Voting & Elections

A new report from Common Cause examines the impact of the recent redistricting cycle on Native American communities. “Stronger Together: Native Americans’ Fight for Fair Redistricting,” looks at the attempts to undermine the Native American vote through gerrymandering and how a number of them were foiled. The report focuses particularly on Arizona, Alaska, South Dakota, Oregon, Minnesota, and New Mexico - states with some of the highest population share of Native Americans based on the 2020 Census. It highlights the challenges and successes of the redistricting cycle from the perspective of Native community leaders and organizers, points to lessons learned, and offers a set of recommendations for the future.

Frederica Freyberg: So in your mind, should Wisconsin voters expect to see the use of absentee ballot drop boxes for upcoming elections, from what you heard in oral arguments? Jay Heck: Well, if the oral arguments are any indication about what the court might do, I am very positive or have a very good positive feeling about what the outcome might be. You know, one thing it’s important to note is that we have had drop boxes in Wisconsin for a number of years and of course, most famously during 2020, in the pandemic, they were a means for many thousands of Wisconsinites around the state to be able to return their absentee ballots in a safe, secure way. Rural voters, urban voters, young voters, old voters, people with disabilities, they’re a good thing. Wisconsin is now the only state in the upper Midwest, only non-red, deep red state that doesn’t allow the use of them.

Quentin Turner, executive director of Common Cause Michigan, a voting rights group, said recounts are handled by election administrators who lack the authority to investigate criminal fraud. "Voter fraud is a crime and investigations into crime can only be done by law enforcement," Turner said.

“It’s absurd to spend this money on this when elections in Texas especially are just so chronically underfunded,” said Anthony Guitierrez, executive director of Common Cause Texas, a nonpartisan voter advocacy and government watchdog organization. “They could have used this funding for the election staff who are overworked and underpaid everywhere in Texas. It could be spent on election infrastructure so that voters have a more efficient voting experience, or on public outreach.”

The legal seesaw over the broader issue reveals that both parties understand what’s at stake, said Jay Heck, the executive director of Common Cause Wisconsin, the state’s branch of the national nonpartisan government watchdog group. “It could make a difference around the margins,” said Heck, whose group filed an amicus brief in support of overturning the 2022 ruling. “But, you know, the small margins are important in Wisconsin.”

Common Cause-Wisconsin has joined the case on the side of the plaintiffs. Executive Director Jay Heck explains: “There should be ways for voters to return their absentee ballots so they have some assurance that they’ll be counted. The U.S. Mail is not always reliable in getting them back to the clerks in time. So, this is just something that benefits every voter regardless of how they vote," Heck says. Heck also says people with disabilities would be able to return their ballot more efficiently. The Associated Press says 29 states allow some form of absentee drop box, but Heck says Wisconsin is the only purple or swing state that does not.