Thread by @benwikler

BREAKING: The Democratic Party of Wisconsin & Democratic National Committee just sued to knock down barriers to voting by mail on April 7. Our asks: extend deadlines for online voter registration, & remove voter ID requirements for online absentee ballot requests in Wisconsin. 1/

Wisconsin's April 7 election isn't just a primary—it's a statewide Supreme Court election, plus Milwaukee County Exec, Mayor, and school referendum, plus key local elections statewide. Date is written into law. So let's make it SAFE & open to all.
jsonline.com/story/news/pol…

Wisconsin's voting rules are etched into law—they're not administrative rules that the Governor or Wisconsin Elections Commission can waive. So we're taking the laws to court.

https://twitter.com/marceelias/status/1240374045914341376

Under current law, the deadline to register to vote online in Wisconsin for the April 7 election is TONIGHT at midnight. You have to upload a scan or photo of your proof of residence. Go to myvote.wi.us to register NOW, just in case—& retweet!

https://twitter.com/WI_Elections/status/1240272411804577795

So—the @WisDems / @TheDemocrats lawsuit would strike down the requirement to upload scanned proof of residence documents—which creates a huge burden for many folks, especially older voters—and push back the deadline by a week. #LetWisconsinRegister!

Wisconsin law dictates that anyone can request an absentee ballot online—BUT that you have to upload a photo of your photo ID when you make the request. That's ridiculous. (DMVs are closing!) We seek to strike that rule, so everyone can vote by mail ASAP.

https://twitter.com/bkoerth/status/1239914061141286913

Wisconsin laws allow absentee ballot requests until April 2—but right now, the ballot has to be *received* by April 7, election day, to count. We ask the Court to allow ballots to count if they're *postmarked* by election day, as long as received by April 12. #LetMyPeopleVote

There's already a FLOOD of absentee ballot requests flowing in to the Wisconsin Elections Commission. 234k so far. Previous record, in *fall* of 2016: 249,500. But this is—and should be!—just the beginning.

https://twitter.com/WI_Elections/status/1240271599414079489

What you should know:

1. If you're a Wisconsinite who's not registered, REGISTER TODAY. myvote.wi.gov. Any Wisconsinites follow you? Retweet.

2. Everyone should request an absentee ballot, now, here: myvote.wi.gov/en-us/VoteAbse…

3. Vote for Jill. jillforjustice.com

The real solution—nationwide—is universal vote by mail. @RonWyden & @AmyKlobuchar have a bill to ensure that every voter receive a ballot by mail for November's election. That should pass—and you should call your senators (202-224-3121) & support it.

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/…

But to be clear—universal Vote By Mail is no simple thing. In Wisconsin, 72 counties prepare ballots and send them to 1,852 municipal clerks, who then mail them out. The logistical burden is real. But we should start working out the challenges of VBM now.

politico.com/news/2020/03/1…

The lawsuit filed by @WisDems & @TheDemocrats today is a critical step to ensure that, even in the midst of a hideous and lethal pandemic, everyone has the opportunity to vote. April 7 is just 20 days away. And it's a step to help us prepare for November.

theintercept.com/2020/03/16/pan…

Nobody should have to choose between protecting their health and exercising their franchise. Let's do this right. We've filed our suit. Court, the ball's in your... uh... court.

And if you're reading this, and you want to help—whether you're in Wisconsin or elsewhere—we could 1000% use your assistance. Sign up at wisdems.org/volunteer and we'll put you to work contacting voters & urging them to request absentee ballots—and return them.

Meanwhile—even as Dems are suing to expand Wisconsinites' voting rights, GOP-aligned groups are trying to shrink them. The right-wing group connected to Justice Dan Kelly just filed to get the state Supreme Court to purge our voter rolls before November.

thecentersquare.com/wisconsin/wisc…

Dan Kelly used to serve on the advisory board of the right-wing Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty. His fellow advisory board members fund his campaigns. But he's refused to recuse himself from their litigation, six times—and ruled in their favor *every single time.*

Perhaps realizing that purging the rolls before his own election day would be so brazen as to backfire politically, he recused himself from the last purge decision. But now he says that he might well rule on it if he's re-elected on April 7.
madison.com/ct/news/local/…

This is one reason why the April 7 Supreme Court election is so crucial. Trump has personally endorsed Dan Kelly for Supreme Court. GOP is going to the mat to elect Kelly. They see it as a chance to tilt the November election. So we're fighting for Jill Karofsky—& for democracy.

NEW: The GOP has filed in court to block the @WisDems / @TheDemocrats lawsuit seeking to expand access to absentee voting in Wisconsin’s April 7 statewide election. They insist that voters upload a photo ID to request an absentee ballot. DMVs are closed.
jsonline.com/story/news/pol…