In preparation for the 2024 election season, Wisconsin Democrats have already launched canvassing campaigns in Wisconsin cities like Eau Claire, Lacrosse and Superior, according to WEAU News.
Though quite early in terms of campaigning, the Wisconsin Democratic Chairman Ben Wikler claims these efforts are not meant to persuade citizens to vote a certain way, but instead to have open and honest conversations so that the Democratic party can best understand what Wisconsinites actually want from their politicians, according to WEAU News.
These canvassing efforts from Wisconsin Democrats should continue, and should potentially even expand to Wisconsin Republicans so Wisconsinites can regain trust in the government and elections.
After the 2020 presidential election, Wisconsinites became wary of elections when Wisconsin presidential election results were under contention for a few days. Claims of election fraud ran wild across social media and even some mainstream news media, which put Wisconsinites in fear that state elections might not be fair, according to the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty.
Politicians from both sides of the political aisle are trying to alleviate this fear and distrust amongst citizens of not only elections but the government as well. A bipartisan election integrity committee operating in Wisconsin is attempting to rebuild that trust amongst Wisconsin voters, according to The Associated Press.
But this committee cannot possibly rebuild trust amongst every Wisconsin voter — politicians need to do this themselves as well. This is why the canvassing campaign by Wisconsin Democrats is so important because it is focused on connecting to Wisconsin communities and building that trust by asking citizens what they want out of their government.
Republican Party of Wisconsin spokesperson Matt Fisher claims the Wisconsin Democrats canvassing this early is an excuse for them to explain away high prices and low wages, amongst other political decisions, according to WEAU News. But the Republican Party of Wisconsin should really take note from the Wisconsin Democrats and get out to do this canvassing too.
Citizens want to feel connected to their government, and Wisconsin Republicans should try to do as much connecting with their local communities as possible.
It is not yet determined whether these canvassing attempts will actually create connections and rebuild trust amongst Wisconsin voters, but all politicians, parties and government officials should make more of an effort to understand Wisconsin voters before the upcoming 2024 election to ensure Wisconsinites are properly represented in their government.
Emily Otten ([email protected]) is a senior studying journalism.
