Citizen Action Weekend ’26 Newsletter, Friday, October 23rd

Join Citizen Action of Wisconsin today!

Sign up to speak to a Citizen Action organizer. We want to talk to you!

Early Voting has started in Wisconsin. Vote Early Today!

Early voting started this week. Voting early is a safe, easy, and convenient way to make sure your voice is heard.

Make an early voting plan today! Head over to https://myvote.wi.gov/ to double check your early voting location.

Call or text the Election Protection Hotline at 866-OUR-VOTE (866-687-8683) or visit https://866ourvote.org/ for voting needs.

Former State Representative & current Executive Director of Wisconsin Voices, David Bowen, urges you to get out and vote early.

Be a Democracy Defender with Citizen Action

Citizen Action members are developing organizing plans to confront possible scenarios the Trump regime might employ to disrupt the midterm election and we are also preparing to respond to ensure every vote is counted.

We want you to get involved

1. Join the Mass Listening Canvasses to continue to reach out in my community, build our base and find more folks that want to join our democracy defense efforts
2. Sign up to be a member of Citizen Action’s Democracy Defender Rapid Response Team, This team is made up of people that want to be activated should a rapid response or mobilization effort is needed to protect our election ballots and will talk with at least 10 people I know about this upcoming election and being on my rapid response team.
3. Learn more about Non-Violent Direct Action, at a Citizen Action training on Wednesday, October 28th, 6pm

Learn more and sign up to get involved in Democracy Defenders.

Citizen Action Gets Out the Early Vote!

Citizen Action North Side Rising members joined faith leaders and community groups this Tuesday at Noon for an early voting rally in Milwaukee to encourage everyone to vote and to vote early.

Watch a video of Rev. Jennifer Nordstrom (pictured below), the chair of the Religious Leaders Caucus for MICAH-Milwaukee calling out illegal efforts by the Trump Administration to interfere in the election.

Watch a video of Rev. Greg Lewis, Executive Director, Souls to the Polls, speaking at a media event about the importance of voting early. (Pictured below)

Voting early is a safe, easy, and convenient way to make sure your voice is heard. Make an early voting plan.

Head over to https://myvote.wi.gov/ to double check your early voting location

Citizen Action members attend Governor Candidate Debate Watch Party in Eau Claire

Over 50 people gathered for a Gubernatorial Debate Watch Party in Eau Claire on October 21st, featuring Democratic candidate David Crowley and Republican candidate Tom Tiffany, hosted by Citizen Action of Wisconsin, Power Up Eau Claire, and JONAH of the Chippewa Valley, and Wisconsin Early Childhood Action Needed (WECAN). Attendees enjoyed a potluck and drinks from The Brewing Projekt, where the watch party was held, to watch the debate live.

Citizen Action members host $20 Minimum Wage Town Hall in Appleton.

Citizen Action members hosted leaders of Wisconsin’s Living Wage Coalition on Wednesday night.

“We are currently at the longest time that the minimum wage has not changed since it was first enacted. So that’s pretty shameful, especially as we see costs rising so quickly and so strongly,” said  State Representative Lee Snodgrass (pictured below) at the Town Hall.

43 state lawmakers introduced legislation to raise the minimum wage to $20 per hour by 2030 while also tying it to inflation, so it doesn’t lose its value.

Watch WBAY TV news story about the event.

Learn more about the $20 Minimum Wage legislation and take action, urging your state legislators to support the bill,

Citizen Action in the News

The Cap Times in Madison had an important and timely column by the eminent progressive journalist Dave Zweifel on why we must be prepared for the Trump regime to attempt to sabotage the midterm elections by seizing ballots after the polls close and other tactics. The column quotes extensively from Citizen Action’s Executive Director Robert Kraig.

Read the column here. Please sign up to become a Citizen Action Democracy Defender.

Citizen Action’s Robert Kraig was on the Earl Ingram Show for an in-depth discussion of American democracy and capitalism at the crossroads.

You can watch and listen to the whole interview here.

Citizen Action’s Robert Kraig was on the Jeff Santos Show to discuss the state of the midterms, and why sports are one of the last unifying cultural institutions in our divided country.

Watch and Listen here (@ 1  hour 40 minute mark of video).

Listen to “What’s debatable?” Battleground Wisconsin Podcast

Following our weekly Tick Report, we debrief the one and only Wisconsin Governor candidate debate on Wednesday night. We assess the debate, it will not go down in the analysis of history like the Lincoln-Douglas debates. We also ask if debates matter anymore in modern politics.

Lauren Reeg of Evergreen Action joins us to share their new policy comparison of both Governor candidates on clean energy. Interestingly, their research finds a surprisingly large gap in the cost of utilities for consumers under the plans offered by both candidates. Spoiler alert, Tiffany’s pivot back to dirty fossil fuels is not only climate damaging, it will cost residential energy customers thousands of dollars.

We also welcome Kat Klawes, from 350.org Wisconsin and Rohan Katti, Senior Program Manager for Data You Can Use, S to tell us about new data revealing the scale of energy burden for Milwaukee families.

We close with the latest breaking news on potential Federal intervention into Wisconsin elections. This includes Trump’s DOJ notification to states of massive election monitor presence, and two ranking Democratic members of the U.S. House and Senate Intel committee warning how false claims of foreign interference by the Trump Regime could justify regime election interference, including ballot seizures.

Citizen Action members are developing organizing plans to confront possible scenarios the Trump regime might employ to disrupt the midterm election and we are also preparing to respond to ensure every vote is counted. We need you to get involved!

Learn more and sign up to get involved in Democracy Defenders

Listen to the new Battleground Wisconsin Podcast!