The most important election of 2023 is in Wisconsin, where voters went to the polls this week to pick the top two state Supreme Court candidates for the April 4 election.
The contrast between the two final candidates could not be more stark: Daily Kos-endorsed Judge Janet Protasiewicz is a respected judge who will protect abortion rights, uphold our democracy, and challenge GOP gerrymanders. MAGA extremist Dan Kelly has equated Social Security to slavery, and colludes with election deniers.
In a normal election, Judge Protasiewicz should win—as the stakes could not be higher. If she wins, we can flip the Wisconsin Supreme Court's 4-3 conservative majority that has obstructed democracy in the state. And with the state Supreme Court set to rule on whether Wisconsin's 1849 law banning abortion in Wisconsin is constitutional, we need her on the bench. And, as state Democratic chair Ben Wikler explained, the April 4 election may be the “only path in the next several years to undo the most extreme [Republican] gerrymander in the country."
But this is not a normal election, as it is in April of an off-year. And the last time Wisconsin had a state Supreme Court race in April of an off-year, two million voters stayed home—and the conservative candidate narrowly won. Turnout is key, and we can't let this happen again. Fortunately, there are two easy ways to get involved TODAY you can do—no matter what part of the country you live in—to urge Democratic-leaning voters in Wisconsin to cast ballots.
Click here to order Blue Wave postcards, and write persuasive get-out-the-vote messages to Wisconsin Democrats for the April 4th Supreme Court election.
Blue Wave Postcards is a volunteer effort by Colorado activists who sent over 2.6 million postcards in the 2020 election cycle to battleground states. The postcards are colorful and attractive, and include effective messaging to convince voters to cast ballots.
Daily Kos volunteers have a proud history with this program. When Blue Wave Postcards was working to boost Wisconsin turnout in 2022, our volunteers convinced them to double the number of postcards printed to keep up with our demand. You can make a big difference.
And then, of course, there is Vote Forward, where you can write letters to Wisconsin voters. Vote Forward is the most popular get-out-the-vote activity at Daily Kos, and we have been proud partners since 2018. More than 13,000 members wrote 675,000 handwritten letters for the November midterms last year and another 215,000 for the Georgia runoff.
With Vote Forward, you "adopt" at least five Democratic-leaning voters in a battleground state. On your own time, you write them a personalized letter explaining why voting matters so much. And one week before the election, you drop the letters in the mail. Sign up for a Vote Forward account, write those personalized letters, and drop them in the mail by Tuesday, March 28, for maximum effect.
Vote Forward and Blue Wave Postcards are both easy to do, and the perfect get-out-the-vote activity for introverts or those of us who are just tired (who isn’t?) but would still like to contribute. But you need to get started now, as these letters and postcards need to be mailed out early enough to have an impact on boosting voter turnout.
That's why we are also recruiting volunteers to phone bank with the Democratic Party of Wisconsin—where you call voters, and help them make a "plan" to vote on April 4. The phone bank uses a remote dialer, so you can call people from your personal computer.
Click to sign up for a volunteer Get Out the Vote phone-banking shift with Wisconsin Democrats, no matter where you live.
Can't volunteer? Chip in $5 today to help Daily Kos get out the Democratic vote.