FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Tuesday, May 3, 2022
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Amanda Pustz, Protect Wisconsin Elections State Director, 608-556-0372, [email protected]
POLL: MAJORITY OF SWING VOTERS SUPPORT BIPARTISAN WISCONSIN ELECTIONS COMMISSION
Results also show opposition to dissolving Commission and putting partisans in charge of elections
MADISON, Wisc. – According to a new poll from Protect Wisconsin Elections and Patinkin Research Strategies, Wisconsin swing voters trust the state’s election system and want to keep partisan politics out of election administration. A majority of respondents (54%) trust the bipartisan Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC) to administer elections, and nearly six-in-ten oppose dissolving the Commission.
These poll results come at a time when free and fair elections are under attack in Wisconsin. Following the 2020 election, authoritarian extremists have perpetuated the lie that the election was stolen. Despite the public support for bipartisan election administration, many current state lawmakers and candidates for governor support disbanding the commission. If the WEC is disbanded, the legislature would be in charge of elections. This opens the possibility that the same extremists who claim the election was stolen will be in charge of election administration.
The poll of 738 swing voters was conducted March 23-29.
“Wisconsin is consistently one of the top-ranked states in the country for how we run elections. Our bipartisan Elections Commission is doing its job, and voters agree,” said Protect Wisconsin Elections State Director Amanda Pustz. “It’s amazing this needs to be said, but Wisconsin politicians should think twice about opposing free and fair elections. Voters should decide elections, not wannabe authoritarians.”
To counter these threats, Wisconsinites are banding together to safeguard elections. Protect Wisconsin Elections volunteer leaders are organizing across the state and forming “Election Protection Teams” to activate people across political ideologies, build public awareness about the bipartisan election commission and what would happen if it were disbanded, and give support and affirmation to existing election officials so they don’t resign and open up room for authoritarians to take their place.
For Thank Election Heroes Day, Protect Wisconsin Elections volunteers visited eight election offices to publicly express community support for workers. And last week, the group released a video about the threats poll workers have faced since the 2020 election.
“If authoritarians take over Wisconsin’s elections, it could be the nail in the coffin for free and fair elections in our state. And it will greenlight authoritarians in other states to do the same thing,” finished Pustz. “That’s why the work our volunteers are doing is so urgent. The only way to beat back these attacks is for Wisconsinites of all political stripes to link arms and support democracy.”
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Protect Wisconsin Elections is a volunteer-led effort whose mission is to defeat authoritarian threats and protect free and fair elections by activating Wisconsinites across political ideologies, building public awareness about Wisconsin’s highly effective election process, and supporting election officials. PWE is a project of RepresentUs.