The following program is a PBS Wisconsin original production.
>> You're watching "Here& Now". 2024 Election Coverage. Whether
from enthusiasm to cast their ballot or eager for the election
to be over. Early voting saw long lines in its opening days.
This week. I'm Frederica Freyberg. Tonight on "Here&
Now", an early voting push young voters culture wars, abortion
and the latest ballot question. It's "Here& Now" for October
25th. >> Funding for "Here& Now" is
provided by the Focus Fund for Journalism and friends of PBS
Wisconsin. >> Tuesday was the first day for
in-person early voting in Wisconsin, and the lines were
out the door in clerks offices around the state, with nearly
100,000 votes cast in Madison. The Harris campaign held a rally
with Vice presidential candidate Tim Walz and former president
Barack Obama "Here& Now" senior political reporter Zach Schultz
was there. >> Reporter it is great to be
here in Wisconsin. It's great to be back in the Midwest, where
folks got good sense. >> Former President Barack Obama
was the headliner at a rally in Madison Tuesday, but every
speaker had the same message. >> You might hear people say
that there's two weeks until the election, but don't believe it
because early vote is here. And this election is happening now.
>> Who here plans on voting in person early? So let's get to
work and let's win this thing. >> Let's go. And I know you've
heard it about, I don't know, 15 times so far today, but it's
worth repeating here in Wisconsin early voting starts
today. >> If you haven't voted yet, I
won't be offended if you just walk out right now. Go vote.
>> Across the state, voters were already in line, ready to cast a
ballot. Turnout was so high there was a lag in the WIS vote
system that lets clerks print the sticker that goes on the
absentee ballot envelope. The lag was fixed by early
afternoon, around the time vice presidential candidate Tim Walz
was telling the rally goers he wanted them to volunteer after
they voted early. >> Wisconsin. You got same day
voter registration and it's open today to get there and vote. We
need you. Door knocking. We need the calls.
>> This is the second time I got to see Walz for a rally and
first time for Obama, and it was just awesome. I loved it.
>> We first introduced you to Ana Wilson and Landiran Kern at
the Democratic National Convention. They're college
Democrats and have spent the last few months organizing
student voters. especially at school, are
excited. classes and door knocking to
attend the rally and get re-energized for the final
stretch of the campaign. >> I'm sensing a lot of
excitement, a lot of nerves, but I think people are really
excited. with the largest margins seen by
a presidential candidate this century, and he knows the last
couple weeks of a campaign bring many emotions.
making you feel excited or scared or hopeful or frustrated
or anything in between, do not sit back and hope for the best.
Do not think this is a distraction or a joke. Get off
your couch and do what Leow both Ana and Landiran say they plan
to vote on election Day, even as they work to get their
classmates to vote early. >> I've been out canvasing a lot
within the last couple of weeks, and most students have already
sent in their absentee ballots. You know, those students who
haven't were trying to get them out in early voting, and you
better believe if they're not early voting, I will be at their
door knocking on November 5th. >> Reporting from Madison. I'm
Zach Schultz for here. And now. >> In a tight election, every
group of voters can make the difference. And student voters
are no different. But college students, especially those from
out of state, face a few more obstacles to voting "Here& Now".
Student journalist Jane McCauley reports.
>> California does not need your vote. New York does not need
your vote. Illinois does not need your vote. Wisconsin needs
your vote. >> Emily Teffert is a junior at
UW-Madison and part of the Wisco project, a liberal group
engaging students to vote. 2024 is her first time voting in a
presidential election, and she's urging out-of-state students to
put their vote where it matters. >> This time, it's much more.
Instead of telling them that they can vote, it's telling them
that they should vote. >> Students can vote where they
attend college or at their permanent address. But what is
needed to vote in Wisconsin? In-state students need to
register and have a valid ID for out of state students.
>> It's the same registration form, but instead of doing your
driver's license number, you do the last four digits of your
Social Security number, as well as a proof of residence.
>> But there's one more piece students who are not from
issued voter ID at nearly all two and four year campuses.
Wisconsin campuses like could flip razor thin margins.
In 2020, UW Madison's turnout rate was over 70%, or nearly
25,000 students. Donald Trump and Joe Biden won Wisconsin in
2016, and 2020, respectively, with just over 20,000 votes.
Each time we have over 40,000 undergraduate students.
>> So if you think that if every single student were to go out
and vote, the insane impact that could have every vote really,
really does matter and J. >> Heck, the executive director
of Common Cause Wisconsin, sees a generation that's already
voting at higher rates than previous ones, creating voting
habits. Now that will carry on past this election season.
>> You know, young students, whether they're conservative or
progressive, tend to be very highly motivated. And that's
important because you generally establish your lifetime voting
tendencies when you're in school.
could prevent students from even getting to the polls as early
voting is underway. Reports of intimidating texts are
addressing students saying if they vote where they are not
eligible, it could result in fines or jail.
>> Every general election we see mailings. We see text messages
from third party groups that just don't get it right. It's
just about pointing people to the official source of
information, and that official source of information would come
from going to the Wisconsin Elections Commission website.
>> According to its administrator, Meagan Wolfe.
at polling locations should not scare students away.
>> We worry about whether there will be people that will be
standing trying to tell people that they can't vote. You have
every right to vote. >> But it's not just Madison.
The national spotlight is on Wisconsin and all its youth.
>> Yes, UW-Madison is the largest university and obviously
is impactful. But I think we also need to focus on the UW
schools, private schools, tech schools across the state,
especially as presidential campaign stops have been more
frequent in smaller cities. >> I think that is just a really
strong signal that those campaigns know that Wisconsin
matters and that, you know, it's not just Madison, it's
Milwaukee, it's green Bay. >> John Zumbrunnen is the vice
provost of academic affairs at UW-Madison and faculty co-chair
of BadgersVote. He says up until November 5th, candidates will
continue their Wisconsin campaign stops, bringing energy
and attention. >> And those campaigns know that
they need to connect with Wisconsin and encourage people
to get out your own voice and your own ability to be able to
vote, particularly in Wisconsin. >> And I can't say this enough
is probably louder here than in almost any other state in the
country. October 22nd, the first day of
early voting in Wisconsin. She will continue to canvass until
November 5th. >> That's why when people are
like, oh, well, politics doesn't really impact me. It doesn't
impact you. You mean the future of the world like the future of
our Earth, like the planet we live on for "Here& Now"?
>> I'm Jane McCauley in Madison. >> Despite the number of
Republican challenges to absentee ballots in 2020 and the
party's criticisms of ballot drop boxes, they too pushed hard
for early voting this week. >> This is our opportunity as
Republicans, as conservatives, as Trump supporters, to make
sure that we're using every legal means to get the vote out
and that in particular means encouraging people to vote early
in person. Do not wait until the actual voting election day
polling day in case something does happen.
>> Go and vote tomorrow. Vote the next day. The day after. You
know, try to do it as early as possible.
voters to either vote in person or in person at their clerk's
office, or by mail as others have done. Look, our issue with
drop boxes is because it's so even the regulation of drop
boxes throughout the state, we don't know where we're going to
get. We do have areas who ban drop boxes. You have others that
are using them. But I always feel safer myself mailing it in
or voting at my clerk's office. But I will tell you if it's the
difference between getting a vote in or not getting a vote
in, you know, I say to Republicans, put it in the
mailbox or put it in the drop box.
an appeal to Wisconsin conservatives this week in
Brookfield alongside former Liz Cheney and former
conservative radio talk show host Charlie Sykes, about how
undecided voters should view this election.
>> The Supreme Court essentially told the former president he
will be immune from anything he does in office. So whereas
before there was at least some threat of consequence and
accountability that no longer exists, although not every
Republican who is casting a vote for Vice President Harris will
say publicly that they are. >> There's clearly you know, a
threat associated with that in some instances. But but millions
will. >> It's not about left versus
right. We're talking about the culture and the impact, the
coarsening of the culture, the way in which we have been taught
to fear and hate one another, and how our debates have just
devolved into sort of trolling one another, trading on that
fear and hate. >> Republican candidates have
run attack ads like Eric Hovde slamming Tammy Baldwin over what
he calls her radical agenda, allowing men to compete in girls
sports. He's not alone. In the final days of the 2024 campaign,
the Trump campaign is also laser focused on attacking Kamala
Harris on transgender rights in an ad blitz and on the campaign
trail, Kamala supports states being able to take minor
children and perform sex change operation, take them away from
their parents, perform sex change operation and send them
back home. Of course, this is a lie. It does not happen. In an
opinion piece in the Journal Sentinel this week. Our next
guest said, quote, politicians should know better than to
attack people, especially children. Abigail Swetz is
executive director of Fair Wisconsin, an advocacy
organization for the LGBTQ community and she joins us now.
Abigail, thanks very much for being here. Thank you for the
invite. So as to the idea of children going off to school and
coming home with transition surgery, does that happen?
>> Absolutely not. It is a lie. And I'm glad we're calling it a
lie because it is not only untrue, it is meant to deceive
and frankly, divide and create distrust with our with our
educators and our medical professionals. And I find that
lie absolutely disgusting. >> How do these ads and
statements affect people for whom you advocate?
>> So to understand the impact of the ads, I think first we
have to realize that they are ethically wrong because they are
dehumanizing and lies and frankly, a ridiculous
distraction. And that kind of hateful language. It does have a
cost. It has an emotional cost because turning people into
issues and weapons does have an impact that is quite dangerous
on the LGBTQ plus community and frankly, on everyone, because I
think it has this impact of eroding empathy. And that is
really dangerous. And as an example of this impact,
actually. So I just want to say I am a member of the LGBTQ plus
community, but I'm not trans, and it is incredibly important
to always center trans voices in this conversation. And it is not
okay to always make trans and nonbinary people defend their
own existence. And so it is incredibly important for the
rest of us to also show up and support the editorial you
mentioned. I co-wrote it with a dear friend of mine who is
trans. I am here because in that editorial you probably noticed
my friend used their initials out of out of a safety concern
and that is incredibly important. It sort of distills
down the impact we're talking about.
>> So the 2024 Republican platform states they will
oppose, quote, left wing gender insanity, trying to make inroads
with voters by focusing in on these transgender rights. What's
the play there in your mind politically?
>> Walz it's a really good question. I'm not sure I'm the
right person to ask it to, though. I would love someone to
ask them that question because they seem to think that
attacking trans people is a winning issue. And I'm here to
say that as voters, we cannot let that be true. We cannot let
it work. They are trying to use an identity as a wedge issue to
divide and confuse, and it's just a distraction that we
cannot let them let them take advantage of on that.
>> What is your message to voters who are deluged by these
ads and rhetoric? >> My message is, my message is
that I think we all need to hold a few truths in our hearts when
we're seeing this kind of deluge. It's the right word. We
have to remember that these are not issues and these are not
weapons. Trans people are people who deserve respect. Trans
children are children who deserve love and support and
trust. They are not weapons. And as LGBTQ plus people, we've been
turned into issues against our own will by politicians who are
trying to scare you to vote a certain way by using your
neighbors against you. Because trans people and trans children
are your neighbors and your friends. And we in the LGBTQ
plus community care about a lot of issues those that target us
and those that don't. Those are the ones that we should really
be paying attention to. Like housing affordability and
reproductive justice. Those are the issues that everyone cares
about, and we're part of everyone, too.
>> So how important is the LGBTQ plus voting bloc?
>> Well, we're not a monolith. They'll definitely start with
that. But we are pretty numerous. I'd say their best
estimate about 250,000 voting age, LGBTQ plus people in
Wisconsin. So while we definitely don't vote as a full
unit, we could really make a difference in an election in a
state where we know the margin of victory is about 20,000 votes
pretty often. So I think it's important when we are going
around as fair Wisconsin talking to voters, we're hearing those
intersectional needs. People are caring about so many things that
impact us, often to remember that our vote reall,
really matters. >> What kind of fears do you
have that that vote could be swamped by inciting fear of
harming children. >> I fear beyond just voting
when it comes to the rhetoric we're seeing, because rhetoric
just has a it has an impact and emotional cost, but it also
turns into hateful policies. And those policies also have a very
detrimental effect. thanks very much.
>> Thank you. >> As we approach the first
presidential election since the overturning of Roe v Wade,
abortion remains a central and contentious issue for voters and
candidates alike. Here and now, reporter Aditi Debnath examines
how this topic is shaping the political landscape in our state
and beyond. >> Reporter. After the U.S.
Supreme Court's Dobbs decision in 2022, which overturned Roe v
Wade, Wisconsin saw immediate changes. Abortion services
only to resume in late 2023 after a judge's ruling. This
legal whiplash has kept the issue at the forefront of
political discourse even now. >> There's a lot of confusion
about what is allowable and what institutions are comfortable for
by choice. playing a crucial role in both
state and national races. In Wisconsin's U.S. Senate race,
the contrast between candidates is stark.
>> Democratic incumbent Senator Tammy Baldwin has been a vocal
advocate for abortion rights. >> I am the leader in the fight
to restore Roe v Wade through a bill that I lead called the
Women's Health Protection Act. >> Baldwin's bill would codify
the right to abortion into federal law and ban states from
passing additional restrictions to abortion access.
woman's pregnancy, she should have a right to choose.
>> Her Republican challenger, Eric Hovde, has a different
take. line, different than Senator
Baldwin is that there comes a point where a baby can be born
healthy and alive, that it's unconscionable that you would
terminate that child's life. >> Hovde position reflects a
broader trend among Republican candidates grappling with the
issue's complexity, a focus on late term abortions.
>> We know that overwhelming majority of abortions take place
within the first trimester. >> Jenny Higgins, director of UW
Madison's Collaborative for Reproductive Equity, says late
term abortions are rare abortions that happen later than
the first trimester happen for excellent reasons. These reasons
include fetal anomalies that aren't detectable in the first
trimester and can be fatal to the fetus. Kamala Harris in the
presidential race, former President Donald Trump has gone
as far to erroneously say his opponent, Vice President Kamala
Harris, supports murdering babies. Her vice presidential
pick says abortion in the ninth month is absolutely fine.
>> He also says execution after birth. It's execution no longer
abortion because the baby is born is okay, and that's not
okay with me. >> Vice President Harris, in her
bid for president, recently visited Wisconsin to highlight
her administration's stance on abortion.
>> What these kinds of laws mean, these kinds of laws. Under
Trump, abortion bans, it means doctors may have to wait until
the patient is at death's door before they take any action.
>> Gracie Skogman, legislative director of Wisconsin Right to
Life, says Harris's rhetoric ignores the crux of
anti-abortion advocates philosophy.
to remind people that we're talking about two lives in the
equation, both deserving of care.
>> Skogman and her team are activating voters across the
state to understand that abortion law is on the ballot.
>> We have some groups that are in the Appleton area, and we
want people to be aware of candidates who are running and
what their record is. >> Appleton is part of the
eighth Congressional District, where the abortion issue is a
key topic in the race between Democrat Kristin Lyerly and ob
gyn, and abortion provider and Republican Toni Wied. A
businessman endorsed by former President Trump.
protection for abortion, contraception, IVF.
>> Meanwhile, the Republican candidate has pointed out a
states rights approach. >> The Supreme Court made the
decision that the right of abortion is within the state's
hands, where it was before. It is now, and I believe that it
should continue to stay as a states right issue.
>> Skogman says this focus on a states rights approach ignores
several legal levers at the federal level.
>> For example, right now, the vast majority of abortions are
actually chemical abortions, and this is something that's
federally regulated. So that that has to be a federal
conversation. >> She's referring to a U.S.
Supreme Court decision in June to preserve access to
chemical abortions. The case threatened to federally restrict
access to chemical abortions, even in states where abortion is
legal. people understand, I think the
sort of powers of the of the various offices at the national
level. chief strategy officer at
planned Parenthood of Wisconsin. >> A president appoints judges
who are interpreting laws and hearing lawsuits.
>> Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin has been heading the
legal battle over abortion at the state level, filed a lawsuit
in February that the Wisconsin Supreme Court accepted.
>> That case will argue that our state constitution would not
allow an abortion ban to stand because our Constitution
protects the right to bodily autonomy and agency.
released a schedule for the case, but abortion remains top
of mind for Wisconsin voters as we approach the first
presidential election since the overturning of Roe v Wade.
Reporting from Milwaukee. I'm Aditi Debnath for "Here& Now".
>> Those who've already voted early have seen yet another
constitutional amendment on their ballot. The fifth, this
year. If you haven't yet voted, what you'll see is a yes or no
question that deals with citizenship and voting rights
"Here& Now". Reporter Nathan Denzin explains the ballot
question. constitution states that every
U.S. Citizen 18 or older can vote in an election, but an
amendment on November's ballot seeks to change that language
from every U.S. Citizen to only a U.S. Citizen. Republican
backers say the change is needed because cities in California,
New York and Vermont have allowed non-U.S. Citizens to
vote in local elections like school board races.
>> Remember that perception can, in and of itself, call into
question the integrity of elections. We don't want that.
>> Similar amendments are being voted on in seven other states,
including Iowa. While Wisconsin law doesn't explicitly bar
noncitizens from voting in local elections, no local government
in the state has ever allowed it. Federal law already makes it
illegal for non-citizens to vote for the U.S. House, U.S. Senate,
and President. When voters register, they must attest to
their citizenship under penalty of perjury and possible
deportation. But Wisconsin law does not provide any process
that systematically verifies citizenship.
is easy to vote, but hard to cheat.
say it's a precursor to verify citizenship in future elections.
That practice has been declared unconstitutional in other state,
as it could disqualify the elderly or legal immigrants who
lack a birth certificate. They also fear that the referendum
will be used to establish the trope that migrants are voting
in large numbers, despite the fact that it rarely happens. The
Wisconsin Elections Commission non-citizens who have been
referred for prosecution for voting illegally since 2019,
mostly for misunderstanding their eligibility for "Here&
Now". I'm Nathan Denzin. >> For more on this and other
issues facing Wisconsin, visit our web site at PBS Wisconsin.
Org and then click on the news tab to see all of our election
coverage. Visit Wisconsin Vote.org. Finally, tonight we
are super sad to report that fellow colleague and former PBS
Wisconsin journalist Art Hackett passed away last weekend after
battling illness. >> I'm one of those odd folks
who knew what they wanted to be when they were in the fourth or
fifth grade and managed to do it for over 40 years. 30 of them
here in Wisconsin. >> Art was an institution here.
Our primary political news reporter for 31 years, his award
winning work included a documentary titled Water Rich,
Water Poor, a program his daughter tells us was among
those he was most proud of. >> Since people have been asking
whether Wisconsin has enough water to share, we decided to
ask the question. >> Art was keenly smart,
intrepid and hardworking. He reported for several news
programs over the years, and I'm told he never missed a deadline.
Art retired in 2010 and lived near family in Iowa. Art Hackett
was 74. >> For "Here& Now", I'm Art
Hackett.
>> Funding for Here and Now is provided by the Focus Fund for
Journalism and Friends of PBS Wisconsin.