Recounts Shed Light on Elections Process

In light of this afternoon’s request by the Kloppenburg campaign for a recount in the Supreme Court election, the American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin affirms the right of candidates to pursue recounts as state law allows. The ACLU traditionally does not call for or participate in recounts. However we believe that recounts can shed welcome light on the electoral process and give Wisconsin voters confidence in the results of elections and municipal procedures.

“Wisconsin should be proud of how we conduct elections,” said ACLU of Wisconsin Executive Director Christopher Ahmuty. “Our state election officials have emphasized transparency and consistency in election procedures. They have the experience in conducting recounts in close elections on the local level and we expect they will ensure that any recount is conducted properly.”

Unfortunately irregularities in reporting occurred in Waukesha County and led to inquiries by the Government Accountability Board. After an investigation, the GAB reported that they were satisfied that the final vote totals matched the vote totals reported by the municipalities. The GAB looked at vote totals from the county since 2006 and is planning to release a more comprehensive report on what happened in Waukesha County.

“Waukesha County’s reporting system appears to have been flawed,” said Ahmuty. “That system has lead voters across the state to mistrust the accuracy of the results. The reporting controversy in Waukesha County clearly illustrates the importance of having transparent and accountable election procedures. The ACLU of Wisconsin looks forward to the GAB’s final report and we hope municipalities across the state will review their reporting rules to prevent reoccurrences of the events that marred the reporting in Waukesha.”

The Government Accountability Board said today that they are prepared to move forward with the recount. The recount procedures manual is available online. While critics of the call for a recount say that the race wasn't close enough to merit a recount and that the action would be frivolous, the recount is within the legal guidelines (a margin within one half of one percent) and is the right of candidates to request one.

For an explanation of how a recount works, Attorney Rebecca Mason gives Wisconsin Bar blog readers a quick rundown of the state statutes. Mason outlines what happens in a recount, why a recount is the first needed step before court action, the difference between the Election Day preliminary results and the day-after’s canvass in each county and how it is up to the campaigns during the recount to collect evidence of voting irregularities for court action.

ACLU of WI Bill of Rights Celebration - A Time to Recognize Civil Libertarians Who Made a Difference

On March 19th, 2011 we held our annual Bill of Rights Celebration at the Pfister Hotel. A packed house of over 300 people enjoyed the witty words of Aasif Mandvi from The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.

Aasif Mandvi addresses ACLU of Wisconsin Foundation fundraiser
We also honored the following civil libertarians for their accomplishments in the past year:

Barbara Munson: The Eunice Z. Edgar Lifetime Achievement Award - Munson was recognized for her many years of work to encourage schools to eliminate race-based mascots. As chair of the “Indian” Mascot and Logo Taskforce for the Wisconsin Indian Education Association since its inception in 1997, Munson and the Taskforce actively worked to support the 31 Wisconsin school districts that have retired race-based mascots and were instrumental in the passage of Act 250 in 2010.

Barbara Munson with Aasif Mandvi
Tenants of the South Milwaukee Lake Bluff Apartments: William Gorham Rice Civil Libertarians of the Year Award - Residents of Lake Bluff filed a federal complaint of housing discrimination in 2003 when it was clear that their city government intended to raze the integrated, accessible, affordable housing complex. The ACLU of Wisconsin Foundation, Legal Action of Wisconsin and the Legal Aid Society of Milwaukee assisted the families in court where a federal jury found that tearing down the apartments would have a discriminatory effect on persons of color and persons with disabilities.

Riverside University High School Teachers, Bonnie Brusky, Paul Moga and Tom Wild: Jack and Lucy Rosenberg Youth Civil Libertarians of the Year Award - Riverside University High School in Milwaukee has core values in teaching which include social responsibility and justice. These teachers’ leadership has paved the way for students to participate in powerful social awareness programs about racial justice, homelessness and the importance of civic participation. Participants in Riverside’s ACLU Student Alliance have gone on to become young community leaders in Milwaukee.

Bonnie Brusky and family with her state Senator, Chris Larson

For more photos of the event, please visit our photo album on Facebook.

Special thanks to event sponsors:

Jackie Boynton,

William Lynch and Barbara Manger,

and the lawfirm of Hawks Quindel

Get on the Bus vs. Hit the Highway: Why Walker's Transportation Policy Impacts Workers, Clean Air and Segregated Cities

On Monday April 4, three organizations supporting racial and environmental justice - the American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin, the Black Health Coalition of Wisconsin, and Midwest Environmental Advocates - filed comments opposing the Wisconsin Department of Transportation’s efforts to again expand highway access - to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars - at the same time the state is trying to cut transit spending.

Fact: cutting innercity transportation keeps people from jobs. Milwaukee and state leaders must make the connection that people depend on public transportation to get to work. Read more in today's Huffington Post.

“WisDOT, and the state of Wisconsin, get federal money, so they must follow Title VI of the Civil Rights Act,” noted ACLU-WI Senior Staff Attorney Karyn Rotker. “And that federal law means they can’t run their transportation program in ways that have the effect of discriminating against people of color, regardless of whether they are intentionally discriminating. And the state’s transportation funding and policy decisions are clearly having a discriminatory effect.”

Fact: Milwaukee is the most racially segregated city in the nation. Recent census figures show the continued racial gap and this Salon.com article breaks down why this impacts public debate on transit equity.

“In our region, people of color - especially African-Americans and Latinos - are much more likely to depend on transit than non-minorities. Allowing highway projects to move forward while transit moves backwards reduces their opportunities and segregates them even more from jobs, medical care, and other needs,” added Black Health Coalition of Wisconsin President/CEO, Dr. Patricia McManus.

“WisDOT needs to go back to the drawing board,” said Dennis Grzezinski, Midwest Environmental Advocates’ senior counsel. “They need to come up with a multi-modal plan that integrates transit as well as highways, to ensure that all residents of our region receive a fair share of the benefits of state transportation system investments.”

Read the full comments from the environmental justice organizations on the ACLU of Wisconsin website (PDF).

Learn more about how transportation dollars are affecting the state budget in this Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article. Other groups in Madison are talking about how budget policy will harm public transportation.

Election Day - Photo ID NOT Required (yet...)

The American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin would like to remind voters that they don’t have to show a photo ID to vote on Election Day, Tuesday April 5.

Though photo ID is not required to vote in Tuesday’s election, voters across the state may be confused about current voting laws due to a proposal before the legislature (SB 6) that if passed would require eligible voters to show one of a limited number of state-issued photo identification documents each time they vote.

“First we hope that confusion about the proposed law doesn’t keep eligible voters without a current ID from exercising their right to elect officials on Tuesday,” said ACLU of Wisconsin Associate Director Renee Shavers. “But further, people should know there is still time to voice their opposition to photo ID requirements for voting.” The Government Accountability Board issued a statement Monday that also reminded voters that ID was not required for the upcoming Election Day.

The Wisconsin Department of Transportation estimates that if the proposed law were passed, it could cost the state nearly $3 million dollars in training, equipment, materials and lost revenues from a requirement to provide free identification. The Government Accountability Board estimates that over $2.3 million dollars would be needed to update databases, forms, provide voter education, poll worker training and other costs associated with major changes in voting rights laws (find more on the bill’s fiscal estimate online).

Also, the Department of Transportation estimates that about 20% of Wisconsin’s eligible voters do not have a state-issued photo ID. Citizens who tend not to have current photo identification include a disproportionate number of people of color as well as the elderly, people with disabilities, those who rely on public transportation, and mobile populations such as college students. The ACLU of Wisconsin opposes SB 6 because it would restrict the free and fair voting rights of eligible voters while having a discriminatory effect on minorities. Read more about our opposition to voter ID on our blog.

“When our state has such a long history of free and open elections, we need to work to make sure every citizen has the right to vote, no matter what’s in their wallets,” said Shavers.

The ACLU of Wisconsin has information on the right to vote (including people who have had criminal convictions) at aclu-wi.org. Please contact the Milwaukee or Madison office if you have complaints about voter access at your local polling place on Election Day.

The Governor's Fantastic Math for Public School (De)funding

Governor Walker is doing some fantastic math these days. And our public schools are going to suffer for it.

The Governor claimed in a media conference, which was closed to the public yesterday, that projected revenue losses for local public school districts could be made up in most cases from employee benefit concessions. In reaction, educators immediately pointed out to the media that his figures are misleading because they fail to take into account a variety of factors, including inflation, existing contractual obligations, and disparities in wealth among districts.

“The Governor’s privatization ideology appears to have blinded him to the stark realities Wisconsin school children will face if a budget is passed with a $834 million cut in school aids over the course of the biennium,” said ACLU of Wisconsin Executive Director Christopher Ahmuty. “Walker’s de-funding scheme coupled with a costly and wasteful expansion of the failed private school voucher program in Milwaukee and independent charter schools statewide will privatize public education in Wisconsin.

“The failed privatization effort in Milwaukee has reduced resources for public schools statewide. Even though the private schools in the Milwaukee have resisted meaningful accountability and evaluation, it is clear that they do not, in most cases, achieve better outcomes for students than public schools.”

Wisconsin is not the only state where public schools are facing privatization. Ohio Governor John Kasich’s recently released budget also includes deep cuts and an expansion of vouchers. It appears that national proponents of privatizing public education have found more than one receptive Governor to defund public schools.

“The ACLU of Wisconsin calls on Governor Walker to stop serving national special interests and listen to the people of Wisconsin who are served by strong public schools," said Ahmuty. "The ACLU of Wisconsin remains open to working with legislative leaders to bring sanity into efforts to reform education funding.”

Our state budget must not be balanced by shortchanging public school children and busting teachers' unions. If public schools keep getting defunded, maybe the only math lessons our kids will be learning will be as fantastic as the Governor's budget calculations.

Saturday, We're Recognizing Wisconsin’s Endangered Civil Liberties and Honoring Racial Justice, Education, and Housing Advocates

On Saturday, March 19, the American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin members and supporters will recognize some of Wisconsin’s community leaders in civil liberties at its annual Bill of Rights Celebration. This year’s special guest will be actor and comedian Aasif Mandvi.


Aasif Mandvi will share his experiences of growing up as an Indian Muslim in the United States, acting in Hollywood, and working with the ACLU to bring awareness to the experiences of victims of torture and rendition. Mandvi is best known in his work as a correspondent on Comedy Central’s The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.

Several outstanding organizations and community leaders who work to protect freedom in Wisconsin will receive awards from the ACLU of Wisconsin:

Barbara Munson: The Eunice Z. Edgar Lifetime Achievement Award – Munson will be recognized for her many years of work to encourage schools to eliminate race-based mascots. As chair of the “Indian” Mascot and Logo Taskforce for the Wisconsin Indian Education Association since its inception in 1997, the Taskforce actively worked to support the 31 Wisconsin school districts that have retired race-based mascots and was instrumental in the passage of Act 250 in 2010.

Tenants of the South Milwaukee Lake Bluff Apartments: William Gorham Rice Civil Libertarians of the Year Award – Residents of Lake Bluff filed a federal complaint of housing discrimination in 2003 when it was clear that their city government intended to raze the integrated, accessible, affordable housing complex. The ACLU of Wisconsin Foundation, Legal Action of Wisconsin and the Legal Aid Society of Milwaukee assisted the families in court where a federal jury found that tearing down the apartments would have a discriminatory effect on persons of color and persons with disabilities.

Riverside University High School Teachers, Bonnie Brusky, Paul Moga and Tom Wild: Jack and Lucy Rosenberg Youth Civil Libertarian of the Year Award – Riverside University High School in Milwaukee’s core values in teaching include social responsibility and justice. These teachers’ leadership has paved the way for students to participate in powerful social awareness programs about racial justice, homelessness and the importance of civic participation. Participants in Riverside’s ACLU Student Alliance have gone on to become young community leaders in Milwaukee.

The event is held annually as a benefit for the ACLU of Wisconsin Foundation’s work to educate Wisconsin residents about their civil rights. This year’s event will be held at the Pfister Hotel at 424 East Wisconsin Ave., Milwaukee and begins at 6:00 p.m. A private reception with Mandvi is available at a separate ticket price.

Tickets are still available: Please visit the event webpage to order tickets online or contact Emily Plagman by email or phone at (414) 272-4032 extension 24.

Education Cuts: Joint Finance Could Bring Reason to Governor's Budget

The American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin is open to working with members of the Wisconsin Legislature's Joint Committee on Finance to restore reason to Governor Walker's budget proposals for K-12 public education in Wisconsin. The Governor is recommending slashing equalization and categorical aids to school districts rather than trying to fix a school funding formula that many have regarded as broken for years.

Christopher Ahmuty, Executive Director of the ACLU of Wisconsin called the proposed cuts, "'penny wise pound foolish.' You can't put our children's education on hold. These proposals will widen the already shocking gap between the education children receive in poor districts versus well-off districts.

"If the Governor and his ideological allies intend to create an underclass of Wisconsinites who will have less of a chance to become productive citizens, his budget proposals will move our families toward that outcome.

"In the weeks ahead the ACLU of Wisconsin will be working with parents, students, school board leaders and educators to show legislators that the Governor's proposals will fail under-served children in all parts of our state," Ahmuty concluded.

For more on education cuts in the state budget, read this Wisconsin State Journal article about increased funding for private schools and decreased funding and resources for public schools.