On the ground in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, a state crucial to the famed “blue wall,” one of the primary strategies for a Democrat win, TRNN speaks to voters, activists and canvassers to take the pulse of the city. We spoke to election commissioners, canvassers from California, Milwaukee Veterans Against Trump and socialists who may choose to not vote at all.
Written By Stephen Janis
Production: Stephen Janis and Taya Graham
Additional Post-Production: Adam Coley
Transcript
Taya Graham: Hello, this is Taya Graham for The Real News Network. I’m here in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. And as you can tell behind me, I am at a Harris-Walz rally. And in just a few moments, Tim Walz is actually going to come out and speak.
But what is more important, I think, is the voters. And we’ve been crisscrossing back and forth across Milwaukee to hear from the voters directly. We have spoken to people who are evangelicals for Harris, we’ve spoken to people who are voting for Trump, and we even spoke to socialists who aren’t going to be voting at all. In a critical state, in a crucial city, passions are running high in the final day before the election.
Joel Polzlowski: My name’s Joel Polzlowski. I’m from Cudahy, Wisconsin, and I’ve come to pick up some more Harris signs for my neighbors.
Taya Graham: The Real News was on the ground in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, taking the temperature of residents, activists, and canvassers.
Why are you a veteran against Trump?
Joel Polzlowski: Well, actually, of all the things, it’s him belittling the serviceman. John McCain was the first step. And you could see the writing on the wall, things he said about suckers and losers.
Taya Graham: Milwaukee hosted the Republican National Convention in July, but the city is decidedly Democratic.
Gwen Moore: When you look at Milwaukee plus Madison, this campaign has realized that it’s really important to focus on Milwaukee so that you don’t leave good voters behind.
Taya Graham: Milwaukee is also one of several Democrat strongholds throughout the state that could determine the winner today. Which is why election officials are being as transparent as possible.
Patricia Ruiz-Cantu: We are going to have in the morning a session where we’re going to open up and then there’s a central count. So if you want to see the actual process of accounting, you could go in at the central count, and then you could record what people are doing as they’re counting the ballots.
Taya Graham: But that’s not the only concern on election day.
Sienna Steward: Well, one of the biggest things that we’re seeing is that people are really confused if they’re isolated at home and they’re getting their information from the television. They’re asking us questions like, what’s the truth?
Taya Graham: Two canvassers told us that disinformation is rampant among voters.
Sienna Steward: And so it’s become really, really important for us to knock on individual doors and be able to answer questions and to just go ahead and say, what do you care about? What is the truth?
Taya Graham: And fears that Republicans will flood the city with poll watchers.
Patricia Ruiz-Cantu: We had a negative experience last time.
Taya Graham: One election official we spoke to said that in the previous election, she actually feared for her safety.
Patricia Ruiz-Cantu: As an election commissioner, I will tell you that for a minute I was a little bit afraid because some of the poll watchers or watchers that were there in the central count were screaming in our faces, recording us live to private groups, and that’s putting us in danger.
Taya Graham: But not all Milwaukee residents were eager to vote.
Sara Onitsuka: We have not endorsed a candidate this year. So our line specifically is that, of course, we’re not voting for Trump. Kamala Harris and the Biden administration have been the ones who have been perpetuating this genocide, and so that’s a red line for us. We aren’t endorsing Kamala Harris.
Taya Graham: A local socialist activist who protested the Republican National Convention said that concerns about Palestine were motivating their member’s choice to not embrace either candidate.
Sara Onitsuka: So there’s no specific candidate that we’re telling people to vote for. However, we’re also not abstentionists, so we’re telling people to get their voice heard, maybe through third parties or write-in votes to still show up and vote, but that we’re not telling people to vote for either of the two major parties.
Taya Graham: They also told us young members of Black and Brown communities were disenchanted and not aligned with either candidate.
Alan Chavoya: From a lot of the youth, we’re hearing a lot of disappointment, unfortunately, and that’s really difficult to hear. I’m an educator, and it’s difficult working with youth. You view the youth as the future, right? And they’re going to make the world better than what you leave them behind with.
But many are expressing just not necessarily a nihilism, but it’s just a disappointment with the state of affairs, that they have to pick between two presidents, or two candidates that don’t really represent their values.
Taya Graham: But another important trend highlighted by the people we spoke to was the possible impact of women on the final results.
Audrey Heller: I think women are tremendously important in this election. Both young women who are coming up and wanting to see a world of more opportunities for them, and then it’s been so interesting to see these older women who are fierce about their freedoms.
Taya Graham: And that has prompted women to vote in greater numbers.
Gov. Tim Walz: We get an opportunity tomorrow to shape the future for generations to come [crowd cheers].
Taya Graham: At a rally Monday night with Gov. Tim Walz, reproductive rights were on the agenda.
Gov. Tim Walz: Let me speak to the guys in this room. I want you to think about the women in your life that you love. Their lives are literally at stake in this election. More than 20 states now have abortion bans, and our daughters and those loved ones you’re thinking of now have fewer rights than their mothers and grandmothers. When Congress passes a law to restore the right to choose, to make Roe the law of the land, President Harris will sign it into law [crowd cheers].
Taya Graham: But here in Milwaukee, the attention is firmly placed on getting people out and on the ground, an effort that will culminate today as people go to the polls to decide once and for all who will be the next President of the United States of America.
This is Taya Graham and Stephen Janis reporting for The Real News Network in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
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