore is still looking for people to make follow-up phone calls to voters who received postcards from us, both on the North Shore and in the city. Our purpose is to encourage early voting, both by vote-at-home balloting (aka vote-by-mail) and by early in-person voting. Our phone calls provide important information about the processes people can use and also give voters the phone number of the Voter Protection Team in case they run into snags. You can sign up to help us complete the calls to North Shore voters and to younger voters in Milwaukee. Like Supermarket Legends, we know that early voting effectively reduces lines and chaos on Election day. And people can register or correct problems with their registration during the early in-person voting period. The sealed ballot envelope can be witnessed and turned in as the voter completes the process.
YARD SIGNS! We have them and they're yours just for the asking! Go to our Yard Signs website page and sign up for all that apply: Biden/Harris, of course, but also Neal Plotkin (8th state Senate District), Deb Andraca (23rd Assembly District), and Emily Siegrist (24th Assembly District). Yard signs help with name recognition for the candidates and let your neighbors and passersby know that you are proud of and enthusiastically support our candidates. After you sign up, you'll receive an email with some instructions and/or contact from those organizing the distribution of signs.
Finally, I'm sure you've already heard about the New York Times bombshell reporting on DJT's 20 years of tax returns. The lead story was published Sunday evening. Today there's a second story showing the fortune and the fortunes DJT made out of The Apprentice, what he squandered the money on, but how he catapulted himself into the White House on the strength of the phony business acumen that was the central fiction of the TV show. Will this be the exposé that brings "The Donald" down? Who knows. But it appears that rushing to name a new Supreme Court justice is not helping him win over any voters. It turns out that a majority of Americans think winner of presidential election should select Supreme Court nominee, according to a Washington Post-ABC News Poll.
Read morelet's get going!
The absentee ballots will go out on time! That's the apparent result of yesterday's Wisconsin Supreme Court decision denying the Green Party a spot on the presidential ballot this time around. Kanye West also met with defeat in a ruling last Friday, although he has apparently filed an appeal to the Wisconsin Supreme Court. We expect his appeal to fail, however. Assuming the ballots go out by the legal deadline, anyone who has already requested an absentee ballot should receive it within the next week. By law, they have to be mailed on or before September 17. So watch for yours. You can find out when your clerk put yours in the mail at myvote.wi.gov. You can also see what's on your ballot there.
This last week has been a real rollercoaster in the political news, but Grassroots North Shore has kept its balance throughout. We premiered our candidate forum on YouTube on Sunday, Sept. 13. If you missed it, you can still view the show at our YouTube channel. And we continued to send 2800 postcards to voters in the North Shore who had not yet requested an absentee ballot. Beginning this week we're following up with phone calls to card recipients. The calls provide detailed information on the absentee ballot process as well as the in-person early voting process. We could use more callers, natch. Sign up to participate!
We've begun sending vote reminder postcards to ~3000 city voters this week and will be following up those cards with phone calls too. The calls are easy — offering information and assistance to Democratic voters. Think of it as an untraditional Get Out the Vote activity: untraditional because it's starting now instead of the weekend before Election Day and also because we are not able to go door-to-door as we typically would have. We'll ask people to sign up for those calls in next week's newsletter. So make a mental note to join us.
Finally, give a little something to the cause. Every Democrat running anywhere in the country, it seems, is filling my inbox with dire and or joyous news designed to pry some money out of me. I'm sure it's the same for you. But in this case, I'm not asking on behalf of any particular candidate. I'm asking you to help support the work of Grassroots North Shore for another year. Our good friend and crackerjack speaker, John Nichols, will fire us up in a live Zoom talk on Sunday, October 4, at 4:30. (Once you RSVP, you will receive further information about connecting to the Zoom meeting.) The program is free, but Grassroots North Shore — for all that it's a fully volunteer-staffed organization — needs to raise enough money to see it through each year. In case you don't know what expenses we have, here's a short list: operating expenses, this newsletter, our regular events, and of course political organizing and campaigning. You can donate before, during, and even after the event. Every dollar is deeply appreciated.
Read moreIt's beginning to look a lot like ... Election Day!
In last week's newsletter, I wrote that fall was almost upon us. This week, it's here already! And since Labor Day is now in the rear view mirror, it really is time to get ourselves in gear and get going. Voting is already happening in North Carolina and may soon begin here as well. Municipal clerks by law must send absentee ballots to everyone who has already requested them by September 17, according to the Wisconsin Election Commission. September 17 is a mere nine days from now. So Wisconsin voters should have ballots in hand by the 19th or 21st of this month. Another way to think about this: Get Out the Vote work — traditionally the focus of the last weekend before election day — is already on the bubble. And Grassroots North Shore is beginning its GOTV effort by doing follow-up phone calls with people we've recently sent postcards to. We'll be calling two different populations: women on the North Shore in Milwaukee County and younger voters (ages 18-40) in the city. All the targets are at least leaning toward voting for Democrats, so these should be easy calls to make. You can sign up now. We should have everything ready to go by the begging of next week.
And don't forget to tune in to our Zoom picnic morphed into a candidate forum on Sunday, September 13. The event begins at 4:30 but the "waiting room" opens at 4:15. You'll want to be there to hear from a quartet of Democratic candidates, three of whom who are running to unseat incumbent Republicans. Deb Andraca is running for Assembly District 23. Her territory includes Whitefish Bay, Fox Point, Bayside, and a big chunk of eastern Ozaukee County. Emily Siegrist is running for Assembly District 24, with territory in Glendale, Brown Deer, a piece of west Ozaukee County, and a chunk of Washington County. And Neal Plotkin is running to unseat Alberta Darling in the 8th state Senate District. That district includes Assembly District 23 and Assembly District 24. Dora Drake, the fourth candidate in our forum, is running for an open seat in Assembly District 11.
Each candidate will give a 10-minute presentation followed by a Question and Answer period with Edgar Lin, an attorney with experience in the State Public Defenders Office. So by the end of the event, you'll be well informed about the race in your Assembly District and in a state Senate District. Why is this important? We're counting on you to do the vital work of relational organizing, a fancy term for talking with your friends and neighbors about these outstanding candidates. And about the need to overcome the gerrymandering the GOP legislature put in place in 2011. If Republicans gain a supermajority in both of the legislative chambers in this election, they will be able to over-ride the Governor's veto of the rigged electoral maps they're sure to concoct in 2011, ensuring Republican control of the legislature until 2031. We can't let that happen!
So join us for this candidate forum by signing up on our website. You'll then receive an email with the information you need to connect with the zoom meeting. Sign up here.
And for a little pick-me-up, try the Republican-leaning Rasmussen poll for Wisconsin. It has Biden leading the evil buffoon in the White House by 8%, 51% to 43%. "Among the 84% of Wisconsin voters who are already certain how they will vote, Biden leads 54% to 46%." Will you look at that! The BLUE team is fired up and ready to vote.
Read moremaking the next two months count
Fall is almost upon us. So in a normal year, we'd be getting geared up for our annual picnic at Cahill Park. Alas, not this year. Instead we're venturing into the weird territory of online events. So you'll have to supply your own food and drink! But don't worry. Grassroots North Shore will supply the REAL MEAT (or should I say MEET): four excellent candidates for legislative positions in Wisconsin. Dora Drake is running in the 11th Assembly District; Deb Andraca is running (against Jim Ott) in the 23rd Assembly District; Emily Siegrist is running (against Dan Knodl) in the 24th Assembly District; and Neal Plotkin is running (against Alberta Darling) in the 8th Senate District. All four will introduce themselves to our North Shore supporters in succinct presentations, followed by a 10-minute question and answer session moderated by Edgar Lin.
All of these candidates are first rate but three of them face especially difficult races because the electoral maps Republican drew after the last census in 2010 tried to lock in Republican domination of those districts. Fortunately, in the last election cycle, the tide seems to be turning. So we have a good chance to make some inroads into the GOP dominated legislature. You can (and should) help. First attend the "picnic" turned candidate forum on Sunday, September 13 at 4:30pm (the Zoom waiting room opens at 4:15pm). Plus, display the appropriate yard signs for your district. (You can check which Assembly and Senate district you live in here.) And of course donate — even if only $5 — and/or volunteer to make phone calls or do other forms of outreach. Here's where to go to help each candidate.
Deb Andraca: donating • volunteering
Emily Siegrist: donating • volunteering
Neal Plotkin: donating • volunteering
Unfortunately, we do not yet have signs for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, though we're making a list of those who want one. We also do not yet have signs for Dora. Keep watching this newsletter for updates on those situations. And we do have all the information you need to work for the Biden-Harris campaign.
On Thursday, September 3, our renowned MythBusters series will resume with Dr. Bill Holahan, emeritus professor of economics, demonstrating the lie that the economy under tRump was so spectacular until the coronavirus came along. The program will be available on our Facebook page at 7pm that day.
Finally, Pat Slutske has provided us with a thoughtful essay on Fascism and the tRump's administration's enactment of it. You can find the entirety of it on our website, but here's a key excerpt:
Let the Games Begin
There are many ways to get engaged with Grassroots North Shore as we head into the heart of the 2020 Campaign. Since we cannot campaign in some traditional ways, we are making as much use of alternative means as we can. So far, we have sent out more that 7500 postcards to people in Ozaukee County as well as to people in our North Shore Milwaukee County communities. And we're about to launch another postcard campaign to thousands more Democrats who live in the city. To do that, we need to buy a lot more stamps! Can you give a little? Your stamp donation will mean so much to us. And you will help Get Out the Vote!
A more time-consuming way to help is to get engaged directly with the Biden-Harris campaign. The Democratic National Convention earned rave reviews, both for it's tech prowess and for the empathetic and warm speeches from its leaders and from the ordinary Americans who make up our diverse coalition. Download a one-page pdf from the campaign to find the many ways you can help out. Once you have downloaded and opened it, you will find a host of links to get you started.
Grassroots North Shore isn't entirely forgoing tradition, though. Our annual picnic has simply morphed into a candidate forum: starring Neal Plotkin, running to boot out Alberta Darling in the 8th State Senate District; Emily Siegrist, running to oust Representative Dan Knodl in the 24th Assembly District; Deb Andraca, running to put Jim Ott in the 23rd Assembly District out to pasture; and Dora Drake, running to replace Jason Fields, who has stepped down from the 11th Assembly District.
At this virtual meeting, each candidate will give a short presentation followed by a 10-minute Q&A with moderator Edgar Lin. Bring your own food and drink and join us at 4:30pm on Sunday, September 13, to meet our future legislators. (The Zoom waiting room will open at 4:15pm.) Once you RSVP, you'll receive an email with a link for joining the virtual event.
And while you're noodling around the internet and avoiding the REAL Republican National Convention, have a giggle by visiting an ALTERNATIVE REPUBLICAN NATIONALIST CONVENTION, brought to you by Bend the Arc: Jewish Action. (And you don't have to be Jewish to enjoy it.) The group's email states that the site "exposes who they really are and what they stand for: using fear and division to hold onto power and enrich themselves, while putting our lives in danger." When you visit, you can "fill out the form to get your media credentials" and read about the GOP's "COVID-19 Safety Plan," among other delights.
The election events are heating up. The list below has many to choose from, some virtual and some in person. I hope you'll sign up for something, if not a campaign event then an issue-oriented program or a protest march. We have plenty of social justice issues here in Wisconsin that we need to address. The Jacob Blake shooting in Kenosha is only the latest. Needless to say, in the current political climate, the shooting has received national coverage. Here's today's New York Times account.
Read morevote like there's no tomorrow!
Today's Election Day. If you have already voted, great! If you haven't yet, you have to get to your polling place before 8pm. You can look up where to vote at myvote.wi.gov.
But the bigger news is the announcement about speakers at the Democratic National Convention, now only six days away. You won't want to miss the addresses by such luminaries as Michelle Obama and her husband! You can review the line-up at Daily Kos and speculate with the pundit about what this cast of notables tells of us about Biden's VP pick. Go here to find out how to watch. (You can skip the uninformative video and scroll down the page for how-to links and information.) Hint: almost any internet connected device and service will get you there. Watch on your tv, your computer, your phone, your tablet. Use Roku or Alexa or one of the other devices I personally know nothing about. It may be a virtual event, but it's going to be fun and exciting nevertheless. Most of us would have seen it on television anyway, so having it be virtual is really not all that different. Let's show the enthusiasm the media keeps telling us we lack.
Still, there has been some grumbling about the fact that our nominee will not be coming to Milwaukee to give his acceptance speech. Some people are warning that his failure to do so echoes Hillary Clinton's lack of campaigning in Wisconsin after she secured the nomination. But conditions today are dramatically different than they were four years ago. For one thing, giving the speech here would have meant orating to an empty arena! Dr. Ian Gilson's letter to former Vice President Biden explains just why the decision is appropriate this time around.
VP Biden, I’m glad you are not coming to The DNC in Milwaukee
I am an internal medicine physician, and since diagnosing my first cases of COVID-19 in March, it has become increasingly apparent to me that the DNC had to be a virtual event. Now, 5 months later, Milwaukee and Wisconsin are COVID “hot spots,” and crowds of any size, especially indoors, are unsafe.It is not essential for Joe Biden or his running mate to be physically present here to accept the nomination, and the potential exposure to SARS-2 coronavirus for the candidate, whose age puts him at high risk for potentially lethal complications, party officials, convention workers, and the press, is just not worth the risk. The very act of conducting a virtual nomination and campaign is a powerful example of the responsible leadership we need from our leaders to stop this unprecedented natural disaster.
The COVID pandemic has been unnecessarily made far worse by willful violation by President Drumpf and his associates of basic public health imperatives like masking, distancing, and avoiding mass campaign events.
While the absence of “in the flesh” campaigning — and the excitement of a national convention in our key swing state — is naturally disappointing, it is necessary.
The contrast should be obvious to Wisconsin voters this November.
Ian Gilson, MD
Shorewood
Looking ahead, there are several things you can and should be doing right now and in the near future. For one thing, we need people to volunteer for the next Weekend of Action, on August 30 and 31. I'll be sending out links to sign up in next week's newsletter, but please mark your calendars now. Shifts on the Virtual Phone Banks will begin at 9am, 12pm, 3pm and 6pm on Saturday. On Sunday, they will begin at 12pm, 3pm, and 6pm.
The changes at the US Postal Service, including the new price of stamps for absentee ballots, are disturbing and may be disruptive in November. Jamelle Bouie at the New York Times has an op-ed today, "How to Foil Drumpf’s Election Night Strategy", that is worth your time to read. He discusses how to thwart Drumpf's loudly telegraphed strategy to claim victory on November 3 and to insist that only ballots counted that day are valid. Voting absentee, however, is still the safest way to cast your ballot. And that's why we strongly recommend that everyone voting absentee do two things:
- Fill out your ballot as soon as you possibly can (and don't forget you need to sign your certification envelope and you need a witness to sign it and include her address on it too);
- Use a drop box or drop location in your community rather than putting your ballot in the US mail.
Just in case you're unsure about how to complete an absentee ballot, you can watch a quick video. Share it widely. And as always, sign up for an activity or event and get engaged!
Read moredrop boxes for voting absentee
The partisan primary is a week from today. If you have already received your absentee ballot, you should return it through one of the drop boxes most of our North Shore and Ozaukee communities provide. The US Postal Service is experiencing significant delays, at least in Philadelphia and perhaps around the country. The new Postmaster General may be slowing the mail through his new cost-cutting policies, as he says, or he may be having that effect in order to please Drumpf by disrupting voting by mail. Or both. It hardly matters. Absentee voting is still the safest way for your voice to be heard, but in order to be counted your ballot must reach your election officials by 8pm on Tuesday, August 11. So instead of mailing your ballot back in the envelope provided, take your ballot sealed in its certification envelope with its witness signature and address to the drop box for your municipality. Here's a list of locations.
North Shore in Milwaukee County
Community | Drop Box Location |
Bayside | deposit box outside the front door |
Brown Deer | brown mailbox on the sidewalk |
Fox Point | mail slot at the front door |
Glendale | metal drop box in the parking lot |
River Hills | slot in the front door |
Shorewood | white mailbox in the parking lot |
Whitefish Bay | depository inside the front door |
Ozaukee County | |
Community | Drop Box Location |
Bayside Village | outside front door |
Belgium town | TBD |
Belgium Village | leftside of front door |
Cedarburg city | southside of building next to planter |
Cedarburg town | will not have one |
Fredonia town | cream colored drop box |
Grafton town | drop slot next to front door |
Grafton village | entry hallway or in parking lot |
Mequon city | in building on south side of City Hall |
Newburg village | on exterior of building |
Port Washington City | Blue box inside front door - OR - yellow box outside back door |
Saukville town | TBD |
Saukville village | inside front door |
Thiensville village | front desk - OR - left of entry door |
Getting your absentee ballot returned safely isn't the only thing to think about this week. If you did not receive an absentee ballot, you can vote by what's known as "early voting" or "in-person absentee voting" until 5pm on Friday, August 6. If for some reason you miss that opportunity, then your last option is to vote on Election Day. Polls are open from 7am to 8pm. If you're not sure you know where your polling place for this primary is, myvote.wi.gov will provide you with that information.
If you still need to register to vote — you can and should check your registration status at myvote.wi.gov — you will need to take required material with you either when you vote early in person or when you go to the polls on Election Day. You will need proof of residency and proof of identity (aka PhotoID).
In Covid-19 news, Governor Evers declared a public health emergency and has ordered masks to be worn statewide. Republicans are threatening to overturn it. I'm not sure why they want the virus to spread, especially to voters outside Milwaukee County, but that's the state of play as of today. There's lots of other news to review, but it will have to wait until next week! Right now, VOTE and get engaged. You'll find plenty of opportunities in the Events list.
Read more