Democratic Gubernatorial Frontrunner Francesca Hong Unveils “What Democracy Looks Like,” a Sweeping Policy to Defend Voting Rights, Ensure Fair Elections, and Reform Campaign Finance

MADISON — State Rep. Francesca Hong, the leading Democratic candidate for Governor, today released “What Democracy Looks Like,” a comprehensive voting rights, election defense, and campaign finance reform package built to protect Wisconsin elections from the billionaires, dark money operatives, and federal agents working to undermine them.

The plan arrives in the 250th year of American democracy and at a moment when that democracy is under sustained attack. Citizens United has unleashed unlimited corporate spending on Wisconsin elections. Allies of the Trump administration have called for ICE agents to be stationed at polling places to intimidate voters. The Wisconsin Elections Commission along with the clerks and poll workers who run our elections have been cut to shoestring budgets by Republican legislators.

“Democracy is a project that never ends and a responsibility we have to each other,” Hong said. “Billionaires and huge corporations hate the idea that every person gets one vote, and they’ve spent decades hunting for ways to use their wealth to buy elections and silence the rest of us. If a small group of powerful people are going to attack democracy, we need to counterattack with everything we’ve got. That’s what democracy looks like.”

What Democracy Looks Like is organized around four pillars:

1. Fighting for fair elections. Push back against Citizens United by following Montana and Hawaii in barring corporate spending on campaigns, lock in fair maps through an independent redistricting commission, and keep ICE 250 feet away from every polling place.
2. Protecting the right to vote. Extend early voting to 30 days, create a free statewide voter ID program, automatically register voters at the DMV, and establish opt-out permanent vote-by-mail.
3. Democracy beyond dark money. Require every ad campaign and advocacy group to disclose who’s directing them and where their money came from, and build a Wisconsin model for public election financing.
4. Election workers are our front line. Fully fund the WEC, stand up a 24/7 election legal support hotline, secure every polling location, and create public observation areas at ballot counting operations.

“Free, fair, and secure elections are how we make better possible,” Hong said. “The people who run our elections are the front line of American democracy, and they’ve been left to defend it on shoestring budgets while billionaires pour unlimited money into campaigns to drown them out. As governor, I’ll make sure they have the resources, the legal backup, and the public trust they need to do their jobs. And I’ll make sure every eligible Wisconsinite can vote easily, safely, and without intimidation.”

For more information on Francesca Hong and What Democracy Looks Like, visit https://francescahong.com/policy/what-democracy-looks-like/

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.