2023 Year in Review: Democracy in Wisconsin

Does safeguarding democracy matter to you? Learn why it’s important from this special Civic Media program, “Democracy in Wisconsin: A Year in Review.”

Our elected officials work for us. Their one job is to be responsible to the voters in their district. No one official should feel they are entitled to their spot.

Nicole Safar, Executive Director, Law Forward

Accountability. It may be one of the most important words to bridge the old year to the new. But what does being accountable really mean? If you look it up in the dictionary, the definition is “the fact or condition of being accountable, responsible.”

Civic Media hosts Kristin Brey (As Goes Wisconsin) and Todd Allbaugh (The Todd Allbaugh Show) sat down with Law Forward Executive Director Nicole Safar and staff counsel Scott Thompson for a special end-of-year program, “Democracy in Wisconsin.” Law Forward is a local, non-partisan, nonprofit, legal organization. It launched in 2020 with a mission to protect and expand Democracy through awareness, education, and accountability.

“The bigger picture, I think, is of Democracy as a system where any party can win or lose an election,” Law Forward staff counsel Scott Thompson says. “Threats to the system start at the small, local level. Things like the way someone can return an absentee ballot may mean not everyone can fairly participate in an election. But that adds up to larger-scale threats, like the attempt to subvert the presidential election. This makes the idea of accountability easier for all of us to understand because it is so obvious when you talk about it on a bigger scale.”

“So in the end, the 2020 election was actually one of the most free and fair in recent Wisconsin history?” host Todd Allbaugh asks.

“Yes, in 2020, Wisconsin residents took the responsibility to vote, very seriously,” Law Forward Executive Director Nicole Safar says. “And that was despite everything going on in the world at the time.”

“There was also a coordinated effort to overthrow the will of the people and consolidate power,” Safar says. “What we found is a real gap in making sure county and municipal clerks always have the ability to administer free and fair elections.”

A Case Against Fake Electors

“Documents have to be sent to specific places during the process of voting in the electoral college,” Thompson says. “We submitted a records request and found the whole scheme to add the fake electors. A few other states went through a similar thing, but it all started in Wisconsin, and at the end of the day, we found out who submitted false votes to try and overturn the election.” 

Thompson and Safar explain electors that have settled in the case filed against them, have only acknowledged meeting on behalf of former President Donald Trump and the Republican party of Wisconsin.

“The settlement means a return to accountability, and acknowledgement that President Joe Biden won the election,” Safar says. “We have the documentation to help people understand how this happened, and why elections have to remain free and fair for all.”  

Fairness Means Redistricting 

“Wisconsin is so gerrymandered, and we don’t get good grades for accountability,” host Kristin Brey says. “But are we seeing a light at the end of the tunnel?”

“We may be at the end of a long effort to remake the maps, which are the most extreme in the country,” Safar says. “We are focusing on the voters and how they’ve been impacted, and we’ve argued the current maps violate several parts of the Wisconsin constitution. Partisan gerrymandering is unconstitutional. We need to get closer to fair maps so we can have real policy debates in the legislature.”

Looking Ahead to 2024

“We are waiting for the justices to decide on whether the maps will be thrown out, and we could have a decision any day,” Safar says. “Once we hear from the court, there could be a neutral person appointed or the court could decide to deal with the maps. But everything will need to be finalized by March to give candidates enough time to get ready for the election.” 

The legislative maps have indeed been ruled unconstitutional by the Wisconsin Supreme Court in a late December ruling.

“This could be the first opportunity for people to feel like they can buy back into the process,” Brey says. “They will no longer feel like I don’t want to vote.”

2024 is going to be important for voters, especially in Wisconsin. The Presidential election, and before it, the Republican National Convention will be hosted in Milwaukee. All of it places Wisconsin at center stage. 

As a citizen, voting is an important and exciting thing to do. Be sure to make your plan to participate in 2024.

Listen to the full episode: