In response to State Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald’s statement attacking voting rights, Souls to the Polls, Voces de la Frontera Action, SEIU Healthcare Wisconsin, Milwaukee Area Service and Hospitality Worker Organization (MASH) and the Fight for $15 and a Union released the following statement:

“Robin Vos, Scott Fitzgerald and Donald Trump will stop at nothing to suppress the votes of working people, especially Black and brown communities. Wisconsin Republicans have been transparent about their voter suppression playbook, from the attempted voter purge in our state, to the illegitimate election held in spite of a global pandemic in April, to recent attacks on early voting.

“Democracy only works if everyone can participate. That’s why Democratic leaders in Milwaukee are putting forward solutions to ensure voting remains fair, accessible and safe for all Wisconsinites. Meanwhile, Republicans are doing everything in their power to cut early voting, restrict both mail and in-person voting, and generally making it more difficult for working people to vote.”

“With over 130,000 fatalities of COVID-19 nationwide and rising, we should be expanding early voting, vote by mail and in-person voting to ensure that no one has to choose between their right to vote and their health during a public health crisis. The pandemic is not going away.

“It’s no coincidence that voter suppression tactics target Black and brown communities. On April 7, it was Black and Latinx Milwaukeeans who waited in the longest lines and who struggled the most to make their voices heard in our democracy. This is racist disenfranchisement, and we will not tolerate it.

“We will not allow state and national Republicans to weaponize a deadly pandemic for their own partisan gain. We will fiercely defend the rights of all registered Wisconsinites to exercise their constitutional rights and vote for representatives who will be champions of justice and positive change in our communities.

“Republican attempts to restrict voting access during a pandemic are disingenuous and shameful. To all Wisconsin election officials, we call on you to do everything in their power to ensure all voters can participate safely in upcoming elections. Our democracy depends on it.”

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