On first day of in-person early voting, Souls to the Polls event drives enthusiasm

Wisconsin is among the key swing states that could determine the outcome of the Nov. 5 presidential election. And the first day of in-person early voting Tuesday brought a bevy of activities to get people out to the polls or to make a plan to vote on Election Day.
Milwaukee nonprofit organization Souls to the Polls hosted a get-out-the-vote day of action with its Party at the Polls event at Turner Hall, 1040 N. Phillips Ave.
The event included food, music and a “party bus” that people could ride to one of the city’s 10 early voting sites.
Aimed at young people, the bus made stops at Milwaukee Area Technical College, Marquette University, the Westown Green Apartments and Turner Hall, where the bus departed from.
Volunteers also did text banking, wrote postcards and wrote letters to remind people to vote in this election.
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The event was sponsored by several other organizations, including the Milwaukee Turners, All Voting is Local and the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign.
Bridgeman Flowers, 23, was among those waiting to board the bus Tuesday outside Turner Hall.
“Early voting is a privilege that has been given to us and we should take advantage of it because, often, the day of voting can be very stressful and very disorganized,” Flowers said.
Aniya White, 20, also wanted to avoid the hustle and bustle of Election Day. It’ll be her first presidential election.
“It’s exciting,” White said. “This is my first big election. I think all the work that both candidates put in should show on Election Day. Hopefully, whoever I want to win does win.”
In 2020, more than 623,000 people, or 18.9 percent of Wisconsin voters, cast in-person early ballots in the general election. That was slightly lower than the 2016 presidential election because of the pandemic. More than 674,000, or 22.5 percent of state voters, cast in-person early ballots in 2016. That does not include mail-in absentee ballots.
Early votes matter, says Rev. Greg Lewis of Souls to the Polls. His organization has been conducting rides to the polls, especially to the Midtown early voting site, formerly located at 5740 W. Capitol Dr. before moving to its new location at 6001 W. Capitol Dr.
Lewis said 18,500 votes came out of the Midtown early voting site in the 2020 election. President Joe Biden won the state by just over 20,000 votes. Hillary Clinton lost to Donald Trump in the 2016 election by that same number. A similar thing happened during former Gov. Scott Walker’s reelection race against Democratic challenger Tony Evers in 2018.
“I went to bed thinking that Scott Walker was still going to be governor, but I woke up the next morning and those votes came out of Midtown … 20,000 votes made the difference,” Lewis said. “That’s how important it is for Blacks to vote early.
“Black people are the most important people in the world right now, and we just have to let them know that.”
Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential candidate, and Republican challenger Trump have crisscrossed the state several times, bringing in some heavy hitters to stomp the campaign trail. Former president Barack Obama campaigned in Madison on Tuesday with Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.
But the significance of Wisconsin in this election can get lost in the daily survival of Black people, Lewis said. Most folks, he said, are worried about a roof over their head, food on their plate and getting a job.
Those day-to-day issues are not just germane to Blacks, but everyone, Lewis said. Although, he added, they can overshadow how voting gives residents the power to put “people in place who would look after their interests.”
But he said the scorched-earth politics certain candidates are employing to win turns a lot of people off.
“That’s why we exist — to wake people up about the election,” Lewis said. “We got to bring it to their vision. They got to see it. That is why we try to light up the city with signs, shirts, banners and all these things — just to wake folks up.”
He encourages people to take advantage of early voting. He said it’s fast, easy, less hectic than voting on Election Day and fits around individuals’ work schedules. Also, people can register to vote at early voting sites.
“The thing about early voting is that you are not under pressure to get there at the last minute,” Lewis said. “You can take your time and calmly express yourself through your voting.”
Lending her support to the day of action was the city’s oldest voter, Ruth Bradley McNeely-Wells. McNeely-Wells, who’s 105, has been voting since the Voting Rights Act was passed in 1965, though she votes absentee now.
Her daughter, Tracey Louise McNeely, 70, remembers how they weren’t allowed to eat at restaurants or to use public restrooms while driving south to Tensas Parish, Louisiana. McNeely remembers having to use the bushes instead of a bathroom.
That’s why it’s important to vote, she said.
“She was born when she couldn’t vote and, when the white women got theirs in 1920, she still couldn’t vote,” McNeely said of her mother. “My feeling is we are not going back.”
If you need a ride to the polls or to an early voting site, you can call Souls to the Polls’ Free Rides Hotline at 414-742-1060.