Past email updates can be found HERE
Statement on April 7th Election
I am committed to ensuring our election is both safe and fair, and I believe that in the current health crisis that is COVID-19, an in-person election on Tuesday, April 7th, is neither safe nor fair.
When weeks ago seeing the science behind the COVID-19 pandemic and the very likely implications that an in-person election on April 7th would be dangerous and possibly even make a public health crisis even worse, I began advocating for a vote-by-mail election.
To change the election to a vote-by-mail election would have to be an “act of the legislature”. In Wisconsin, the Governor cannot order this change, it must be changed by the legislature convening and changing it. Governor Evers has called for a special session tomorrow, Saturday April 4th, to stop in-person voting on April 7th. I support the governor’s call, and I have been ready to vote on this issue for weeks, and remain ready to protect the people of Wisconsin by shifting to either vote-by-mail, or postponing the election until after the public health crisis threat of COVID-19 has passed.
I believe in bipartisanship. And, I believe that in a time of unprecedented crisis facing Wisconsin, we need unprecedented bipartisanship. Being bipartisan in a time of crisis doesn’t mean failing to register meaningful dissent. Dissent matters. Dissent is a building block toward meaningful change. And in this case dissent is also registering the voices of the people who are scared, the voices of the people I represent.
I am frustrated that Republican leadership is not acting to protect our people. I am defensive of every person in my district who is scared to vote: poll workers, voters, city hall workers, the National Guard called into to work the polls and the families they’ll return to. I am defensive of my constituents’ right to vote, their free and fair access to the polls, and their right to feel their government isn’t playing political games in a time of a dangerous health crisis.
Because Republican leadership has failed to call a vote to protect my constituents, I have advocated that people access absentee ballots (you have until 5pm on Friday, April 3rd to request an absentee ballot).
It is unacceptable for the legislature to sit by and watch as people voice fear for their lives when asked to work polls during a public health crisis. It is unacceptable for the legislature to sit by and watch as people voice fear for their lives to exercise their constitutional right to vote. We, as the legislature, have the power to protect human life, and the constitutional right to a fair election, and we should act now.
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U.S. District Judge William Conley ruled yesterday to extend the deadline to request an absentee ballot in Wisconsin to TODAY, Friday, April 3rd at 5pm.
Additionally, Judge Conley ruled that absentee ballots will be counted if submitted to local clerks by 4pm on April 13th.
Judge Conley also lifted the witness requirement for absentee ballot applications, stating that voters can provide a written affirmation that they could not safely obtain a witness signature due to COVID-19 fears. This is under the discretion of local clerks, so please contact your local clerk if you cannot obtain a witness signature on your ballot.
To request an absentee ballot, contact your local clerks office and send a copy of your photo ID that you use for voting.
ONE WISCONSIN
On a personal note, I want to assure you we are doing everything we can with the information and power that we have while working through an unprecedented pandemic that has facts and advice changing seemingly constantly. I will continue monitoring this crisis, and I will not forget my call to service to the people of the 14th district. Part of my job is disseminating information, and we will keep you posted as news happens. And, we will also work to generate ideas for how to best respond. I understand this is both a challenging time, and for many-- a scary time. Please check on your neighbors, reach out to the elderly, if you need help and receive an offer for help, take confidence in accepting that help. Together, as one Wisconsin, we will walk through this moment, and may we remember one another, reach out, ask for help, offer help, and be the community to one another we were made to be. Now is the time to draw together as one Wisconsin.
My office is here. Please reach out with any questions. We will be at work. And once again, the safety and security of my constituents is my number one priority. Please rest at night knowing that.
CURRENT COVID-19 CASES
Statewide
1,916 confirmed cases
487 hospitalizations (25% of cases)
22,377 negative test results
37 devastating deaths
14th District Counties
Milwaukee - 955 confirmed cases
Waukesha - 133 confirmed cases
For daily updated information on COVID-19 in Wisconsin, visit the DHS website here.
Forward together,
