Early voting kicked off Monday in much of the state, with Hillary Clinton’s campaign bringing some liberal heavyweights to Madison to encourage residents to cast their ballots.
U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., and Russ Feingold, who is battling incumbent Ron Johnson to take back his Senate seat, were among those who touted the importance of voting early.
“Let us all get out the vote and turn around and get everyone to participate,” Baldwin said. “Let us prove that this is a government of the people, by the people and for the people.”
The state Legislature passed laws in 2011 and 2014 to curb the early voting period. But activists mounted a legal challenge, charging the laws infringed on the right of minorities and other groups to vote. A federal judge invalidated those laws, along with parts of the state’s voter ID law, in an August ruling.
“The Legislature's immediate goal was to achieve a partisan objective, but the means of achieving that objective was to suppress the reliably Democratic vote of Milwaukee's African-Americans," U.S. District Court Judge James Peterson wrote in the decision.
Feingold cheered the decision and, gesturing towards the state Capitol at his back, slammed the Republican legislature’s push to limit voting access.
“Can you think of anything more cynical? Can you think of anything more wrong than undercutting the fundamental democratic right to vote?” Feingold said. “And we are standing up against that in the best way.”
After the rally, Feingold told reporters he was confident most of those casting their ballots in Wisconsin would be voting for Clinton. He also expressed optimism for Monday’s debate between Clinton and Donald Trump, the first of three such contests.
“We’re going to have a pretty good night tonight when Hillary Clinton teaches Donald Trump how to debate,” he told the cheering crowd.
Voters can cast their ballots early at the City Clerk’s office or any of the city’s public libraries. Students looking for locations on campus can vote early at Union South or the Student Activity Center starting Oct. 24. More information can be found on the city’s election website.
