On Thursday, October 29th, the Millennial Action Project (MAP) hosted a press conference alongside our partners at VoteSafe Wisconsin to highlight the historic early voting, and to detail the bipartisan work being done to ensure a safe and secure election in the Badger State. MAP was joined by former Wisconsin Attorney General JB Van Hollen, and three young bipartisan legislators and members of the Wisconsin Future Caucus: Sen. Chris Larson (D), Rep. Tyler Vorpagel (R), and Rep. Amanda Stuck (D), the caucus co-chair.
MAP Founder and CEO Steven Olikara was the first speaker to offer remarks. Steven emphasized the importance of the 2020 election in the generational shift of voters towards the Millennial and Generation Z groups. In particular, he called attention to how the nation has already seen 2.5 times the amount of young voters casting ballots at this point in the election compared to 2016. In Wisconsin, a total of 1.6 million voters, of all ages, had submitted their ballots (as of November 2nd, that number is now 1.9 million). These figures, Steven said, were indicative not just of record turnout in Wisconsin, but across the nation.
Steven was followed by J. B. Van Hollen, the former Wisconsin Attorney General and lifelong Republican, who now leads VoteSafe Wisconsin. Attorney General Van Hollen detailed the bipartisanship of his new organization, specifically his own partnership with current Wisconsin AG Josh Kaul, a registered Democrat, to help advance VoteSafe Wisconsin’s mission. Van Hollen brought attention to the need for confidence in the election process this year, and that voters should be encouraged to turn in their ballots in whichever manner they feel most comfortable – whether that is through absentee voting, in-person early voting, or in-person on November 3rd.
Once Steven and A.G. Van Hollen concluded their remarks, the press conference moved on to words from our legislators. The first to speak was Rep. Amanda Stuck. Rep. Stuck is one of several Millennial candidates running for federal office this year, she is the Democratic nominee for Wisconsin’s 8th Congressional District. Rep. Stuck discussed her firm belief that there are many issues regarding election conduct that are bipartisan. One example she cited was the bipartisan decision to mail absentee ballots to voters in several states this year. In fact, Rep. Stuck commented that the only time voting procedures do become an issue are when elected officials are battling for power. Rep. Stuck concluded her remarks by saying that as Millennials shift to being the “older voices in the room”, she looks forward to seeing how current bipartisan young leaders advance reforms in the future.
Following Rep. Stuck was Rep. Tyler Vorpagel. Rep. Vorpagel has been a crucial partner in MAP’s efforts to advance safe voting procedures in Wisconsin. He recently appeared in MAP’s bipartisan voter education PSA video with his colleagues across the aisle. He also joined Steven on the podcast Meeting in Middle America, where the two also discussed the procedures around the upcoming election. Rep. Vorpagel honed in on the message that politics should stay out of voting procedures, and that bipartisan groups such as MAP, and those MAP has collaborated with in Wisconsin, deserve credit for working to ensure a successful November election. Rep. Vorpagel also offered many thanks to Wisconsin’s local clerks, who he said are the most crucial group for ensuring that ballots are tabulated accurately and timely.
The final legislator to speak was Sen. Chris Larson. Sen. Larson offered praises both for MAP and for the Wisconsin electorate, which he categorized as bipartisan and highly engaged. Sen. Larson also mentioned his enthusiasm as younger generations take the lead in the political process. With Wisconsin’s turnout projected to be the highest ever, Sen. Larson said that young people are already seeing success with examples such as State Rep. Kalan Haywood, who was elected as one of the youngest legislators in the country at the age of 19. Sen. Larson predicted that nowhere was it clearer than in Wisconsin that young voters will be the most critical group to deciding the outcome of the 2020 election.
The press conference concluded with a questioning period. Sen. Larson and Rep. Vorpagel offered their responses to a question on what long-term bipartisan changes may be expected in Wisconsin’s future. Sen. Larson answered first, pointing to the difficulties Wisconsin had in making substantive changes due to the legislature’s adjournment at the start of the COVID-19 crisis. In the future, Sen. Larson said his areas of interest would be expanding the timeframes for which ballots can be counted and tallying absentee ballots early. Rep. Vorpagel echoed Sen. Larson’s support for early ballot tallying, with Rep. Vorpagel being the lead author of a bill on exactly that issue, saying such a decision would reduce stress on local clerks.
VoteSafe Wisconsin and MAP’s Wisconsin Future Caucus—the only bipartisan caucus in the state—are giving Wisconsin voters hope. It’s more important than ever to inform voters of both the rules and the behind-the-scenes bipartisan cooperation that’s made this election possible.