10 results for tag: elections

Reflecting on the importance of voting rights on this MLK Day

This week has been a good week for me as Editor. Middle Wisconsin received several good stories; so many, in fact, that some are being held until next month

IS DEMOCRACY ON THE ROPES?

IS DEMOCRACY ON THE ROPES? By Pat Slutske (Reprinted with permission from Grassroots North Shore) Lately we've been calling your attention to specific challenges progressives are facing right now — issues like the attempts to gut our open records law, or attacks on the Legislative Audit Bureau and the Government Accountability Board. The attack on the venerable civil service, created more than 100 years ago to stymie corruption and cronyism in government, is simply the latest of these outrages. These are matters calling for intense and immediate action. But to understand fully why these sorts of things keep cropping up, it helps to put them ...

SHOESTRING POLITICS

SHOESTRING POLITICS By Blue Jean Nation and Mike McCabe Blue Jean Nation will be conducting a workshop called "Shoestring Politics: How to Win Without Being Rich or Mortgaging Your Soul" on Saturday, November 7 from 1 to 4 p.m. in Madison at the Coalition of Wisconsin Aging Groups headquarters at 2850 World Dairy Drive ( map ). If you are active in a cause, advocating for an issue, engaged in grassroots activism, thinking of running for office or looking to help someone run for office, this workshop is for you. It is geared to building understanding of the Citizens United world and how to fight unconventionally on today’s political battlef...

TELL LAWMAKERS TO KEEP THEIR HANDS OFF GAB.

TELL LAWMAKERS TO KEEP THEIR HANDS OFF GAB. By Joyce Luedke An August 25, 2015, editorial in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel states: “As we suspected, a state audit released last week found no major problems with Wisconsin’s nonpartisan Government Accountability Board, which handles ethics complaints and supervises state elections. Of course, you wouldn’t know that from the rhetoric coming from Republicans in the Legislature, some of whom want to gut this government watchdog.  Citizens of this state need to send them a strong message: NO. When even the MJS writes an editorial asking citizens to speak up to support the GAB and what it is ...

50 YEARS OF THE VRA…VOTING RIGHTS ACTS

50 YEARS OF THE VRA…VOTING RIGHTS ACTS From League of Women Voters August 6 was the 50th anniversary of the passage of the Voting Rights Act (VRA). This landmark civil rights legislation has protected voters from discrimination for nearly half a century. But today, the VRA does not offer the same protections it did in 1965.  The U.S. Supreme Court in 2013 gutted key provisions of the VRA in its Shelby County v. Holder decision. Congress currently has before it various proposals, but there’s been no legislation passed to repair the damage. Meanwhile, new restrictive voting laws have been enacted. Each and every eligible American voter ...

CHOOSE “WE” INSTEAD OF “ME”

CHOOSE “WE” INSTEAD OF “ME” By John Spiegelhoff Preamble to the U.S. Constitution: We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. I had a coach during high school that always said, “There is no I in TEAM.” He was a wise teacher. He knew that the only way to succeed was to play as a team - meaning individuals working as one for the common good and support...

YOU NEED A PHOTO VOTER ID TO VOTE

YOU NEED A PHOTO VOTER ID TO VOTE by Virginia Kirsch You need a photo ID to vote in Wisconsin elections. The Government Accountability Board of Wisconsin has a very handy, user-friendly website to help you with this process as well as many other details concerning elections. At myvote.wi.gov you can register to vote, check your voter registration status, find your polling place, see what's on your ballot, request an absentee ballot (military and permanent overseas voters only), and check provisional ballot status. The U.S. Supreme Court has affirmed the photo ID provisions of 2011 Wisconsin Act 23. A photo ID is now required to receive a ...

Your Freedom Matters

First they came for our voting freedoms and I did not speak out Because I didn’t vote   They came for my work place freedoms/ protections and wages I didn’t speak because I didn’t understand why it was so important   Then they came for freedom to learn all that is possible through a great public education, I didn’t realize public schools are the heart of equal opportunity for all communities   Quietly they attacked our state’s freedom to enjoy and protect our beautiful land and water Very few have noticed because it wasn’t in their back yard   They came for the freedom to pursue truth ...

THANK YOU

By Joyce Luedke Thank you.  Simple words that must be said.  Thank you: Mandy Wright and the founders of Middle Wisconsin.  Middle Wisconsin is hailed across the state as a reliable, refreshing, Progressive News source.  Middle Wisconsin provides writers a “voice”—a voice we did not have before. Mandy Wright, as Representative of the citizens of the 85th, who spoke the truth when others tried to silence your voice.  You were and will be an advocate for families, public education, and the progressive policies we know have a positive impact on the lives of individuals and families. Nancy Stencil for emphasizing fairness, respect, ...

Reducing Money in Politics

Do you think there is too much money in politics? Do you think politicians are bought by big money contributions? We need to do something about the extreme amount of money being raised and spent on elections. But it is unlikely that the politicians, or the industries that profit from the current mess, will allow change. What can we do? We can reduce the influence of money in politics if more of us participated in elections. First we should recognize that politics is the way we make decisions in a democratic society. It is how we decide priorities, spending, and public policy. If citizens abdicate, then special interests take over.   Refusing to ...