At 7:08 am, my wife and I arrived to vote at Precinct 132, St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, on the Upper East Side of Milwaukee. This polling place is five blocks south of the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee. As compared to Milwaukee overall, this area is above average income and less diverse than other areas. It is heavily Democratic, and voter participation is traditionally very high.
We were the 50th and 51st voters respectively. We completed voting at about 7:30 am. During our time at the polling place, there were 20 to 30 people in line to vote at any given moment. We saw about a half dozen persons registering at the polls.
As to judging turnout, we have lived in this area only since the Spring of 2014, but have participated in every election since. Those included the 2014 general election (where main attraction was the Walker-Burke gubernatorial race) and various special elections since. I will share what limited information I have on comparative turnout.
We have not seen this many voters at any other election, including the 2014 general election. We voted early in the morning in that election as we did today. There was no line voters whatsoever in the 2014 general and no lines in any other election. When I checked in with the election officials (including showing them my ID—thank you Gov. Walker and GOP legislators), one official looked at the line behind me, sighed and said to her colleague, “They are still coming.” I asked them if the turnout was unusually heavy. The second official said, taking a deep breath indicating early fatigue, “Yes, it has never been this heavy. We have had a steady number since the minute we opened.” This is one ward and only a single snapshot at one time of the day. However, judging by the election judges’ comments and the comparison with the 2014 general election, the turnout in Precinct 132 will likely be “yuuuge.”
A few other observations, the ratio of Bernie to Hillary signs in the neighborhood of primarily single family homes is 10 to 1 in favor of Bernie. That probably means nothing other than superior sign distribution by the Sanders campaign.
Yes, I proudly voted for Bernie Sanders. He stands for everything I have worked for in my personal and professional life (my life’s work has involved holding corporations accountable for their actions)—more so than any other Democratic candidate since George McGovern, whom I was honored to know personally. More importantly, I voted for Bernie for a more just and peaceful world for my children and grandchildren (21 in all, counting spouses of our children).
Last night I attended the final Bernie rally in downtown Milwaukee with one of my sons. The rally ended with Bernie joining the musicians on the side stage for several verses of “This Land Is Your Land.” I noted for my son, who was not born yet in 1972, that the last campaign that used “This Land Is Your Land” with some regularity at its rallies was the campaign of my friend, George McGovern.
Yes, I know how the 1972 election turned out. But I have reflected often how different the world would have been had McGovern been elected. For those who do not understand the difference that would have made, my last conversation with George was just after George W. Bush and Dick Cheney invaded Iraq. He described to me, not just generally, but in detail why Bush and Cheney were war criminals. The fact that McGovern was not elected does not deter me from supporting with every bit of energy and means at my disposal the one other great candidate in my lifetime to fundamentally turning the world around in the direction of greater equality, democracy and peace for all.
I make one request. Those who do not support Bernie Sanders may be inclined to comment something to the effect of “Yes, and look at how badly McGovern’s campaign ended. Sanders will end the same way.” You don’t need to make that comment, because I have already noted it for you, even though I don’t share that judgment. I respect the viewpoints and voting choices all of you who vote make regardless of the candidates you support. Voting, although under siege, is one last vestige of democracy that we need to exercise, nourish and protect in the face of the oligarchy that seeks to control our public and private lives.
I hope you find the factual information on the voting in Milwaukee’s Precinct 132 of interest and that you respect my positively expressed views, even if you disagree with them. So please be kind in your comments.
Thank you for reading this diary.