Wisc. Purge of 234,000 From Voter Rolls By Rightwing Group 'Could Tip' 2020 Election

[appalachiablue]

Last edited Wed Dec 18, 2019, 05:59 PM - Edit history (1)

'Rightwing group pushes Wisconsin voter purge that 'could tip' 2020 election.' County circuit judge sided with group known as Will and ordered Wisconsin to remove 234,000 voters from voting rolls. The Guardian, Dec. 18, 2019.

A conservative group is forcing Wisconsin to remove upwards of 230,000 people from state voter rolls more than a year earlier than planned, a move that would disproportionately affect Democrats before the 2020 election. The group behind the lawsuit, the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty (known as Will), is a legal advocacy group that has backed conservative causes across the state since the beginning of the decade. Led by Rick Esenberg, Will has defended rollbacks on public sector union power, promoted charter schools, and challenged campaign finance restrictions among other issues.

Earlier this year, Wisconsin election officials sent out notices to about 234,000 people – 7% of registered voters in the state – suspected of changing home addresses this year. They planned on giving people until the spring of 2021 to confirm their registrations before they were removed. But on Friday, county circuit judge Paul Malloy sided with Will and ordered the state to remove the voters from the state’s rolls within 30 days. (Wisconsin judge's ruling could purge 200,000 from voter rolls, Read more)

Wisconsin officials are appealing the ruling. In a 3-3 split vote Monday, the Wisconsin Elections Commission declined to move forward with the removals, citing the pending appeal. The dispute is the latest in a series of voting rights brawls in Wisconsin, considered one of the most important states in the upcoming presidential election. In recent years, Republicans drew electoral districts that severely benefitted their party, unsuccessfully tried to limit early voting, and implemented a strict voter ID law. The law discouraged as many as 23,252 people in the state from casting a ballot in 2016, one estimate found.

These tactics could sway elections in a state of close wins and losses. A Republican won a seat on the state supreme court by less than 6,000 votes in April. Governor Tony Evers, a Democrat, defeated Scott Walker by just 30,000 votes last year. And Donald Trump defeated Hillary Clinton by a little over 22,000 votes in 2016.
“It’s over 200,000 voters who are affected. If even a small slice of them were deterred from voting in 2020, it could tip the outcome,” said Barry Burden, a political science professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and director of its Elections Research Center. He added the people affected would be young people and those who live in cities – groups that tend to vote Democratic.

More than half of the notices sent this year went to jurisdictions that favored Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump in 2016, a Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel analysis found. And almost a quarter of the letters went to people in Milwaukee and Madison, Democratic strongholds in the state that Republicans have blamed for losing the governor’s mansion last year...

More, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/dec/18/wisconsin-rightwing-group-will-voter-purge

*Also, 'Georgia Removes More Than 300,000 'Inactive' Voters From Rolls,' CNN, Dec. 18, 2019.
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10142409176

* FYI- CHECK YOUR VOTER REGISTRATION STATUS, IN EVERY STATE, https://www.vote.org/am-i-registered-to-vote/

[MineralMan]

1. This is really a GD thread.

[Faux pas]

2. Maybe I'm just stoopid but,

why isn't that illegal?

[appalachiablue]

3. The judge ruled it, and not a stupid question. In this link for an

article today about Georgia just removing 300,000 'inactive voters' from the rolls there's a group fighting the action.

> "Seth Bringman, Fair Fight spokesman said, "In our view, it is a First Amendment right not to vote, and it is unconstitutional to take away a Georgian's right to vote simply because they have not expressed that right in recent elections."

So, in other words, it may be ok to remove voters if they've legitimately moved or are deceased, but not just because they didn't see anyone they wanted to vote for and so passed. The right to vote is protected under the First Amendment they say.
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10142409176

[redqueen]

4. Thanks, I hope they win. nt

[Faux pas]

8. Thank you

appalachiablue I feel a little better about it.

[brooklynite]

5. Two choices...

We can complain about how mean the Republicans are.

Or, we can re-register all of those voters and make it clear to them that they have to keep voting.

[appalachiablue]

6. People must be informed about these ongoing practices impacting

their right to vote. I get tired of the chronic complaints of how mean the GOP is as well.

We need to support groups to create effective, direct ads about how inactive voters can be dropped from the rolls, people must check their registration and they also must be aware that polling places and locations can change. Maybe Steyer or Bloomberg could help with this.

> (IronLionion, 12/18/18) The conditions that cause a person to lose voter registration disproportionately impacts younger people, lower income workers, and minorities. These are the folks who move more often for school or work. Older and wealthier voters are more likely to live in one place long term.

They've already taken measures to reduce polling locations and early voting, ensuring longer lines on election day in urban areas to discourage voters who work hourly wage jobs or have other priorities competing for their time. Voting is easier in rural areas.

[Blue_true]

9. Yep. A very simple solution to the problem.

People just have to whine and complain over stuff like this, when simply canvassing to the affected voters and explaining what is happening, why republicans are able to get away with it and how affected voters can once again vote. But people would rather whine and complain about dirty republicans, and waste time.

[Cha]

10. We can do both.. multitasking.

[Uncle Joe]

7. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread appalachiablue.