Wisconsin Republicans are trying to shut down a voter registration/ballot witnessing event...

[Nevilledog]

Link to tweet

Tweet text:
Amy Gardner
@AmyEGardner
I am repeating this because it is so insane. Wisconsin Republicans are trying to shut down a voter registration/ballot witnessing event in Madison tomorrow.

[milestogo]

1. Well I just voted with my mail-in ballot at my neighborhood park at 9am in Madison.

Two poll workers were present.

Fuck you, Republicans.

I was going to take my ballot to the clerks office, but when I heard about this option I was delighted. Its nice weather and they are out in every neighborhood park. A lot of people may be a little unsure about what to do with a mail-in ballot if they've never done it before. This way you have individuals who explain the process, and you see them put your vote in the ballot bag. By Tuesday I should be able to see that my vote has been collected by looking it up online.

What a great idea to bring voting to the neighborhoods!

[Nevilledog]

3. Yay!

[Iliyah]

2. With all the . . .

documentation showing how republicans are trying to suppress the vote, this alone shows the courts their intent on swaying the elections in favor of shithole and the rest of the republican field.

Democracy has it's proof.

[FakeNoose]

4. Update from same twitter feed (OP link)

https://madison.com/news/local/state-gop-leaders-send-cease-and-desist-letter-to-madison-clerk-ahead-of-ballot-collection/article_16e113e2-5e7e-5ebf-b164-a630ab2daa3c.html

ELECTION 2020 | BALLOT COLLECTION
State GOP leaders send cease-and-desist letter to Madison Clerk ahead of ballot collection event
Elizabeth Beyer | Wisconsin State Journal 4 hrs ago

The state’s two most powerful Republican lawmakers sent a cease-and-desist letter to the Madison City Clerk’s Office on Friday ahead of a ballot collection event to be held in city parks Saturday, calling the effort “illegal” and warning the ballots would be challenged in court and potentially invalidated.

“The threat that this procedure poses to ballot integrity is manifestly obvious,” Misha Tseytlin, former state solicitor general, wrote on behalf of Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, and Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester.

City Clerk Maribeth Witzel-Behl defended the program Friday, disputing conservative criticism that the event constitutes either illegal ballot harvesting or illegal early voting, which otherwise can’t start until about two weeks before the Nov. 3 election. The cease-and-desist letter does not affect the event and it will continue as planned, she said.

She noted the program involves city poll workers, who are deputized to receive ballots. Ballot harvesting involves the illegal collection of ballots by non-poll workers to be delivered to election officials or ballot boxes. The event also does not amount to early voting because ballots will not be provided to voters who come out. The poll workers will be receiving ballots from those who requested and received absentee ballots.

- more at link -

[Baitball Blogger]

5. Do you all trust the sponsors of the event?

[milestogo]

6. Yes.

Many City of Madison voters have been contacting the City Clerk’s Office to ask about options for returning their absentee ballots in person. In response to these questions, the Clerk’s Office is partnering with the City of Madison Parks Division to allow City of Madison voters to return their absentee ballots to poll workers stationed in more than 200 City of Madison parks.

The Democracy in the Park event will be held 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM, Saturday, September 26 and Saturday, October 3. In the case of inclement weather, the event will be held Sunday, September 27 and Sunday, October 4 instead.

Poll workers wearing high visibility vests and face masks will be available next to a "Vote" yard sign in 206 city parks to register voters and to accept the delivery of absentee ballots. The poll workers will be available to serve as a witness, if needed.

cityofmadison.com/news/democracy-in-the-park-event-planned-for-september-26-october-3

[crickets]

7. The City Clerk's office? Sure. Why not?

The events are open to anyone, of any political stripe. It's a great way for people to register and/or to be sure they have correctly filled out and turned in their ballots.

The event — to be held in every community park, neighborhood park and mini park across Madison this Saturday and next — was meant to provide voters with access to registration, answers to questions about the voting process and a secure method for voters to deliver their completed absentee ballot. Poll workers can also act as a witness for absentee voters if needed.

The event is scheduled to run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Oct. 3, and once it concludes, envelopes containing completed absentee ballots will be secured with tamper-evident seals. Poll workers will document both the number of seals and the number of ballots, and take them to the City Clerk’s Office. There, both the seal number and the ballot number will be verified by officials. The clerk’s office will scan the barcode of each envelope by the next day so that voters will be able to check the status of their ballot by the following Monday on MyVote.wi.gov.

Sounds great. My only concern would be the possibility of overwhelming numbers of people showing up. Here's hoping they have manageable crowds and a successful event.

[Baitball Blogger]

10. +1

[Lefta Dissenter]

8. I turned in my ballot at the Clerk's office the other day, but wanted to check this out.

I walked over to the tiny little city park near my house. There was a sign out by the street, and two mask-wearing election officials were stationed at a table under the park shelter. They had yellow vests and ID tags, and a courier’s bag into which they were depositing ballots that were being dropped off. They said that they have had a pretty steady stream of people coming to register and to have ballots witnessed and received.

They indicated that they thought that some people were objecting to the process because those folks misunderstood and thought that ballots were actually being handed out at the parks, which they are not. They’re giving them more benefit of the doubt than I am, but that’s ok.

Thanks to all who are participating in “Democracy in the Park!“

[milestogo]

9. If they're going to sow doubt about the post office, they can't object to giving us other options.

Well, they can, because they're Wisconsin Republican assholes, but it isn't reasonable for them to object.