Monthly Archives: June 2012

The Guardian: Wisconsin recall vote: high turnout raises hopes on both sides of divide

Voters swamped polling stations across the state as both sides claim the surge is good news in vote to recall the governor

-By Rory Carroll in Appleton and Gary Younge in Milwaukee

June 5, 2012- Reports of stratospheric turnout in Wisconsin's recall election on Tuesday boosted Democrat hopes of victory in the vote to topple Republican governor Scott Walker.

Voters swamped polling stations across the state in what appeared to be a significantly higher turnout than 2010 when Walker defeated Tom Barrett, the Democratic mayor of Milwaukee now vying to replace him.

Local radio reported that parts of Madison, the state capital and a Democratic bastion, recorded turnout of 119% of previously registered voters by 4pm, with four hours of polling still to go. The extraordinary figure was attributed to a late surge in registrations by union and grassroots activists, taking the voter roll far above its previous levels.

CBS News: Early Wisconsin recall exit polls: 60 percent say recalls are only for official misconduct

-By Kevin Hechtkopf

June 5, 2012- (CBS News) Sixty percent of Wisconsin voters in today's recall election say recall elections are only appropriate for official misconduct, according to early CBS News exit polls. Twenty-eight percent said they think they are suitable for any reason, while nine percent think they are never appropriate.

Today's recall election in Wisconsin pits Republican Gov. Scott Walker versus Democratic Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, in a rematch of their 2010 race. According to the early exit polls, 6 percent say they decided on their candidate in the last few days, with 93 percent saying they made up their minds before that.

Truthout: The World Watches Wisconsin: Tom Morello Gathers Messages of Solidarity

-By Tom Morello

June 5, 2012- Tom Morello played a concert in Madison, Wisconsin, on Friday in solidarity with the effort to recall Governor Walker. In advance of the concert, he solicited messages of solidarity from around the world and they came pouring in from Spain, Quebec, Chile, Greece, Tunisia and Egypt.

Here is a collection of the statements.

From Spain:

From Madrid, we send our support and solidarity to the people of Madison on their fight, which is our fight too. We are part of a global non-violent movement that claims for a true, direct and participative democracy of people and for the people. Because we are the 99% we fight for a change in the system, since the current system does not represent us.

The ruler's mistakes, sponsored by the dictatorships of markets and financial systems, are provoking the destruction of the deepest roots of the Rule of Law. We will not allow more reforms to undermine the basic rights.

CBS News: In Wisconsin, reports of voter suppression efforts

-By Lucy Madison

June 5, 2012- (CBS News) As voters head to the polls Tuesday to decide the fate of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, reports out of the state suggest that robocalls are being placed informing voters, falsely, they don't have to vote if they signed the recall petition.

There have also been reports of mailings going out to voters telling them they can't vote unless they did so in 2010, and of people going door-to-door telling voters they don't have to go to the polls if they signed the recall petition, both of which are also untrue.

Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel: Milwaukee calls in extra poll workers amid heavy turnout

-By Larry Sandler and Nicole Levy

June 5, 2012- Heavy turnout in Milwaukee led the city Election Commission to call out the reserves Tuesday.

Extra poll workers were sent to polling places at Becher Terrace, Bradley Tech High School, Keenan Health Center, Morse Middle School, Rufus King International School Middle Years Campus and Cass Street, 53rd Street, Grantosa and Parkview schools, said Sue Edman, the election commission’s executive director.

The backup workers were needed to handle long lines, partly because a significant number of new voters were registering at the polls, Edman said.

“We knew things would be busy, but we didn’t know how busy,” Edman said.

In some cases, poll workers were shifted from less-crowded polling places to busier ones, Edman said. In other cases, she used poll workers who had agreed to be on call or city administrators who had volunteered to help out, she said.

Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel: Tuesday morning: Strong voter turnout in Milwaukee’s central city.

-By Barbara Miner

June 5, 2012- A dimly lit, former nightclub at 24th and North is one of several Milwaukee locations that may hold the key to today’s recall election.

The building is at the heart of get-out-the-vote organizing by Wisconsin Jobs Now, a non-partisan group that has been using the former Amistad club since May 21 to coordinate the work of hundreds of volunteers.

Tuesday, the building was a swarm of activity — volunteers canvassing neighborhoods to remind people to vote, drivers with 15-passenger vans taking people to the polls, volunteers answering phone calls and relaying names of those needing rides. There was even a mobile billboard driving around the city to remind people to vote.

If mid-morning reports from several central city polling locations are any indication, the efforts are paying off. Turnout was high, with scores waiting in line to both register and vote. In the enthusiasm of the moment, some even compared turnout to Obama’s election in 2008.

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