-by Harvey Wasserman
On Tuesday, April 4, Donald Trump’s indictment will be unsealed, giving us the detail on the first in a cavalcade of charges yet to come. But far more important in the long view of American politics may be that same day’s race for the vacant swing seat on Wisconsin’s state Supreme Court. And unlike Trump’s indictment, this is a critical event in which you can play a decisive role. This race will almost certainly be decided by how many citizens of youth and color come out to vote. Canvassers and phone bankers are reporting that a very small portion of the state’s electorate is aware of this race. Thus those who call eligible voters to tell them when and where to vote will have an inordinate impact. The Center for Common Ground is running a phone bank that facilitates callers from any state in guiding prospective Wisconsin voters to the polls. Souls to the Polls runs on-the-ground operations to get people physically to the ballot box. In a state where margins are razor thin, even a few phone calls, door knocks and rides to the ballot box can be significant. Though the race is officially non-partisan, Milwaukee County Judge Janet Protasiewicz (Pro-tay-sa-witz) and former state Supreme Court Justice Daniel Kelly are at extreme odds. Protasiewicz supports women’s rights and strongly opposes abortion bans. Kelly is an extreme MAGA Trumpite. With heavily gerrymandered legislature, the state’s representational maps strongly favor the GOP. Wisconsin is roughly even politically. But Republicans hold near super-majorities in both houses of the state legislature. A changed Court is highly likely to equitably redraw the districts that do that. Such democratization might also shift at least two US House seats, as the delegation now has six Republicans and two Democrats. It could even decide the state’s presidential vote, as the heavily empowered Republicans take great pride in disenfranchising as many citizens of youth and color as they can. Robert Spindell, a Republican Elections Commissioner, publicly bragged after the 2022 mid-terms that “we can be especially proud of the City of Milwaukee casting 37,000 less votes than cast in the 2018 election with the major reduction happening in the overwhelming Black and Hispanic areas.” Wisconsin is about 7% Black, 3% Asian, 7.5% Latino, and 1% Indigenous. About 70% of the black population lives in Milwaukee. The Republicans’ voter suppression very likely turned 2022’s US Senate race, in which MAGA incumbent Ron Johnson barely beat progressive challenger Mandela Barnes. Barnes was hampered by mainstream Democrats squandering— as always— millions of dollars on useless media buys (from which “consultants” make commissions) rather than on grassroots campaigning that could have brought out the votes to beat GOP suppression. With its emphasis on direct phone canvassing, the Center for Common Ground will be campaigning right up through Tuesday. Souls to the Polls will be among those bringing voters in to cast their ballots. Allied grassroots groups include the Workers Center for Racial Justice, and Votes de la Frontera. Your activism and support could make a huge difference in Wisconsin… and even help decide whether Trump will perp-walk into the White House with its crucial electoral votes, as he did in 2016.