Lower turnout in Milwaukee’s minority communities raises concerns among activists.
A Concerning Email
After the 2022 midterm election, Republican Robert Spindell sent out a confusing email to his fellow conservatives saying that he was happy that Democrat Tony Evers had just won a second term in office.
Glee Over Low Voter Turnout
Spindell is one of three Republicans who oversee elections in Wisconsin. In his email, he said, “We can be especially proud of the City of Milwaukee (80.2% Dem vote) casting 37,000 less votes than cast in the 2018 election with the major reduction happening in the overwhelming Black and Hispanic areas.”
Sparking Outrage
Once leaked, the email caused quite the outrage. Many people called for Spindell to resign, especially with his history as a fake elector in 2020. Spindell claimed, “The last thing I want to do is suppress votes.”
Shocking but Not Surprising
While Spindell’s not-so-humble brag about lower voter turnout was shocking, it wasn’t necessarily surprising due to Milwaukee’s vast population and voting power.
“Outsize Effect”
Data shows that almost 223,000 Black people live in Milwaukee, which is 60% of the state’s entire Black population. This shows that Black voters in Milwaukee have an “outsize effect” on election outcomes for Wisconsin.
Crucial Votes
The Black community has been a strong foundation for the Democrat party, and their votes are absolutely crucial for any Democrat who wants to win Wisconsin. In 2020, one out of every ten votes for Biden in Wisconsin came from Milwaukee alone.
Activists Speak Out
Activists have been very vocal that attacks on Milwaukee are actually attacks on Black voters and their power. This has never been more evident as it seems Republicans are descending upon the city to formally nominate Trump for a second term at the upcoming Republican National Convention in July.
A Slap in the Face
Angela Lang, the executive director of the non-profit Black Leaders Organizing Communities, said, “They’re not coming here because they love the city of Milwaukee at all.” She continued to say that holding the convention in Milwaukee, a city Republicans have repeatedly said “racist dog whistles about,” is a “slap in the face.”
“Dog Whistles”
These “dog whistles” are, unfortunately, nothing new. In 2013, Republicans debated a measure that would limit early voting. Scott Fitzgerald, the state senator, said, “the question of where this is coming from and why are we doing this and why are we trying to disenfranchise people, I mean, I say it’s because the people I represent in the 13th district continue to ask me, ‘What is going on in Milwaukee?’”
“A Horrible City”
In June, Donald Trump was reported telling his fellow Republicans that Milwaukee is a “horrible city.”
Economic Benefits
Both sides of the aisles mentioned the economic benefits the convention would bring to the city. A former RNC chair, Reince Priebus, suspects that the convention could bring almost $200 million in economic benefits to the battleground state.
Turning Purple to Red
Priebus said that the convention “can turn a purple state where only 20,000 people will decide who those electoral votes will go to”.
“No Shame”
A minister in Milwaukee who leads non-profit Souls to the Polls does not want to take this sitting down. He said, “They have no shame,” continuing, “Even though they have totally tried to abolish folks in our community from expressing themselves with their vote, they still want you to support a system or an organization or a party that is totally against them expressing their power.”
Taking Them Out of the Equation
Robin Vos, the Republican who serves as the speaker of the Wisconsin Assembly, said that Republicans would have won the 2018 elections “if you took Madison and Milwaukee out of the state election formula.”
Limiting Early Voting
Previously, Republicans have used their majorities in the Wisconsin state legislature to target Black residents by passing a sweeping voter ID limit and attempting to limit early voting in Milwaukee.
A Look at the Data
Data shows that non-white voters are more than 4 times more likely not to possess a current ID compared to white voters. Another study completed by the University of Wisconsin-Madison showed that voter ID discouraged around 23,000 people in the Milwaukee and Dane counties from participating in the 2016 election.
Seeking Control
In response to the Republican attempt to limit early voting in 2016, U.S. District Judge James Peterson said, “The legislature’s ultimate objective was political: Republicans sought to maintain control of the state government. But the methods that the legislature chose to achieve that result involved suppressing the votes of Milwaukee’s residents, who are disproportionately African American and Latino”.
A Startling Drop
Milwaukee experienced a drop of 41,000 votes in the 2016 election compared to 2012, nearly twice Donald Trump’s winning margin in Wisconsin. Analysis by the Journal Sentinel revealed that Black voter turnout in the city was around 58% when Trump defeated Hillary Clinton in 2016 but decreased to 51% in 2020. According to John Johnson, a researcher at Marquette University, Black voter turnout has consistently been lower than white voter turnout in the city during both the last presidential and gubernatorial elections.
Targeting Black Power
Angela Lang said, “They’re going to places with large concentrations of Black people – that is the most hope we have at building Black political power in the state.”
The Majority-Minority
Democrat LaTonya Johnson of the Wisconsin state senate said that Republicans continue to target the city, stating in an interview that “Republicans always make it seem like the bulk of – if they feel that there’s fraud – in the system that is coming from the city of Milwaukee, right? And the question is why? Because Milwaukee is majority minority.”
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