Wisconsin State AFL/CIO
Today, has been
equal parts infuriating and inspiring. No voter should be asked to do what
Wisconsin voters are doing today -- in-person voting during the coronavirus
pandemic. It is the latest shameful example of the Wisconsin Republican Party
and their allies in the courts putting naked partisan politics above the public
interest.
No voter should have to choose
between personal health and safety, and expressing our democratic freedom and constitutional
right to vote in our American electoral process. Placed in this untenable
position, Wisconsin voters bravely rose to the occasion.
Too many voters were left with
impossible choices. Absentee ballots that were requested and never came. Deadlines
and requirements that changed by the second. Self-isolating voters who couldn’t
find a witness to sign their ballot. Young voters like my son, who turned 18
over the weekend, with no options to register and receive a mail-in ballot in
advance.
The inspiring turnout in the face
of unnecessary obstacles in no way diminishes this reckless disregard of public
safety and our cherished democratic process. Republicans in Wisconsin pulled
out all the stops to proceed with in-person voting during the COVID-19 public
health emergency because they thought it was to their own, partisan advantage.
They were willing to risk our lives for it.
Today was inspiring, because
risking life, but not liberty, Wisconsin voters showed up. We waited for hours
in lines that wrapped around city blocks, standing 6 feet apart. Sometimes in
the pouring rain. We wore our masks, and gloves. We had our hands sprayed with
sanitizer. Poll workers wore appropriate PPE and bravely served alongside the
National Guard to give us direction and make attempts to keep us safe. While
the resilience, courage, and determination of Wisconsin voters is unparalleled,
we should have never been put in this position in the first place.
We sincerely hope no voter and no
poll worker is infected at the polls today. But if anyone does get the
coronavirus at the polls, Wisconsin voters will remember this day and know
whose hands the blood is on.
In Solidarity,
Stephanie Bloomingdale, President