vote

Early Voting

October 19, 2020 By MKE Community Journal Leave a Comment

The time has come. The time has come. It’s time to vote. It’s time to vote! Yes, Election Day is November 3rd, 2020. But, early voting starts TOMORROW, October 20th and ends on November 1st. If you plan to vote early and still don’t know who to vote for, do your research now. Learn about the candidates and make your decision.

When voting, it may surprise you that there’s quite a few sections to choose from but understand you don’t have to vote for each section. It’s better to know who you’re voting for than to vote for anyone.

I found some information online that should help you get through to the voting process.

Vote on Election Day

Voters registered in Wisconsin can look up where to vote on Wisconsin’s site.

Vote early

Wisconsin voters can also vote before Election Day through a process called absentee in-person voting. The period for absentee in-person voting runs from Tuesday, October 20, 2020 to Sunday, November 1, 2020, but dates and hours may vary based on where you live.

What to bring

* You will need to show a photo ID to vote in Wisconsin. An acceptable photo ID is not required to contain a current address. These photo IDs are acceptable and can be unexpired or expired after the date of the most recent general election, currently, the November 6, 2018 election: Wisconsin DOT-issued driver license, even if driving privileges are revoked or suspended; a Wisconsin DOT-issued identification card; military ID card issued by a U.S. uniformed service; U.S. passport; an identification card issued by a federally recognized Indian tribe in Wisconsin

* The following photo ID is also acceptable for voting purposes, and can be expired after November 6, 2018: a photo identification card issued by a Wisconsin accredited university or college that contains date of issuance, expiration date no later than two years after issuance, and signature of student (must be accompanied by a separate document that proves enrollment if the student ID is expired).

* The following photo IDs are also acceptable for voting purposes, but must be unexpired: a veteran’s photo identification card issued by the Veterans Health Administration of the federal Department of Veterans Affairs; a certificate of naturalization that was issued not earlier than two years before the date of an election at which it is presented; a driving receipt issued by Wisconsin DOT (valid for 45 days); an identification card receipt issued by Wisconsin DOT (valid for 45 days).

* Voters without ID: If you are unable to provide photo ID, you will be able to vote a provisional ballot. Your provisional ballot will not count unless you provide an acceptable photo ID to your municipal clerk in person by 4:00 p.m. the Friday after the election.

You can still register to vote today and even on Election Day. Let nothing stop you from voting. Just go for it. Your voice matters. Your vote counts!

-LaShawnda S. Wilkins (@speaklifeshawnie)

Get Ready to Vote

September 28, 2020 By MKE Community Journal Leave a Comment

Have you been registered to vote? If not why not? The “register to vote” icon is literally on almost all social media platforms alone. If you log into Facebook, it’s there. If you log into Instagram, it’s there. Many links to register are in LinkedIn and even Twitter.

It takes less than two minutes to register. Just as this year flew right by us, the time to vote will be here, before we know it. Knowing how, when, and where to vote is key.

According to howto.vote, Election Day is Tuesday, November 3rd, 2020. Wisconsin is offering vote by mail or in-person. They’re also offering early voting, which will be held between October 20th, 2020 and November 1st, 2020.

Here’s some additional information found on the site. These are helpful tips on how to stay prepared at this time.

Vote on Election Day

Voters registered in Wisconsin can look up where to vote on Wisconsin’s site.

Vote early

What to bring

Sometimes voting sounds so cliche. However, this election is incredibly important. This year we, as adults and citizens of this country, must make a difference. Our voices must be heard.

Why Black Millennials Should Vote

September 7, 2020 By MKE Community Journal Leave a Comment

Over the years, voting has become so controversial is almost scary. Many people believe in voting while most millennials have given up hope. Most millennials feel voting has let them down, especially since the 2016 election. That year, many millennials voted and because of it, Hillary Clinton won 2.1% more popular votes than Donald Trump and somehow he still won the race.

That was a slap in the face. It hurt. In a way it has made some of us bitter. But contrary to popular belief, voting still is the key. Sounds good, right? Well let me explain just why it’s STILL important to vote.

1. You Have the Right to Vote

Although it wasn’t until 1868 in which blacks were considered to be citizens that alone didn’t give us the right to vote. Many blacks who tried to vote at that time were turned down by the polls. But in 1870, Congressmen passed the Fifteenth Amendment that stated,

“The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.”

Thus giving us the right to vote. When you think about it. Why would we have been turned down at all? Why would they not want us to vote?

Because voting is power.

2. Taxes

Voting gives you the opportunity to direct where your taxes will be spent. Contingent upon the plan at hand, your taxes will go towards a particular strategy that often times includes funding for health care and social services. If you are forced to pay taxes, you might as well have a say so in where it’s going to go.

3. Voting Changes Things

Are you pleased with how things are going for the country? Voting promotes the opportunity for change. You can make an impact. There’s a bigger picture to your vote alone. Yet and still, you make a difference.

4. Your Voice Matters

You can’t be a person that complains about how things aren’t going the way they should and not vote. If you choose not to vote, you’re choosing to be silent no matter how many words are coming out of your mouth. Silence is violence in more cases than one. And in this particular instance, if you don’t vote, you’ll be giving the enemy the upper hand (I said what I said).

5. We Need Your Vote

Although your vote matters and it’s personal, you aren’t just voting for yourself. You’re voting for your community. You’re voting for a better environment. You’re voting to change things. Elections have consequences. Great things will happen with the right people in office.

It’s important for us to begin to get more educated in the area of voting. Truth be told, many of us have voted in the past, solely because a parent or grandparent wanted us to. But we need to begin to see the reason to vote for ourselves. If we push, we can change the world together. Lord knows it needs lots of changing.

So this election, make sure you’re a part. You matter. Your voice matters. Your power matters. Let’s do this! Get registered and get ready!

Mayor Barrett Announces Miller Park and Fiserv Forum as Early Voting Centers for the 2020 General Election

August 31, 2020 By MKE Community Journal Leave a Comment

MILWAUKEE— August 31, 2020, Mayor Tom Barrett joined City leaders and Senior Vice President of the Milwaukee Bucks Alex Lasry to announce Fiserv Forum and Miller Park as two additional early voting centers for the 2020 general election. Prior to today’s announcement, an additional 15 early voting locations were added throughout the city.

“We are now fortunate to announce that not only have we found one, but we have found two locations that are absolutely fabulous for allowing more people to exercise their right to vote,” said Mayor Tom Barrett. “Nationally, Milwaukee has become the leader by providing both Fiserv Forum and Miller Park for early voting. I don’t know of another city in this nation that is using a major league ballpark and an NBA arena for early voting— that’s how committed we are to making sure that people’s voices are heard.”

The City of Milwaukee has included the two additional early voting locations due to the anticipated increase in voter turnout for the November election and the ongoing COVID-19 health pandemic requiring that in-person voting locations comply with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention safety guidelines.

“Voting is sacred. It’s the most important thing that we as citizens do in a democracy,” said Common Council President Cavalier Johnson. “When we vote, we determine who is going to be the person, or people, who represent us. Not just that, we’re determining who is going to set the tone for our nation, for our city, for our state. We’re determining who is going to set the laws for our society, and that’s critically important to do.”

The City of Milwaukee ordinarily sees 70% of individuals vote in-person and 20-30% individuals vote absentee. In the April election, the percentages flipped to reflect 20-30% of people voting in-person and 70% voting absentee.

Voting by mail is not the best option for every voter. Offering in-person absentee voting at larger sites offers a greater opportunity for social distancing throughout the City and furthers racial equity and access to in-person voting opportunities.

The Fiserv Forum will be used for in-person early voting October 20 – November 1. The location will be open from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday – Friday and 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.

“We are excited that Fiserv Forum will be designated an early vote site,” said Senior Vice President of the Milwaukee Bucks Alex Lasry. “The pandemic has added another barrier to voting for vulnerable communities, so this will help us make sure that everyone in Milwaukee has a safe and convenient way to exercise their right to vote. By converting Fiserv Forum into a voting location, we can make sure everyone’s voice can be heard in a safe and responsible way.”

In addition, during the April election the City saw a large increase in drive through voting. Over 6,000 voters cast their ballot from their car. Miller Park will provide safe and efficient drive through early voting for the November election. Dates and hours of operation to be announced at a later date.

“With support from the MLB and league-wide efforts to support voting initiatives, we believe that Miller Park can offer a safe, drive-through advance voting option and help reduce the strain on traditional sites due to COVID-19,” said Brewers President of Business Operations Rick Schlesinger.

Both the Fiserv Forum and Miller Park will be used exclusively for early voting. The Milwaukee Election Commission has established 170 neighborhood-based voting locations for Election Day.

“Every eligible voter in this country has the right to vote, and has the right to vote safely,” said Milwaukee Election Commission Executive Director Claire Woodall-Vogg. “While voting by mail is without a doubt the safest option, it’s not the best option for every voter. We had a 3% rejection rate in April due to things like ballots not being returned on time, or not having the right signatures. Being able to cast your absentee ballot ahead of Election Day, but with my staff, ensures that your vote counts and that we don’t have a 3% rejection rate on November 3.”

The Election Commission is working diligently with its partners to recruit residents seeking work to help staff in-person absentee voting sites. The Commission is also working to recruit an additional 750 Election Day workers to ensure that lines are not congested, polling places are cleaned and disinfected frequently and that they have a safety net should staff members fall ill. Milwaukee County residents who are interested in working as poll workers can apply at milwaukee.gov/election.

NCBCP’s Black Youth Vote to Motivate and Encourage Generation Z and Millennials to ‘Own’ Their Power and Be Counted in 2020 Census

April 22, 2020 By MKE Community Journal Leave a Comment

Embracing the Theme ‘Count Black Youth-The Power is in Our Hands’ National Black Youth Vote Will Join Forces with National & State-Based Partner Organizations to Get out the Black Youth Count on April 27 – May 1, 2020

Washington, DC (April 21, 2020) — To actively encourage Black youth to focus on being counted in the 2020 Decennial Census, despite the Coronavirus (COVID 19) global pandemic, the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation’s (NCBCP) Black Youth Vote (BYV!) youth civic leadership and power-building program and its Unity Diaspora Coalition (UDC) 2020 Campaign’s national and state-based partner organizations will launch “#CountMeBlack Youth Census 2020 Week (Count Me Black Youth Week),” Monday, April 27 to Friday, May 1, 2020.

Count Me Black Youth Week will utilize social media, primarily Instagram, Twitter & Facebook, that includes online organizing and engagement activities—-designed to encourage Black youth (18 – 35) across the nation to be counted in the 2020 Decennial Census, with a special focus on Southern states and other states with a large Black population including: AL, FL, GA, MD, MI, MS, NC, OH, PA, VA and Washington, DC.

Holli Holliday, Esq., National Unity 2020 Campaign Manager, NCBCP shares, “The NCBCP, Black Youth Vote and our UDC Unity 2020 Partners are concerned that the Coronavirus pandemic is having a negative impact on the Black population being fairly counted in the 2020 Decennial Census, especially those that have historically been undercounted that includes Black children, men, immigrants, LGBTQ+ and seniors. Further, past undercounts has led to tens-of-millions of federal dollars being diverted away from hundreds of programs that support Black America. Being counted is especially imperative for the Black population.”

In spite of the severe challenges and obstacles currently posed by the Coronavirus pandemic, NCBCP’s Black Youth Vote leaders plan to use their collective resources and partnerships to actively motivate Black youth, especially Generation Z and Millennials, to step up and be counted in the 2020 Decennial Census. Says Darrell Coles, National BYV Project Coordinator/Intern, “Part of BVY’s mission is to train and educate African American youth and young adults to lead our civic engagement campaigns and to own our power to bring about the positive change we want to see for our communities; and being counted in the 2020 Census is part of that strategy.” Also, BWR/BYV Project Coordinator/Intern, Acacia Newsome, also shares “We believe social media is the most effective means of reaching our generation and utilizing our peers as the best influencers to encourage Black youth on the importance of being counted in the 2020 Decennial Census.”

#COUNTMEBLACK YOUTH CENSUS 2020 WEEK CALENDAR OF ACTIVITIES

Monday, April 27th

Count Black Youth Census ’20 TikTok Monday

Black GenZ and Millennial leaders create 30-60 second #CountMeBlack Census ’20 videos to promote on Instagram

Tuesday, April 28th

Wild N Out on Census ’20 Tuesday

Twitter Storm @ 1 pm – 2 pm EST

Unity/BYV national & state-based partners and influencers flood Twitter w/memes & infographics that shows Black youth being counted in Census ’20 is about money, power & respect!

Wednesday, April 29th

Spill the TEA Census ’20 Wednesday

National Tele-Townhall Livestreamed on #RolandMartinUnfiltered

@ 3:00 pm – 4:30 pm EST

Black GenZ and Millennial Leaders share strategies and insight on why its important for Black youth to be counted in the 2020 Census to build economic & political power, access quality education & healthcare and more…

Thursday, April 30th

Celebrate the Diversity of Black Youth Census ’20 Thursday

Unity/BYV national & state-based partners and influencers flood social media with diverse messages, infographics, memes showcasing the diversity of the Black youth population.

Friday, May 1st

– BYV! DJ Live Take Over Census’20 Friday

4:00 pm – 10 pm EST

Unity/BYV national & state-based partners host Live DJ #CountMeBlack Census Parties to

Close Out #CountMeBlack Youth Census Week!

Hashtags: #CountMeBlackWeek #CountBlackYouth #BeCounted2BuildPower

New Online Tool Launched by CLC Will Help Up to 23 Million Americans Understand Their Voting Rights

August 14, 2018 By MKE Community Journal Leave a Comment

All citizens who have paid their debt to society are entitled to participate in our democracy

(Black PR Wire) WASHINGTON – Today, Campaign Legal Center (CLC) released a first-of-its-kind online tool RestoreYourVote.orgto help as many as 23 million citizens with past felony convictions understand their voting rights in all 50 states and take the necessary steps in the process to exercise their right to vote before the November 2018 election. A majority of this group of Americans – as many as 17 million people – should be able to vote right away if they just understand their rights. Many more are eligible to apply to restore their right to vote. CLC hopes to educate as many people as possible between now and the election by providing an online roadmap for rights restoration.

Felony disenfranchisement laws target primarily people of color, preventing them from having a voice. Many of these laws are explicitly racially discriminatory policies of Jim Crow. Nationwide, one in every 13 black adults cannot vote as the result of a felony conviction. That is compared to one in 56 non-black adults.

“Citizens who have paid their debt to society are entitled to participate in our democracy. We launched this tool because state and federal policies do not uniformly protect the right to vote of all citizens. There is lots of work to do to educate people about their rights,” said Danielle Lang, senior legal counsel, voting rights and redistricting at CLC. “We can’t overturn all discriminatory voting laws overnight. But while we fight them in court, we are minimizing the harmful impact of these laws by clearing up the confusion and misinformation that prevents many people with past felony convictions throughout the country from voting. Through this tool and a robust organizing effort, we hope to educate as many people as possible about their rights and help them access the ballot.”

As we launch the online tool today, CLC is also launching grassroots organizing efforts in several states to educate voters, beginning in the states of Arizona, Nevada, and Texas. These states were chosen because of their large population of people that can vote if they understand their rights but an equally large amount of confusion around the law.

Watch this video to learn about the Alabama Voting Rights Project, the pilot state of this campaign, which highlights the knowledge gap about voting laws for people with past convictions.

Visit RestoreYourVote.orgto learn about the path to rights restoration.