The Final Call

The State of Wisconsin has come under fire recently for its decision to send voters to the polls in the midst of an ongoing coronavirus pandemic that has resulted in the deaths of nearly 24,000 people nationwide. The bigger issue was how the decision to hold these elections, could take a heavy toll in the City of Milwaukee—particularly its Black citizens.

Under normal circumstances on election day in Milwaukee, there would be 180 polling places open across this city. On April 7, only five were open. Many people stood in line upwards of three hours to cast their ballots, making a decision between life and death, just to make sure their voices were heard. And with recent data suggesting that those most susceptible to contracting the virus, falling ill and potentially dying, are Black, the fear of those who went to the polls that day, is palpable because the next two weeks could be potentially devastating for Milwaukee’s Black community.

“Black people in Milwaukee were stuck in a catch-22 situation in this particular election. They could’ve easily said, ‘I’m not going out there to risk my life just to vote.’ But then they say, if they don’t vote, they’d be giving away these opportunities to see change politically in this state, and this city,” William Muhammad, student minister of the Nation of Islam’s Mosque No. 3 in Milwaukee, told The Final Call.

“There were thousands of people, crammed into lines at five polling places in a city the size of Milwaukee. But up in Madison, which is less than half the size of Milwaukee, they had 66 polling places open. This is the White power structure openly performing voter suppression. This is the White power structure disregarding the health and well-being of the Black community,” stated Student Min. Muhammad.

Black people make up 38 percent of the city’s total population of roughly 600,000 people, and nearly 70 percent of the State of Wisconsin’s Black population. In fact, Black people outnumber Milwaukee’s White and Latino populations which make up 35 percent and 20 percent of the city’s citizenship, respectively. Black people make up the majority of coronavirus deaths in Milwaukee. On April 7, election day, Milwaukee had tallied 49 Covid-19 deaths. Of those, 35 were Black.

“I’m a researcher, not a conspiracy theorist. But at the same time, I’m also not stupid. And a lot of what went on leading up to the election, and on election day, just wasn’t right,” Dr. Patricia McManus, former health commissioner for the City of Milwaukee, told The Final Call.

“It all happened so fast. And because they waited until the last minute to make people vote in person, there was really no time to challenge what was going on,” Dr. McManus added.

One of the primary issues that led to the opening of the polls surrounded the use of absentee or mail-in ballots, which could have been a much safer option than opening the polls. However, on the night before the election, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the deadline for absentee ballots in the state could be extended from April 7—election day— to April 13.

But, in a 5-4 decision, the same Supreme Court accepted a request from Republican leaders in Wisconsin to require absentee and mail-in ballots to have been postmarked by election day in order to count. The problem with that is many of the ballots mailed out to voters had postmark dates on them from as late as April 6, the day before the election.

“They never really wanted to make sure this was a safe process, let alone a fair process. They opened five voting sites, knowing that tens of thousands of people would come out to vote because it was the only way they could vote,” Robert Miranda, a Milwaukee-based community activist, told The Final Call.

“It’s just appalling in the way these decisions were made. It was being left up to the individual to make the call on whether to go out and vote or not, rather than the call being made by medical professionals and experts who could’ve helped make the decision to protect the health and well-being of the people.”

One of the candidates on the ballot was Lena Taylor, a state Senator who is running to become the next mayor of Milwaukee. Sen. Taylor has blamed incumbent mayor Tom Barrett, and city election commission director Neil Albrecht, for opening so few polling places in the face of the pandemic. Ms. Taylor says whether she wins or loses Milwaukee’s mayoral election, she will continue to fight for Black people in the city who have not only been marginalized politically, but also health wise as well.

“Win or lose, it’s still all handson deck. I’m not letting up,” Ms. Taylor told The Final Call. “In Milwaukee, we’re going to have the worst outcomes from coronavirus in the world; because the disparities that exist here are the worst in the world. So, no matter who’s in charge, they’re going to have to answer for these decisions,” she said.

“This is biological warfare. This virus is killing us. And we need to get it together. We need to start creating our own communities that share a common goal of wealth and health for all. Period.”