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The Guardian: Wisconsin: the state where American democracy went to die
“I don’t think many people who are aware of what’s going on, and are tuned into politics and government in this state, would say that it’s anything even resembling a democracy,” said Jay Heck, the executive director of the Wisconsin chapter of Common Cause, a government watchdog group. ... “They view this as an opportunity to be able to extend one-party rule in this state for another 10 years,” Heck said. “If they can do that, they can do it in a great many other states as well.”
Found in: Common Cause
Reuters: Chaotic Wisconsin election signals virus-related voting battles ahead
If state legislatures do not expand mail-in voting soon, legal challenges like the ones that resulted in Wisconsin’s chaotic primary will be waged right up until the presidential election, said Sylvia Albert, director of voting and elections for Common Cause, a nonpartisan watchdog group. “What you saw in Wisconsin would be happening in November,” Albert said.
Found in: Common Cause
WIRED: Vote by Mail Isn't Perfect. But It's Essential in a Pandemic
"Right now we're focusing on making sure that no voter is disenfranchised during this health crisis," Karen Hobert Flynn, president of the nonpartisan pro-democracy group Common Cause, said on a call with reporters.
Found in: Common Cause
USA Today / Gannett: 'Warning sign:' Wisconsin's messy primary shows struggles states could face in November election
Jay Heck, the Wisconsin director of Common Cause, a voting-rights advocacy group, said voters face a difficult choice between wanting to vote and protecting their health. “Wisconsin’s absentee ballot rules are no doubt disenfranchising voters,” Heck said. Heck said the governor and Legislature have seven months to correct the problem to “avoid this kind of chaos” for the November general election.
Found in: Common Cause
NPR: Long Lines, Masks And Plexiglas Barriers Greet Wisconsin Voters At Polls
"Wisconsin is the only state in the nation that has failed to step up and respond responsibly and safely to the current national health pandemic emergency," Jay Heck, director of voting rights group Common Cause in Wisconsin, said in a statement.
Found in: Common Cause
Washington Post: Wisconsin governor moves to suspend in-person voting in Tuesday’s elections amid coronavirus fears, drawing GOP court challenge
Jay Heck, the executive director of Common Cause of Wisconsin, said he is “terrified” by the idea of the state holding the election on Tuesday given the mounting health risks. For the first time in nearly 25 years in his role, he is not encouraging people to vote in person, which “flies in the face of everything I believe in.” “It’s insanity. It’s just insanity,” an emotional Heck said midday Monday, before the governor’s order, describing the ways people could contract coronavirus at a polling place. “It makes me cry thinking about what is going to happen tomorrow. It really does.”
Found in: Common Cause
Politico: ‘It is terrifying’: Wisconsin leaders warn of coronavirus disaster with Tuesday’s vote
Jay Heck, director of Common Cause Wisconsin, a voting-rights group, likened the spring election to a cosmic calamity. "The upcoming election is hurtling toward the state of Wisconsin like some unstoppable meteor," said Heck. "It is terrifying, because nobody knows what's going to happen."
Found in: Common Cause
U.S. News & World Report: Can Democracy Survive Coronavirus?
Some communities, such as those on Native American tribal lands, aren't as well-served by the U.S. postal system, and mail-in ballots should include pre-paid postage so citizens don't have to pay for the right to cast a ballot, says Karen Hobert-Flynn, president of Common Cause. But she's for any idea that "makes sure there's fair and safe voting for all." "Even as we are worried about this public health threat, we need to remember that it can't distract us from the ways we can fight it," Hobert-Flynn says. "That means we have to come together locally, nationally and internationally to stop the spread (of the virus) and part of that is ensuring our democracy continues to function."
Found in: Common Cause
Washington Post: Wisconsin goes it alone, holding elections next week amid fears of infection and voting chaos
Democrats and voting activists have accused GOP lawmakers of trying to suppress voter turnout intentionally to help an incumbent candidate for the state Supreme Court, conservative Justice Daniel Kelly, win reelection. “They have cynically calculated that lower turnout will help the conservative candidate,” said Jay Heck, executive director of Common Cause in Wisconsin.