Republicans Sue Milwaukee Over Effort To Get Out The Vote

By Isiah Holmes, Wisconsin Examiner

September 30, 2022

The city of Milwaukee, often called Wisconsin’s economic engine and for certain the state’s most populous city, continues to draw suspicion from Republicans who raised questions about voting practices there in 2020, when Donald Trump falsely claimed voter fraud deprived him of victory in the presidential election.

In November, voters across the state go to the polls to cast ballots in key races, including for governor and U.S. Senate. Recently, the National Republican Senatorial Committee and the Republican Party of Wisconsin filed an open records lawsuit against the city, including the mayor’s office and election commission.

The lawsuit seeks communications between city employees about a privately funded get-out-the-vote effort. On Sept. 12, Mayor Cavalier Johnson announced support for the privately funded campaign “Milwaukee Votes 2022,” which aims to boost voter turnout through door-to-door canvassing. While the city wouldn’t directly lead the effort, it would assist by adding a website widget to some milwaukee.gov pages.

Johnson stressed that the effort is non-partisan. “I’m not asking anybody to cast their ballots for one party or another or one candidate or another,” he said during a Sept.12 press conference. “What I’m asking is for people to participate in our process and to make sure that their voice is heard at the ballot box.”

Republican groups, however, cast shade on the effort as a potentially illegal and inappropriate ploy to help Democrats win in November.

On Sept. 28 Empower Wisconsin, a conservative advocacy group, tweeted a quote from Wisconsin GOP executive director Mark Jefferson. “The Republican Party of Wisconsin is deeply concerned that cities like Milwaukee are working with Democrat operatives and partisan third party groups to get out the vote in a manner designed to tip the scales for Democrats.”

The open records lawsuit also spreads doubt about election integrity in Milwaukee. It states that on Sept. 15 an assistant to Johnson acknowledged the request for records regarding Milwaukee Votes 2022, but didn’t provide an estimate as to when the records could be provided. The office stated that 19 requests had been made about the campaign, and that at least some of the records would be ready for release by between Set. 23 and Sept. 26.

The Republican groups moved to sue for the records. Among other things the lawsuit states, “As a result of foregoing, and significant concerns as to whether the city of Milwaukee is or will be administering the upcoming Nov. 8 2022 election in accordance with Wisconsin law, Plaintiffs submitted separate open records requests to Defendants related to ‘Milwaukee Votes 2022’ and ‘Milwaukee Votes.’”

Raising alarms about election integrity has become common since the 2020 presidential election, when then-President Donald Trump lost to Joe Biden. In 2016, low voter turnout in the city of Milwaukee, where nearly 70% of the Black population is concentrated, opened a door for Trump to win the presidential election. This year, from the city’s North Side to the South Side, groups are organizing voters to go to the polls in November.

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