To knowingly interfere with an election is a radical concept in any functioning democracy. More so if it were to be led by the President of the United States. And western Wisconsin could be one national target for upending the Nov. 3 midterms.
Legal teams, voting rights groups, and other organizations are mobilizing in case they need to call attention to, document, or even try to resist attempts by President Donald Trump and his allies to intimidate voters, disrupt vote counting, or even seize ballots.
“People like me in past elections have really worried about discouraging people from voting,” said Robert Kraig, executive director of Citizen Action Wisconsin. “We have said, ‘Oh, no, it’s easy. There won’t be any problem.’ But it’s because the threat is so great now that we need to be clear about it without panicking.”
It’s not as if Trump hasn’t provided multiple reasons to trigger those concerns. Even before any ballots were cast in 2020, Donald Trump began undermining confidence in election results. It was followed by unsuccessful legal challenges, a violent insurrection in 2021, and ongoing threats this year to take actions that would have been unthinkable in the past — actions that could be taken by officials like Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin.
“You have promoted the President’s conspiracy theories about our elections,” wrote Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisconsin) to Mullin co-signed by other senators who say the secretary has also, “pressured states to participate in illegal activities, and explicitly threatened to reduce grant funding and initiate criminal investigations for those states that do not comply with the Administration’s demands.”
From Capitol Hill to the Wisconsin Elections Commission to small groups scattered between Milwaukee and small rural communities in the western part of the state, preparations are being made to address a variety of scenarios: federal law enforcement being present at polling sites, ICE officers interrogating minority voters in line about their citizenship status, states’ National Guard troops being mobilized, election “observers” challenging voters and voting machines inside of polling stations, fake AI videos posted to spread misinformation, and even ballots being seized during or shortly after voting hours.
“We need election officials to take precautions,” Kraig said. “And legal officials like city attorneys, county attorneys, the state attorney general, the election commission. We need courts to know what they should do with FBI agents who arrive and demand the ballots. They should not turn them over. But we’re going to need very large public mobilization if this happens.”
Volunteers are discussing tactics that range from simply documenting attempted interference or monitoring the path of seized ballots to nonviolent resistance to allowing polling places to come under siege at the behest of Trump, any administration officials, rogue law enforcement, or Trump supporters.
“That’s what happens in banana republics,” Kraig said. “If enough people come out, that backs up our clerks, backs up our city officials, and deters the wrongdoing. We may need a lot of people to show up somewhere if this happens.”
Election interference could happen here
For anyone who thinks election interference would be limited to large cities like Milwaukee, Kraig has a scenario much closer to home for voters in western Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District, where US Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Prairie du Chien) and Democratic challenger Rebecca Cooke could be locked in a close battle for every last vote.
Kraig describes the chaos that would follow if federal officials showed up in Eau Claire or La Crosse and seized only the uncounted absentee ballots. Even if a judge promptly ordered them to be returned, that break in the usual chain of custody would incite conspiracies and raise doubts about the results.
“If the FBI runs off with the ballot boxes before they’re tabulated or certified, [the election results] will be a dispute forever,” Kraig said. “Who won the election? You could have Rebecca Cooke defeat Derrick Van Orden, but literally not be seated because the Republican Congress will say, ‘We think that she didn’t win the election, and therefore we’re going to seat Van Orden.’”
“And this is particularly dangerous in the smaller blue [Democratic majority] cities, in our view, because you could flip the whole result in a district that is probably going to be decided by a point or two.”
Baldwin has been holding meetings around the state with local elections officials to both call attention to the potential threats from Trump and encourage them to maintain the professional actions that support public confidence in Wisconsin election results.
“Over 100 times in recent months, he has talked about whether the 2020 elections were fair,” Baldwin said. “They were. They were accurate. We know that. But he continues to stir that conspiracy. And then he makes threats. But every time I meet with local election clerks, my faith is restored that we in Wisconsin run secure, accurate elections.”
“And we need voters to know that. We also need voters to make a plan of how they’re going to vote — and know that their voice is going to be heard and that their vote is going to be counted.”
