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COVID-19 Update

Dear Neighbor,

In order to support your families being able to take a deep breath, turn away from constant news updates, and create a new temporary normal, my office will continue sending a daily COVID-19 update and will post online on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

It is my hope that one reliable update each day will allow you to take a deep breath, oversee all that is happening in your own life and home, and have a reliable source of news you can count on to be up to date and accurate. As always, previous updates are on our website and linked beneath the graphic below. 

My greatest concerns right now are your lives and livelihoods. We are working hard to keep you and your loved ones safe, and to fight for our small businesses in an unprecedented crisis. 

In solidarity,

Rep. Robyn Vining 


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Past email updates can be found HERE


Election Day 

Dear Neighbor,

I am committed to ensuring our elections are 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.

Governor Evers called for a special session to stop in-person voting on April 7th. I supported the governor’s call, and I have been ready to vote on this issue, among others, since we first knew about COVID-19, and remained 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. When Republican leadership in the legislature actively resisted legislative changes to protect Wisconsinites and our election, Governor Evers issued an Executive Order to postpone the election. The order was struck down by the Wisconsin State Supreme Court. 

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, which is why I shifted last Friday, April 3rd, to voicing my concerns, and the concerns of my constituents, publicly.

I am frustrated that Republican leadership did not act to protect our people. I am defensive of every person in my district who is and was scared to vote: poll workers, voters, city hall workers, the National Guard called in 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 refused to call a vote to protect my constituents, I advocated that people access absentee ballots. At the time of this letter, we have reports of nearly 10,000 Wisconsinites who requested but didn’t receive their 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. It is unacceptable for the legislature to sit by and watch as people attempt to do everything asked of them to vote, only to be disenfranchised. We, as the legislature, had the power to protect human life, and the constitutional right to a fair election, and the Republican leadership refused to do so.

Democracy serves the people. I will always fight for a democracy that serves the people.

Forward together, 

Robyn Vining
Wisconsin State Representative
14th Assembly District

IMPORTANT NOTE: 

Over the past few days, public health officials at the Wisconsin Department of Health Services said we were starting to see the curve flatten - Safer at Home, social distancing practices, and good hygiene are working. 

While the peak of this virus is yet to be seen, at this point, the doubling time of infection has been slowed from about 3 days (in early March) to between 4-7 days. This is what flattening the curve looks like. Up until now, models showed we will likely see a peak number of infections in May. 

One of the concerns about keeping the in-person voting on April 7th is that the progress of the Safer at Home order the last two weeks, or one incubation period of the virus, would be negatively affected, or worse— reversed. 

It takes about two weeks, or one incubation cycle of the disease, to show the impact of social distancing. We hope that the election today does not harm the progress that has been made the last two weeks. 


 Department of Children & Families

The Department of Children and Families has developed new resources to connect essential workforce families with locally available child care. The attached PDF describes these efforts and the tools developed to help meet the child care needs of essential workers by trying to match them with available child care. Please feel free share widely and in response to inquiries from your constituents with child care needs.

If workers are in need of child care, they should submit requests as soon as possible. This data is key to helping child care centers determine whether they are going to continue operating to meet local demand. To request child care, essential workforce families should fill out this form. Additionally, families can search for available care at a publicly available map

Map: https://dcf.wisconsin.gov/covid-19/childcare/map

Request form:  https://childcarefinder.wisconsin.gov/EmergencyRequest.aspx


American Diabetes Association

The American Diabetes Association is providing support and guidance to constituents impacted by diabetes, who are at higher risk of getting very sick from COVID-19.

You can access helpful resources, understand your risk, know your legal rights, and connect with community at diabetes.org/coronavirus. 

Make sure you know how to reduce your risk of contracting COVID-19 and what to do if you or a loved one develops symptoms. In addition, many people are now facing unexpected financial hardships.

If you are struggling to pay for insulin, the ADA has resources to help - visit InsulinHelp.org. Questions? The American Diabetes Association is here to help during this challenging time: click here or call their Center for Information at 1-800-DIABETES (800-342-2383).


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CURRENT COVID-19 CASES

Statewide

2,578 confirmed cases

745 hospitalizations (29% of cases)

28,512 negative test results

92 devastating deaths

14th District Counties

Milwaukee - 1,323 confirmed cases
Waukesha -  166 confirmed cases

For daily updated information on COVID-19 in Wisconsin, visit the DHS website here. 


 

Forward together,

Rep. Robyn Vining

 

Contact Us: 

State Capitol
P.O. Box 8953
Madison, WI 53708 

PH: (608) 266-9180
TF: (888) 534-0014

Email: Rep.Vining@legis.wi.gov 
Web: www.vining.assembly.wi.gov 


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