Wisconsin: Early voting? No, there's no early voting in many municipalities.

[Scuba]

Just got off the phone with a local Democrat who also serves as a poll worker in our little hamlet. She confirmed there is NO early voting available here; the clerk is offering absentee ballots as an alternative.

I'm not certain, but I'm pretty sure they were legally required to allow early voting Oct 22nd through today.

I'll be voting (all Democratic) on Tuesday.



Apparently we're not the only place in the State with this problem...

http://www.bluecheddar.net/?p=25379

Dear Wisconsinites: Were your local polls open for early voting today in Wisconsin?

The polls in the Town of Shields in rural Marquette County were closed when Sandy Becker stopped by on the 2nd to last early voting day – Thursday.

Sandy contacted me online and on the phone and described the scene.

The town hall’s doors were locked and an 8 1/2? by 11? piece of paper that listed all voters who were sent an absentee ballot was tacked to the front door. The sheet did not list a clerk phone number or mention appointment options.

The population of Shields was 456 at the 2000 census. Before you blow this post off as insignificant,cosmopolitan readers, consider if you will that 30% of Wisconsin’s population lives in towns. How the vote is conducted in these tiny towns is a big deal.

[CoffeeCat]

1. I hope someone in Wisconsin is addressing this...

It appears that the Republicans really are focusing a great deal of suppression and shennanigans in Wisconsin. I think they are definitely trying to steal Wisconsin, as part of their overall strategy. The scary thing is...they had a trial run during the Walker recall, and it's possible they did some rigging and game playing during that election---and will pull out those stops for the Presidential election.

If they manage to chip away more votes, by failing to open early-voting locations--Romney could win the state.

It's important to remember that the Republican's tried to suppress the vote in many states. Look at what happened in Ohio. They tried to block early voting, but were grossly unsuccessful and they were mandated to have early voting. In my state of Iowa, our Secretary of State Matt Schultz tried similar things. He also tried to purge the rolls and other dirty tactics. He was stopped by our courts. Now, he's saying that he will arrest any UN poll watchers who show up in our state.

I think some states are better at fending off these crimes--depending on the courts and how the elections are set up. I hope Wisconsin has people who can get those early-voting locations opened. I bet the Republicans think they can get away with failing to open these early voting locations--because they are located in small towns where people might not complain as much. It's also easier to silence news coming out of a town of 400. If Republicans successfully deny early voting in these locations it could have a very negative affect on the Democrats.

I'm so sick of having to worry about election fraud and other suppression tactics. I don't know how these third-class thugs live with themselves.

[midnight]

2. Hmmm how is this being addressed?

[sybylla]

3. Maybe starting with a complaint to the GAB? Followed by a complaint to your Dem state legies?

They are required to send you absentee ballots so long as you request them before the deadline. But small municipalities without an office or regular office hours may not be required to offer absentee-in-person voting (aka early voting). Don't know the rules but someone at the GAB would.

Having lived in a rural setting most of my life, I get the sense that people in rural areas like to vote on election day. That's when they get to see a lot of their neighbors. It's hard to get them to make the effort to go early (requiring a call to the municipal clerk to schedule an appointment often followed by a drive through the countryside to the clerk's home).

You can get them to vote regular absentee, but I don't encourage it. Regular absentee voting is prone to errors (improper markings, missing signatures and witnesses, etc) that can get a ballot thrown out. Learned that during the Kloppenburg recount. I was shocked at how many absentee ballots were not counted because of errors.

[midnight]

4. From what I read the GAB is part of the problem... They even twiddled there thumbs while the poll

workers in Butler were blocked for several hours during Kloppenburg's election night.

"GAB Shutting Down Non-Partisan Exit Polls in Wisconsin
The Wisconsin Government Accounting Board (GAB), apparently changing their regulations as they go along, has effectively shut down citizen-run exit polls in today’s Democratic Primary Recall Election in Wisconsin.

Despite having the GAB Regulations (§§5.35 (5), 7.37 (2) ) in hand plus a letter from Kevin Kennedy, head of the GAB, both clearly allowing exit polling, the GAB today through GAB member David Buerger, has said that the group is “electioneering” because candidates names appear on the polling “ballot.” He further dictated that no voter would be allowed to touch an exit poll ballot, that pollsters can only verbally ask the voters their responses. This despite the fact that Edison-Mitofsky, the polling company commissioned by the Media Consortium to conduct Exit Polling nationally over the last many years, uses written polling ballots that the voters fill in themselves.

The polls were being run by concerned Wisconsin citizens volunteering under the guidance of Election Defense Alliance and Protect California Ballots, two non-partisan organizations with the mission of restoring transparency to our elections. Both organizations have run non-partisan exit polls many times in the past in close to a dozen states. Neither group has ever been harassed in such a way before.

“This is reasoning beyond specious”, said Jonathan Simon, Director of Election Defense Alliance. “Exit polling in this country has been going on for decades. To call it ‘electioneering’ simply because candidates names appear on the poll ballot, when all names appear without any advocacy involved, is absurd. This is concealment in OUR elections. Public participation is being forbidden!”

http://www.bradblog.com/?p=8611

[Lefta Dissenter]

9. The procedure that EDA was using for their "citizen exit polling"

was not legal in Wisconsin. "Regular" exit polling, not involving giving any materials to the voter, is still legal, as it always has been.

[midnight]

11. The article indicates that the ballot info. being handed out was at one polling place, but all

other exit polling was what I think is "regular", and they were still shut down.

[Lefta Dissenter]

12. well

Last edited Mon Nov 5, 2012, 06:36 PM - Edit history (1)

EDA's whole process was based on handing out "ballots" for voters to fill out, indicating how they voted, and dropping those into a box. That's the process they used initially at all of their locations. That's the unique part of their procecedure that they felt made their exit polls more effective. Wisconsin law does not permit the handing out of any materials that are in way related to the election taking place at that time. It is not even legal to hand out a paper informing people of their voting rights (within 100' of the entrance to the polling location). Some EDA volunteer teams adapted through the day when they were told that was against the law. Some were just asked to leave.

edited to add that though I was not working directly with EDA, I had discussed this problem (not legal to hand out materials at the election) with them prior to the elections. We received a call from one of the GAB attorneys shortly after 7:00am on Election Day, because he thought that our group, Wisconsin Citizens for Election Protection, was doing the exit polling - so we knew that EDA had decided to go ahead with their procedure. I believe that at least one polling group moved 100' away, and others tried to adapt their procedure to comply with the laws.

[midnight]

13. Are you indicating that Brad Blog has some miss understanding about this story?

[Lefta Dissenter]

14. The statutes/rules were not changed

It is not legal to hand out materials related to the election at hand within 100 feet of the polling place. As far as I know (which is pretty well), this was the process initially used by all of the EDA exit pollsters. Because this type of exit polling has been done in other states, where it is legal, I think that the organizers, who are not from Wisconsin, assumed that they could make the process work within the law. As I said, I think that some of the teams modified their system and were able to continue to do exit polling, but some were asked by election officials to leave the premises.

[midnight]

15. I understand what your saying, but I wonder if Brad Blog doesn't?

[yourout]

5. Just voted this afternoon west of Madison....Obama of course.

[AllyCat]

6. Talked to a co-worker that votes in "Springdale"?? No early voting there either

May not have the township name correct. Early voting is early voting. If towns can't have someone available to follow the law when it comes to elections, what is the point?

[Lefta Dissenter]

8. Town of Springdale

Actually has a reputation for well-run elections and VERY HIGH turnout.

[AllyCat]

10. Maybe that's why she hasn't voted early. She probably knew it would be

a quick deal and didn't worry about it. Still, doesn't it seem that early voting should be offered to everyone?

[Lefta Dissenter]

7. Towns can be handled differently than villages and cities

Because many of them don't have full-time clerks with full-time office hours. I THINK they are required to have a certain number of hours per week, but also must post contact information to reach the town clerk to arrange for early voting... which, technically is still called voting in the clerk's office by absentee ballot.

Edited to add, if the Clerk's contact information is not available, then the Town is not in compliance. My complaints would go to the GAB AND to the Town Board.