Voter suppression allegations spark outrage in Wisconsin

On April 25, the voting rights group Souls to the Polls called for the removal of recently appointed Republican Party of Wisconsin executive director Andrew Iverson over concerns that he was conspiring to overwhelm the group with requests for Donald Trump supporters to take to the polls.

According to reports, text messages was created when Iverson was the leader of the Wisconsin chapter of Trump Victory, a three way partnership between the Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee. Souls to the Polls Wisconsin State Executive Director Greg Lewis said in a press release that the messages were the most recent in a line of racist voter suppression.

“Today’s news is the latest example of voter suppression and racism,” Lewis said. Samuel Libert, Wisconsin director of All Voting is Local, and Angela Lang, executive director of Black Leaders Organizing Communities, joined in condemning Iverson and your complete Wisconsin Republican Party.

“This egregious ‘wreak havoc’ tactic not only undermines democracy, but also directly targets minority communities and perpetuates our cycle of voter suppression,” Lieber said. In the press release of April 25 this yr. he directly emphasized these points. “By targeting a Black community organization like Souls to the Polls, there is no doubt that the ultimate goal was Black voter suppression. “This threat to flood them with access to an election program that Milwaukeeans have relied on for over a decade would deprive voters of key access measures who actually need help getting to the polls.”

Lieber continued: “Such actions not only undermine our democracy, but also directly target historically disenfranchised communities and intentionally make it more difficult for them to vote.”

Meanwhile, Lang was critical of Iverson’s argument that the text messages he exchanged with former Republican operative and white supremacist Carlton Huffman were jokes. Huffman, who agrees with Lang and Lieber, is now an anti-Trump conservative.

“For communities of color to say that this is an injustice and a painful part of my ancestors’ history, then again, politics aside, why would you joke about something like that?” Lang said. “And then after all we add politics, we add different dynamics, the present political climate that we’re in – it’s all disgusting to listen to that he thought it was a joke and I felt prefer it was a lame excuse when he was attempting to turn back the clock a bit of bit .