Election Protection Coalition Applauds Decision to Provide More Ballots to Milwaukee Voters
Milwaukee, WI — In a victory for Milwaukee voters, Election Commission Scott Walker decided to provide the extra ballots needed for the November 2nd elections. Potential disenfranchisement will be avoided because Walker chose common sense and voting rights over partisanship and bureaucracy. Milwaukee’s citizens can now go to the polls on Election Day without worrying about a shortage of ballots.
“In an election year as hotly contested as this, with record voter registrations, voter turnout will likely be unprecedented,” said Anita Johnson, People For the American Way Foundation Wisconsin coordinator for Election Protection. “Ensuring that enough ballots will be available is the only logical thing to do, and we are thrilled that this is the course of action.”
“The best thing that happened here today was that the voters took a stand — and the voters won. Public participation was the key to reaching the right decision. The voters were engaged, and voting rights groups like ours came together to get the job done. We promise we will remain vigilant through the election and beyond, to make sure that every voter has the right to cast a vote that counts,” continued Johnson.
The Wisconsin Election Protection coalition consists of AFSCME District Council 48, Milwaukee Interfaith Congregations Allied for Hope (MICAH), Milwaukee Labor Council AFL-CIO, “My Vision” Community Organization, NAACP – Milwaukee Branch, National Black United Front, Operation Big Vote, People For the American Way Foundation – Wisconsin, Sherman Park Community Association, WISDOM, Wisconsin Citizen Action and Wisconsin Twelve – Step Club.
Election Protection is the nation’s most far-reaching program to protect voter rights from now through Election Day and beyond. The nonpartisan voter information, advocacy and protection program is carried out by a coalition of more than 100 nonprofit organizations dedicated to ensuring that every citizen has the opportunity to cast a vote that will be counted. In this fall’s elections, Election Protection will deploy 25,000 volunteers, including 5,000 lawyers and law students, in more than 3,500 precincts in at least 17 states. Coalition partners include: People For the American Way Foundation, NAACP, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, the Voter Protection Project of America’s Families United, the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation, the AFL-CIO, the Advancement Project, Working Assets, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, the National Council of La Raza, the NAACP National Voter Fund, the League of United Latin American Citizens, the League of Women Voters and Common Cause