"We're Watching Wisconsin Elections"
ALERT!!!
THE FOLLOWING DOCUMENTSINCLUDE THE PHOTO I.D. REQUIREMENT
WHICH HAS BEEN SUSPENDED
UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE.
They're Here!
The "Basics of Election Observing" Guides
are Here!
Download them now and educate yourself
as to what to do at the polls...
Citizen's Guide to Observing the Election Process
***Attention: At the present time there are a number of issues pending in variouslegislative committees which could alter the content of the following documents.Check the revision date below for the latest version. If you have questions on any election issue, call the Government Accountability Board at 608-266-8005. Eight page synopsis of what you need to look for and be aware of if you decideto observe voting procedures and closing procedures at a polling location on Election Day. Also applies to observing in the clerk's office during in-personabsentee balloting. Includes all pertinent GAB documents.These are the rules for citizens wishing to observe the voting process in licensedresidential facilities, such as nursing homes, where the residents cannot get tothe polls, so the polls are brought to them. Includes all pertinent GABdocuments.In some communities, absentee ballots are counted at a separate location referred to as the "central count". If you wish to observe at a central count location, this guide gives you the rules to be followed. Includes all pertinent GAB documents.Here are the individual updated GAB documents for you to download:
Check out the "Basics" and get yourself
ready to observe on Election Day!!
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Sign Up to be a Poll Worker
You Can Still Get on the List!!!!
Click Here for more information...
Trained Election Observers:
If you are a trained Election Observer,
please consider becoming a Poll Worker now!!
You will not have to just sit back and observe!!
You will become a trained Election Official!!!
You will have an actual effect on how elections are conducted!!!!
Also:
Please consider becoming a Special Voting Deputy or SVD.
SVD's are trained poll workers who conduct elections in
Nursing Homes and Residential Care Facilities.
It is absolutely critical to have more SVD's conducting elections -
it is in Nursing Homes and other facilities where it is
easiest to commit fraud!
Check out our Poll Worker Project Page
for more information...
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If you are interested in observing the coming elections,
call your county party chairman to find out if there is
an organized Observer program for that election.
If not, feel free to observe on your own at any polling place in the state.
Check out our Election Observer Project page
for more information.
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YOU THINK YOU SEE VOTE FRAUD WHEN YOU VOTE - -
NOW WHAT?
BECOME PART OF "ELECTION WATCH"
For years neighborhoods have successfully protected themselves from crime through "Neighborhood Watch",a program that depends on citizens who "watch" and "report". It's not surprising that criminals avoid neighborhoods that "watch". "ELECTION WATCH" is based on the same idea, and you can have the same effect on our elections, so you can protect your vote. The concept is simple: as you vote (either at in-personabsentee voting in your clerk's office or at the polls on Election Day), "watch" the process. Observe. What do you see?What should you see? You should see an orderly process in an environment with no campaigning (otherwiseknown as electioneering) going on, and voters freely exercising their right to cast their ballot. You should see poll-workers registering new voters to vote on the day of the election. (Wisconsin allows same-day voterregistration.) You should see voters GIVING THEIR NAMES AND ADDRESSES to the poll-workers (poll-workers NEVER read the voter's name and address to the voter!) and THEN receiving a ballot. Youshould see voters casting those ballots on machines that are working properly. You may see volunteer election observers seated where they can see and hear what is going on. You should see the process of theelection proceeding as you think it should.What if you see something that just does not look like it should be happening either inside oroutside the polls? Do what you're urged to do by "Neighborhood Watch". Report it to the authorities.At each polling place there is a Chief Election Inspector who is responsible and in charge of all that goes on at that poll location. Find that Chief Inspector and report your concerns or ask your question. Youshould get an immediate answer and either the situation corrected or have your concerns put to rest. If you are not satisfied with the answer or action of the Chief Election Inspector, you need to make either real or mental notes of your concern and the time and location of the occurrence. It is your responsibility as a concerned citizen to find the following phone numbers and report your concerns immediately. Time is of the essence.Vote fraud is a felony and carries with it a fine of up to 3 years and $10,000. Then call one of the following numbers until you get an answer:- The Municipal Clerk in charge of elections in your community (usually at your city hall).- In Milwaukee, contact Sue Edman, Executive Director, Milwaukee Election Commission at 1-414-286-3491.- Your local District Attorney who is the designated official to receive reports of election "irregularities"and refer them to the police for investigation.- Your local police who are on duty on Election Day. Election fraud is a crime - it is a felony. Local police respond to election crimes as they do any crime reported by a citizen.to report your concern. Click on Complaints.If you would like more information about being an Election Observer, please click on the heading entitled "Election Observer Project".If you are interested in becoming an Election Observer, contact the Wisconsin Republican Party atThe Wisconsin Democrat Party declined to give us any contact information.======================================================
Voter Public Access
The Voter Public Access website is a tool everyone should use!
YOU can help clean up the State Voter Registration List!!! How? IT'S EASY!
There is a very valuable tool on the internet called "VPA" -- "Voter Public Access". By entering a
name and birthdate, you can check your own voter registration and the voter registration status
of your family and friends, living and deceased, or those who have moved to another area at
Who knows? You may discover that someone who died or moved out of state is still "voting"
here in Wisconsin! If you do, call your municipal clerk (Google "wis municipal clerks" for name
and contact information) and have the incorrect name removed from the list. If you have a name
removed, be sure to check back later to make sure it's been taken off - if there are multiple names listed, make sure they leave the correct one there, or you will have to re-register before
you're allowed to vote!
While you're at it, why don't you call your municipal clerk anyway, and ask for the names of all voters registered at your address? If there are incorrect names, ask your clerk to remove those as well. (You would be amazed at the number of people who claim they live at the same address, while registering to vote fraudulently.)
IMPORTANT: In both of the above cases, if you have found an incorrect registration, you can ask your municipal clerk if that "name" voted in any of the last elections. Or you can enter the name and birthdate into vpa.wi.gov, click on the name, scroll down to "View Your Voting History"
and determine if this "name" voted in past elections. If there was a vote, a FELONY has been committed. We encourage you to file a criminal complaint at your local District Attorney's office. Make sure your D.A. gives copies of the criminal complaint to you and to Wisconsin Attorney General J.B.Van Hollen.
As of June 10th, 2011, there were 225,869 unverified names on the Statewide Voter Registration List that have actually failed the required registration identification checks. The Government Accountability Board refuses to take these names off that list because that might "disenfranchise" someone. Never mind the fact that these people could simply re-register on Election Day if their names were removed in error. Names that no longer should be on the voter registration list are still "active" and can be voted by those who do not play by the rules.
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Want to know more about the Government Accountability Board?
Check out our G.A.B. page here...
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Absentee Voting: Blessing or Curse?
"...voting by absentee ballot is a privilege exercised wholly outside the traditional safeguards of the polling place." (Direct quote from WI State Statute 6.84.1)
Opportunities for vote fraud have exploded with the expansion of absentee voting to include those who are unwilling, as well as unable, to appear at a polling site on Election Day.
As with so many policies, what started as an accommodation for some has morphed into an increasingly insecure system. When absentee voting is "exercised wholly outside the traditional safeguards of the polling place" by definition (see above statute), an absentee vote may be compromised.
Susceptible spots in the voting process now include interception of a mailed absentee ballot that can be voted by another person or eliminated; a vulnerable absentee voter who could be coerced or intimidated to vote a certain way; an inaccurate counting of absentee ballots by tired and overworked poll workers and the resulting errors--inadvertent or otherwise. If an absentee ballot is challenged during the ballot counting process, the voter of that ballot is not present to defend that ballot and ensure that it is counted, rather than thrown out.
Most Wisconsin voters still cast their ballots on Election Day at their local polling place, but in-person absentee voting has also become very popular. This type of voting takes place in the clerk's office for a 30-day period prior to Election Day.
In-person absentee voting has become so popular it actually overwhelmed many election clerks in the 2010 election. Clerks voiced their complaints about how difficult it is to prepare for Election Day and simultaneously administer in-person absentee balloting in their offices. The Voter ID Bill provides for in-person absentee voting to end the Friday before the election at 5:00 p.m. This will help the clerks to ensure that all is ready and in place on Election Day so that the constitutional voting rights of the majority are not jeopardized.
When voting absentee, an absentee voter is required to supply a statutory ID when applying by mail, and when absentee voting in person in the clerk's office.
How can we protect our right to vote? First, vote on Election Day!!! Go to your municipal clerk's office prior to Election Day, observe "in-person absentee" voting, and make sure the rules are being followed!
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Gateway to Vote Fraud
All Voters Are Required to Be Registered
To vote in Wisconsin, all voters are required to be registered. Once a voter's registration has been processed, that registration is recorded on the Wisconsin Statewide Voter Registration System (SVRS). The registration is then deemed "legal" and "active."
An eligible voter must be a U.S. citizen, 18 years old, a resident of Wisconsin, and have resided in an election district for 28 days prior to an election with no intent to move.
To be eligible, a voter must not be a felon or judged incompetent, have a bet or wager on the election, or be a resident for less than 28 days.
In Wisconsin, the opportunity to register comes in myriad ways throughout the year:
An eligible voter must be a U.S. citizen, 18 years old, a resident of Wisconsin, and have resided in an election district for 28 days prior to an election with no intent to move.
To be eligible, a voter must not be a felon or judged incompetent, have a bet or wager on the election, or be a resident for less than 28 days.
In Wisconsin, the opportunity to register comes in myriad ways throughout the year:
- In Person - Open Registration -- Anytime during the year up until 20 days prior to the election. No proof of residence required.
- In-Person - Late Registration -- After open registration closes and up to 5:00 p.m. the Friday before Election Day in the clerk's office. Proof of residence required. Name appears on supplemental poll list.
- During Voter Registration Drives -- Conducted by Special Registration Deputies (Think ACORN) at libraries, fire stations, county fairs, campuses, or shopping malls.
- Same Day Voter Registration -- On election day at the polls. Wisconsin is one of only 11 states using this process. Requires the voter to complete the application and provide "proof of residence" documentation and they will need to have a photo ID to obtain a ballot, when VOTER ID is enacted into law. Ballots for same-day registrants are counted in that election, but the actual registration is not verified until AFTER Election Day.
All the above options to register create confusion at the municipal clerk's office and at polling places, for the voter as well as the staff. It adds a ton of paperwork and explodes budgets for municipalities. The closer to Election Day the registration occurs, the fewer days the clerks have to verify that the registration information is correct and that the person is indeed, qualified to vote.
Example: In the 2010 election, 227,427 voters registered on Election Day in the state of Wisconsin. In the 2008 Presidential Election, 460,176 voters registered same-day. How many of those registrations were actually legitimate? Who knows? But all of their votes were counted in the election.
Once a registration is placed in the SVRS system, that registration can be voted basically forever or until the registrant dies. Even then, some names are not detected as needing removal, so the registration lives on. Incorrect registrations that lead to a fraudulent vote deny the honest citizen his constitutional right to have his vote count.
Join your fellow citizens in helping to protect our votes -- volunteer to be an Election observer!
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As Published in American Thinker
July 12th, 2010
Fighting Election Fraud
by Mary Ann Hanson
America faces an alarming threat from election fraud. American Thinker's Lee Cary recently pointed out the election "irregularity" problems that threaten all our states in the upcoming election cycle. This article raises the question: "What can the concerned voter/citizen do to protect the integrity of our elections?" Ten women in Wisconsin began working on that question right after the 2008 presidential election.
We studied the laws, we "watched", and we gave public comment on proposed legislative and administrative changes to Wisconsin election laws. Our overall goal became to promote voter photo ID legislation and to support legislators who would enact such a law in Wisconsin. As we "watched" and participated, we learned quite a bit about our elections process and its problems.
We want to tell readers that there are some very important things that the concerned citizen can do to help protect our elections and our votes. "We're Watching Wisconsin Elections" became our adopted project, and we are strongly encouraging others to "adopt" their state elections process as a project and begin "watching" and participating in that process.
How?
Volunteer to be a local poll worker. In most states, elections are conducted at the local level by the citizens of each community. Volunteer to be one of those citizens. Poll workers -- your neighbors, you -- actually conduct local elections, and by working on the inside of the elections process, poll workers/you accept a critical election responsibility and become the "eyes and ears" protecting that process.
Currently, both the Republicans and the Democrats have Election Observer training programs, and we suggest that you volunteer through them for organizing Election Observer training as provided for in your state's election laws. Non-partisan coalition groups should either cooperate with an existing political party Election Observer program or roll up their sleeves and do the work necessary to understand their state's election laws and put together their own volunteer Election Observer training program.
Many Election Observer volunteers are needed, as voting takes place in many locations and can be
done days prior to Election Day.
1) Absentee voting, for example, takes place in your election clerk's offices prior to Election Day.
Observe that process.
2) Off-site voting takes place where voters cannot get to the polls, so the polls therefore come to
them -- nursing homes and other community residential facilities. Observe that process.
3) On Election Day, when most voters still cast their ballots, many observers are needed at local
polls. The day begins at 7:00 a.m. and ends usually at 8:00 p.m., plus the time after the polls close. A long day --
maybe arrange for shifts of observers.4) After the polls close, the counting of ballots and the reconciliation of the poll lists is done. This
is an important part of the election process and can determine the outcome of the election. Again,
observers are needed to monitor and protect the process provided for in our election laws.
These are your elections. If you want to ensure a fair, open, uniform process conducted according to election law, you need to volunteer to make that happen. By just your presence, you can possibly deter someone who is thinking of committing an act of election fraud. Election fraud is a crime -- a felony. We cannot just trust that "someone else will do it" and protect the process. As we have seen, "voting irregularities" are determining the outcome of elections. There are those who do not play by the rules. If you are there "watching", you can make that much more difficult.
Mary Ann Hanson is a member of "We're Watching Wisconsin Elections"
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If you have questions about anything on our website,
please contact us at:
The "We're Watching...Wisconsin Elections" Campaign is a group of unaffiliated citizens following issues affecting
Wisconsin Elections.
