Wisconsin will be one of the most contested battleground states this November. Nearly every national politician, interest and labor organization has something at stake in the Badger State. Unfortunately, the voter has far too much to lose as well. There is a disturbing trend of open hostility toward legal, common sense election integrity measures from both municipal and state authorities in Wisconsin.
The Wisconsin Government Accountability Board’s recent release pertaining to election observer rights mischaracterizes the purpose and training which they must follow. Labeling these citizens as “boisterous” with tendencies to intimidate voters is a dangerous precedent.
An election observer’s primary purpose is to ensure that poll workers and judges are abiding by all state and federal laws – not just the ones they like. True The Vote volunteers documented over 75 incidents in 16 locations where poll workers failed to comply with laws and regulations during the June 5th recall effort of Governor Scott Walker. Common occurrences were improper procedures, obstructing the observer, improper voter assistance and overt fraud.
The nonprofit group Media Trackers Wisconsin recently reported further mischaracterization and conspiracy to obstruct election observers from executing their rights. Emails from Racine Mayor John Dickert evidence his desire to keep all observers from the polls. As the emails show, Racine County Clerk Janice Johnson-Martin concurs.
Clerk Johnson-Martin was also recently reprimanded by the State of Wisconsin for accepting incomplete voter registration forms, Media Trackers reported this week.
The need for engaged citizens to make certain that elections are free and fair is more important than ever. True The Vote recently announced its intention to mobilize thousands of election observers in Wisconsin alone.
Local authorities are hired by the electorate to execute our elections with full transparency. It is unacceptable for our state and federal laws to be enforced in a partisan or selective manner.
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