Green Bay clerk vacancy is an opportunity to expand voter access

Dec 15, 2020

GREEN BAY – Wisconsin Conservation Voters urges the City of Green Bay to use the recent vacancy of its municipal clerk position as an opportunity to nominate and confirm a clerk who can increase voter access by building on the successes of 2020.

Green Bay took the proper steps to hold a safe and accessible election in November amid a global pandemic and uncontrolled viral spreading here at home. The election created new innovations the city can continue to utilize.

Wisconsin Conservation Voters calls upon the mayor and common council to nominate and confirm a new city clerk who will work to implement the following:

  1. Expand in-person absentee polling locations (otherwise known as “early voting”) beyond City Hall, to include locations on the east and west sides of the city;
  2. Expand in-person absentee voting hours within the two-week period until 6:30 p.m. each weekday and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
  3. Install at least seven secure absentee ballot drop boxes throughout the city;
  4. Ensure elections are inclusive of and accessible to voters of all abilities by ensuring ADA accessibility of all polling places, addressing disability related rights and accommodations in training for election workers and poll workers, and including information about accessibility and accommodations, including curbside voting, in the elections portion of the city’s website and the city’s voting guide;
  5. Continue to provide multi-lingual election information to voters who do not use English as a first language;
  6. Continue to hire LTE “Voter Navigators” to help voters register to vote, properly upload photo ID, complete absentee ballots, offer witness signatures, and otherwise comply with certification requirements;
  7. Further develop partnerships with community non-profit organizations and businesses to promote voter registration, poll worker recruitment, polling locations and hours, and other vital election information;

The City of Green Bay should seek to confirm a clerk whose values are rooted in equity, inclusion, and voter rights. Wisconsin Conservation Voters is excited to continue its relationship with the city to bring the aforementioned recommendations to reality to expand access to the ballot in every election going forward.


For more information

Ryan Billingham, Communications Director, Wisconsin Conservation Voters, 608-208-1129 (office), 608-213-6972 (mobile/text), or ryan@conservationvoters.org