Dirty Tricks and Treats in Wisconsin
10/29/2004 @ 3:11pm permalink
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The Republican administrator of Wisconsin's largest county recently sent a powerful signal about his respect for the voters of Wisconsin and the state's electoral system.
Apparently worried about massive increases in voter registration in the city of Milwaukee--and about the intense interest in the presidential race among people of color, young people and others who might not be inclined to vote to re-elect George W. Bush-Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker pulled one of the most bizarre stunts ever seen in Wisconsin electoral history.
When city of Milwaukee officials requested several weeks ago that more ballots be printed in order to accommodate the expected rush of new voters on November 2, Walker refused. Wisconsin state Board of Elections officials say the state's turnout rate could hit 75 percent, which might well be the highest in the nation on November 2. That is not all that surprising a prediction, as Wisconsin historically has high turnout and this year has seen an intense fight for the state by the campaigns of George Bush and John Kerry.
But even as local, state and national observers were predicting a dramatic uptick in voter participation, Walker ridiculed suggestions that voters in the state's largest municipality will turn out in record numbers this year.
While Walker maintained that he refused to meet requests for additional ballots in order to save money and prevent fraud, others see another motivation. Activists with America Coming Together in Wisconsin, which has been working for months to increase political participation by the city's large African-American and Latino populations, worried out loud that the top elected official in the state's largest county wanted to create chaos and confusion at the polls, which could drive voters in heavily Democratic Milwaukee away and tip this closely divided battleground state to Bush.
It did not take long for public outcry to force Walker to back off. Newspaper headlines, editorials and angry calls from other elected officials lambasted Walker, a prospective Republican gubernatorial candidate in 2006. He finally allowed more ballots to be printed--although the decision came only after Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett agreed to chip in city money to help pay for the printing.
But ACT campaigners say it would be unwise to let this matter rest. In a democracy, few things are more dangerous than the official who, for partisan purposes, plays politics with the voting process. Walker has raised real concerns about whether he might be such an official, argued a statement distributed by ACT's Wisconsin office. "Defeated in their most recent attempt to squash voter participation in the democratic process, Republicans are very likely to turn to one of their tried and true tactics to suppress the vote…" the statement read.
Republicans decried the ACT statement as unfair. But ACT turned out to be right. Within days of the ballot-printing dispute, Republicans initiated thousands of challenges to newly registered voters. And a scurrilous letter, which suggested that voters who had cast ballots in Wisconsin's September primary election could not vote in November, began circulating in neighborhoods with large African-American turnout in September.
Lawyers and election observers from around the country are pouring into Milwaukee in order to keep a close watch on how Walker and his aides approach Tuesday's election. The legal teams will also be keeping an eye on Madison, where a large University of Wisconsin student turnout is expected to aid Democrats such as Kerry and US Senator Russ Feingold, who is seeking re-election. The difference is that, in Madison, local officials are far more committed to making sure that the voting goes smoothly.
Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz, a Democrat, called a special meeting several days after the Walker incident in Milwaukee County to determine whether there will be sufficient ballots, how absentee voting is going and what staffing levels will be at the polls. Cieslewicz was joined by County Clerk Joe Parisi and County Executive Kathleen Falk to make sure that the voting goes smoothly in Madison and Dane County. Unlike Walker and his aides, who appear to fear democracy, Cieslewicz respects it--and he wants to make sure that every vote is cast and counted properly.
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