As a poll worker, I observed the effects of the new PHOTO, voter ID law on the electorate. It was very disturbing to witness the many ways this new law affected who voted, and how many were turned away because a small detail of their ID status blocked them from voting, including confusion about the process. Wisconsin voters still have a chance to get registered and to access the ID’s they need.
Discover VoteRiders: a volunteer voter advocate group giving free support to citizens needing assistance to make getting their ID’S easier. VoteRiders offer free transportation to the DMV, they also give guidance to anyone who has questions about their addresses, name changes, and many other issues that might make getting an ID for voting challenging.
Related, but with it’s own concerning details is that many disenfranchised voters didn’t get a chance to vote ‘down ballot’. The implications of voter suppression flows into the outcomes for nonpartisan races, in this year, especially the outcome of the choice for Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice. Loss of every vote makes a difference, so smaller numbers of votes tallied for the ‘down ballot’ races affected the outcomes, which compiled with less voter awareness about these races created an outcome that will affect Wisconsin for at least the next ten years. (tenure of an elected Supreme Court Judge) I will share more on this in a future blog.
Due to Voters’ Lack of familiarity with the candidates and the implications for the future of Wisconsin’s justice system. Wisconsin lost the chance to place a great judge on our Supreme Court! What happened?
The drama of the Presidential Primary overshadowed all other election priorities by the casual voter this year. This is a crisis for the justice system in Wisconsin. Our Supreme Court’s philosophical tendencies are now deepened toward the very conservative perspective on the law due the election of Rebecca Bradley, previously appointed by Gov. Walker. Not enough education of voters was brought into voter awareness because the Pres. race got 90% of the press time.
It is so critical to be an active educator of the public about the issues presented by choices they could make in the ‘less famous’ ‘down ballot races. We must focus on this or lose what is good and beloved in our state. We must examine ways we can help fellow citizens see why their informed vote is so very needed, and urge them to vote the full ballot regularly. More discussion of ways we can improve voter education will be one of the themes of this blog.