Great to see this article! Menomonites should note that this major change to our election processes happened very quietly and quickly, which is the way the Mayor and Council often operate. Citizens were only made vaguely aware of this move the previous Friday - IF they were paying close attention (and who is?) Attempts to get the Council to postpone the vote until more research and discussion about the election integrity ramifications could be considered were dismissed in a UNANIMOUS vote to move forward with the purchase. Not taking the time to talk and really listen to community members on such a major and controversial decision is the way politicians operate, not public servants. Why the rush? Does it have anything to do with the supreme court primary? That won't be a high turnout election with long lines, but could strongly influence the party power balance in Wisconsin for the next two years and would be an obvious target for cheating. We will see if the Books are there on February 21.
I think most of those in power locally do not know much about the technicalities of Menomonie's election system. It seems complicated, and it is somebody else's job to figure it out. They are just trusting the advice of those they perceive as being higher up on the food chain. Really, in the defense of our city and county clerk, they are told (by WEC) that they should do what the Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC) tells them to do. I think we have more power locally than our officials think they do. And I wouldn't trust WEC farther than I could throw a heavy rock (approximately 2".) But some of us have been doing some research about all this and it would be good form for them to at least give us a chance to show what we have found and see if our concerns have merit. Prove our concerns wrong! Then we ALL sleep well at night. Thanks for this article, Laurie.
Great to see this article! Menomonites should note that this major change to our election processes happened very quietly and quickly, which is the way the Mayor and Council often operate. Citizens were only made vaguely aware of this move the previous Friday - IF they were paying close attention (and who is?) Attempts to get the Council to postpone the vote until more research and discussion about the election integrity ramifications could be considered were dismissed in a UNANIMOUS vote to move forward with the purchase. Not taking the time to talk and really listen to community members on such a major and controversial decision is the way politicians operate, not public servants. Why the rush? Does it have anything to do with the supreme court primary? That won't be a high turnout election with long lines, but could strongly influence the party power balance in Wisconsin for the next two years and would be an obvious target for cheating. We will see if the Books are there on February 21.
Laurie you explained it very well. Thank you!!
Thank you Laurie for writing this spot on article 👏
I think most of those in power locally do not know much about the technicalities of Menomonie's election system. It seems complicated, and it is somebody else's job to figure it out. They are just trusting the advice of those they perceive as being higher up on the food chain. Really, in the defense of our city and county clerk, they are told (by WEC) that they should do what the Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC) tells them to do. I think we have more power locally than our officials think they do. And I wouldn't trust WEC farther than I could throw a heavy rock (approximately 2".) But some of us have been doing some research about all this and it would be good form for them to at least give us a chance to show what we have found and see if our concerns have merit. Prove our concerns wrong! Then we ALL sleep well at night. Thanks for this article, Laurie.