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Election integrity: How Wisconsin ensures safe and secure voting
Oct 14, 2024
While elections work differently depending on where you live, all states have security measures to ensure the integrity of every vote. With that in mind, The Fulcrum presents a six-part series on how elections work in swing states, starting with Wisconsin. Created by Issue One, these state summaries focus on each state's election process from registration to certification.
Our freedom to vote in fair and secure elections is the foundation of our system of self- governance established under the U.S. Constitution. Many people look to American elections as models of freedom and fairness. While elections in other countries are more unstable, we hold firm to our systems of checks and balances. As citizens, we have a voice that many people around the world do not.
Because the majority of elections are run at a local level, the voting experience can be very different depending on where a voter lives, but all states, including Wisconsin, have verification processes in place before, during, and after votes are cast to ensure the integrity of the election. Whether you cast your ballot in-person or by mail, early or on Election Day, your vote counts.
Here is what you need to know about how elections work in Wisconsin to make sure that your vote is kept safe and secure and is counted with integrity.
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Registration
To ensure their eligibility, all voters must register to vote in order to cast a ballot.
- You can register online, by mail, or in-person.
- The voter registration deadline in Wisconsin varies on method of registration. October 16, 2024 is the deadline if you are registering by mail or online, and November 1, 2024 is the deadline if you are registering in-person at your municipal clerk’s office or an early voting location. Voters can also register in-person on Election Day, Tuesday, November 5, 2024, at their local polling place.
- For more information see here: https://myvote.wi.gov/en-us/Register-To-Vote.
Ways to vote
Once registered, a voter in Wisconsin may either vote an absentee ballot (by mail or during in-person early voting) or in-person at the polls. Both options have transparent processes to ensure ballots are kept secure and counted accurately. Track your ballot: https://myvote.wi.gov/en-us/Track-My-Ballot
Vote with an absentee ballot:
- Voters must fill out an application by October 31, 2024 to have an absentee mail ballot sent to them. Election officials will review the application and confirm that the person applying is a registered voter and eligible to vote.
- Mail-in or absentee ballots must be received by 8:00 PM on Election Day to be counted.
- For more information about voting absentee, see here: https://myvote.wi.gov/en-us/Vote-Absentee-By-Mail
Vote early in-person:
- Early voting starts at municipal clerks’ offices on October 22, 2024 and, varying by municipality, ends on November 3, 2024. Check MyVote or contact your municipal clerk for absentee voting hours.
- All voters must provide a proof of residence document and valid photo ID
- Find more information about early voting: https://myvote.wi.gov/
Vote in-person on Election Day
- Election Day is Tuesday, November 5, 2024. Polls are open from 7:00 AM to 8:00 PM.
- Voters must bring a valid photo ID and proof of residence to vote on Election Day.
- Find more information about voting on Election Day: https://myvote.wi.gov/
There are also options for military and overseas voting, more information is available here: https://myvote.wi.gov/ Military-Overseas-Voters
Securely counting every ballot during the voting period
Before, during, and after ballots are cast, Wisconsin has procedures to review and verify election processes. Voting equipment testing, the local and county canvass, post-election audits and recounts are all open to the public.
- 48 states conduct some type of post-election audit. Wisconsin is one of 37 states that require a traditional post-election tabulation audit, involving auditable paper ballots.
- To ensure that every ballot is accurately counted, each voted ballot is inserted into a tabulator where it is counted towards the election results.
- Absentee ballots are only counted once election inspectors first verify the absentee ballot envelope meets all requirements, including a certificate that must be signed by the voter and a witness. If the certificate is insufficient, the ballot is rejected.
- All voting equipment in the state must meet rigorous security standards that can be thoroughly audited.
- The state and county officials also conduct audits after every election to be sure the voting process and equipment are secure, free, and fair. At least one audit will be conducted in each of Wisconsin’s 72 counties. Reporting units are selected to include a sample from each piece of voting equipment that records and tabulates votes.
- Learn more about how your vote gets counted here: https://myvote.wi.gov/en-us/How-Your-Vote-Gets- Counted
Polls close and reporting begins
- After polls close and all ballots have been fed into voting equipment, poll workers convene the board of local canvassers. This activity is a public meeting that the media and public are welcome to attend and record what happens. Results are transmitted from municipal clerks to Wisconsin’s 72 county clerks, who are required by law to post unofficial results to their websites. No reported results are considered final until the election is certified.
- Access a list and links for all 72 counties: https://elections.wi.gov/wisconsin-county-election-websites
Certifying the election
- The governing body conducting the election must meet and verify the election results. Final results are only declared after election officials verify the count, checking for accuracy and resolving any error. This process, known as canvassing, helps to officially certify that the election results in each precinct or election district were counted accurately.
- Certification occurs at the municipal, county, and state levels. As required by law, state certification will occur after municipal and county certification. Learn more here https://myvote.wi.gov/en-us/Election- Results
- To ensure there are no errors in tight races, Wisconsin also has a recount process. A candidate may request a recount if they trail the leading candidate by no more than 1% of the total votes cast for the office in large statewide elections.
- County certification must be delivered no later November 19, 2024 and state certification must take place by December 1, 2024.
Meeting of the Electoral College
- Wisconsin’s slate of electors meets on December 17 to send their certified votes for president and vice president to Congress.
Resources
For additional national and other state-by-state information, go to https://www.howelectionswork.org/.
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Closed primaries, gerrymandering eliminate competition for House seats
Oct 11, 2024
Meyers is executive editor of The Fulcrum.
There are 435 voting members of the House of Representatives. But few of those districts — 55, to be exact — will be decided on Election Day, according to new data from the nonprofit organization Unite America. That’s because the vast majority of races were effectively decided during the primaries.
The research data goes deep into what Unite America calls the “Primary Problem,” in which few Americans are determining winners of House elections.
According to UA, 87 percent of House seats are “safe,” meaning they are noncompetitive and considered a lock to be one by the dominant political party. Voters still get to cast ballots in the general elections for those districts, but the candidates, the political operatives and the media already know how things will turn out because partisan gerrymandering has effectively guaranteed the outcomes.
“In November, blue districts will stay blue and red districts will stay red,” UA states in its analysis.
But gerrymandering only tells part of the story. For a variety of reasons, few people participate in primaries. In fact, according to UA, only 7 percent of voting age Americans cast ballots in those 380 safe-seat primaries.
“These numbers speak to the despair many Americans have that their vote does not seem to matter,” said Unite America Executive Director Nick Troiano.
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The research identified three factors leading to such low participation numbers: closed primaries, uncompetitive primaries and lack of interest.
Many states allow only people who are registered with a political party to vote in partisan primaries, even though the elections are state-funded and -operated. This year, 17.6 million people were not permitted to vote in decisive primaries across 15 states that have closed primaries.
Some states allow voters to participate in primaries even if they are not registered with a party. And four states have eliminated separate, partisan primaries in favor of single-ballot primaries in which all candidates run together. Alaska, California, Louisiana and Washington each have a version of an all-candidate primary, with variations on the number of candidates who advance to the general election.
UA found that in those four states, 29 percent of House seats will be decided in November — triple the percentage of races in states with partisan primaries.
Troiano and Unite America identified a “record number” of 2024 ballot initiatives that would create open primaries in more states. Voters in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada and South Dakota will determine whether to move to open, all-candidate primaries when they cast ballots this fall.
In addition, people in Ohio will vote on whether to establish an independent redistricting commission, which would take mapping out of politicians’ hands. Recent polling indicates the proposal will pass. Currently, nine states use independent redistricting for congressional maps and 10 use them for state legislative redistricting.
“We have an opportunity to usher in a new era of politics where all voters’ voices matter and where our leaders represent a true majority — not just the 7 percent who determine party primaries,” Troiano said.
Among those voters eligible to participate in primaries, many saw ballots with only one candidate running for the dominant party’s nomination (169 out of 380 safe seats).
“In other words, nearly 40% of Congress was effectively elected without having to earn a single vote — leaving 101,486,410 voters (39% of eligible Americans) without a meaningful choice in who represents them,” the report states.
This is the third election cycle in which Unite America has studied these issues, and the “primary problem” is growing.
In 2020, 10 percent of eligible voters effectively elected 83 percent of House members, and in 2022, just 8 percent chose 83 percent, according to UA.. This is happening at a time when more and more Americans are declaring themselves to be independent of political parties.
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Is 'just war' just?
Oct 11, 2024
Johnson is a United Methodist pastor, the author of "Holding Up Your Corner: Talking About Race in Your Community" and program director for the Bridge Alliance, which houses The Fulcrum.
As rockets are once again streaking across the skies of the Middle East and the cries of the bereaved echo through its ravaged streets, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s words and teachings reverberate like a mournful prayer in my spirit. They stir within me a deep sociopolitical and theological question, "Is 'just war' just?”
In this ongoing conflict, as in all wars, nation-states are forced to confront the terrible paradox of the just war theory — that the pursuit of justice can sometimes demand the violence it seeks to vanquish.
Just war doctrine roots trace back to the writings of St. Augustine and St, Thomas Aquinas. Augustine argued that war could be a purpose for the restoration of peace, while Aquinas' commentary is often interpreted as giving allowance to war. Though war was thought to be an inherent evil, there were certain conditions for its justification, including just cause (self-defense or the protection of innocents), last resort (all peaceful means exhausted), probability of success, proportionality (the ends justify the means) and right intention (the goal is peace, not conquest or domination).
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However, even when these criteria are met, war inevitably brings about indiscriminate suffering, violating the fundamental principle of noncombatant immunity. Presently, Israel and Hamas are claiming cause. Israel argues its right to self-defense against indiscriminate rocket attacks, while Palestinians point to decades of occupation, blockade and creeping annexation.
The moral calculus of war becomes even more fraught when geopolitical alliances are factored in. The United States has long been Israel's staunchest backer, providing billions in military aid each year. This unwavering support, rooted in a complex mix of strategic interests, ideological alignment and domestic political pressures, significantly bolsters Israel's military might. Conversely, Iran supports Hamas and Hezbollah, funneling weapons and cash to bolster their military capabilities. Tehran views these relationships as a means to project power, challenge Israeli dominance and advance its regional agenda. These external influences further complicate the conflict, making a lasting resolution more elusive.
Such patron-client relationships further entrench the conflict, making a lasting resolution more elusive. Over the years, such relations have created a destructive cycle where escalation by one side is met with counter-escalation by the other, fueled by their respective backers; amidst this tangled web of alliances, the humanitarian cost mounts. Innocent civilians are often left to bear the burden of violence. Thus, leaving the international community struggling to navigate these competing interests hampers efforts to broker peaceable solutions. The longer military conflict persists, the greater the moral imperative to protect innocent lives and arrive at a point of just resolution.
Pursuing peace can be supported even at the height of cyclical violence when retribution continues. The efforts of good-faith actors or humanitarians demand more than a mere ceasefire. What is truly necessary is a commitment to address the underlying grievances, the longstanding grievances fueling historic conflict.
Despite its flaws, just war theory, for some, acts as a moral framework for judgment of their actions in the crucible of conflict. But it must be complemented by a tireless dedication to nonviolence and restorative justice championed by prophetic arbitrators like Dr. King and Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel. In reflection of devastation and unrest across the region, we are reminded that justice is not found in the rubble of war but in acknowledging the dignity and sacredness of all human life.
The query is whether war is a just act. It ought to serve as a mirror held up to the soul of humanity in assessing its most authentic reflection. Forcing nations and individuals alike to wrestle with our respective capacity for cruelty and compassion, our penchant for division and our yearning for unity. As allied forces and regional actors involved in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict consider their next moves, pray all remember that true strength lies not in military might but in the courage to choose peace. All parties should prioritize the most vulnerable while seeking to enact justice. A justice that sincerely seeks peace — respecting and embracing all, regardless of their faith or nationality. Only time will tell.
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Looking for truth when lies become too easy to embrace
Oct 11, 2024
Page is an American journalist, syndicated columnist and senior member of the Chicago Tribune editorial board.
Sometimes amid the hoopla and hogwash of political events, I find myself jerked alert by an accidental truth that manages to break through.
Such appeared to be the case when Sen. J.D. Vance, the Republican nominee for vice president, urged Democrats to “tone down their rhetoric,” while not doing much to tone down his own.
In a live interview with CNN’s Dana Bash, Vance was trying to justify spreading what, even in polite terms, can only be called lies about Haitians eating pets in Springfield, Ohio.
“If I have to create stories so that the American media actually pays attention to the suffering of the American people, then that’s what I’m going to do.”
Vance offered no names or other details about these unnamed witnesses or their accounts.
Instead, state and local officials denied the “first-hand accounts,” which are better described as debunked rumors.
What else do you call an alarming statement without witnesses or other tangible facts to back it up?
Defending the statement, Vance offered that, “It comes from first-hand accounts of my constituents.”
The lies really began to fly after former President Donald Trump stoked debunked rumors during his debate with Vice President Kamala Harris, his Democratic opponent. Trump declared that migrants were hunting and eating their neighbors’ dogs and cats in Springfield, an industrial town of about 60,000 an hour drive west of the state capital, Columbus.
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Soon right-wing social media personalities were descending on the town to question wary local residents about the veracity of the claims. Bomb threats were made against local schools and other public buildings, causing many parents to keep their children at home.
Investigations led to a local resident Erika Lee, who had posted a fateful note on Facebook for which she has since apologized, according to the New York Times.
She had heard that a neighbor’s cat had gone missing, she told the Times, and she posted on Facebook a rumor that a Haitian neighbor may have kidnapped it. Yet when she later went back to check the story with her neighbor, she learned that the cat in question hadn’t been missing after all.
“And at that point, we are playing the game of telephone,” Lee told the Times.
Rumors of pet killing and eating turns out to have a long history as a slander against immigrants and other minority populations, especially in places where they can be singled out as posing a threat to local jobs and ethnic communities.
Republican Gov. Mike DeWine, who still supports Trump and Vance, said in an open letter to the New York Times: “I am saddened by how they and others continue to repeat claims that lack evidence and disparage the legal migrants living in Springfield….
“The Springfield I know is not the one you hear about in social media rumors. It is a city made up of good, decent, welcoming people. They are hard workers — both those who were born in this country and those who settled here because, back in their birthplace, Haiti, innocent people can be killed just for cheering on the wrong team in a soccer match.”
As a former Ohioan, born in Dayton and raised in Middletown, which later became Vance’s hometown, I sympathize with DeWine and others who have been working diligently against some negative economic and social changes since the heyday of the state’s industrial growth a half-century ago.
Ironically, the latest round of migrants are legally present in the country and came, mostly from Haiti, in response to active outreach efforts to relieve a local worker shortage in an industrial area that was a lot more robust when I was growing up there.
Vance surely knows that as well as I do. So does Trump, if he’s paying attention. But the drive to win votes in a tight election drives people to, let us say, exaggerate a bit.
“If I have to create stories so that the American media actually pays attention to the suffering of the American people then that’s what I’m going to do.”
My fellow former Middletonian urged Democrats to tone down their rhetoric. He should do something similar with his own. So should the former president.
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Election Overtime Project heads to North Carolina
Oct 11, 2024
The Election Overtime Project, an effort to prepare journalists to cover the outcome of the 2024 election, is hosting its third swing-state briefing on Oct. 18, this time focused on North Carolina.
The series is a part of an effort to help reporters, TV anchors and others prepare America to understand and not fear close elections. Election Overtime is an initiative of the Election Reformers Network and developed in partnership with the Bridge Alliance, which publishes The Fulcrum.
During the North Carolina briefing (11 a.m.-noon Eastern), a new set of complementary tools designed to support reporting on contested elections will be unveiled by the Election Reformers Network, the North Carolina Network for Fair, Safe & Secure Elections and other election law experts. The Election Overtime Project will provide journalists covering the 2024 general election with media briefings by election specialists; guides for reporting on election transparency, verification processes and judicial procedures; and an extensive speaker bureau.
Speakers include:
- James Martin, former North Carolina governor.
- Bob Orr, former North Carolina Supreme Court justice.
- David Price, former House member from North Carolina.
- Damon Circosta, former chair of the North Carolina State Election Board.
- Jennifer Roberts, former mayor of Charlotte.
- Kevin Johnson, executive director, Election Reformers Network.
- Heather Balas, vice president, Election Reformers Network.
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