Wisconsin voter explains why the state can’t have a ‘free and fair’ primary as officials defiantly plan to host election
‘There’s just no way they are going to be able to get an accurate representation of our vote,’ she says
When life in Wisconsin came to a screeching halt due to the coronavirus pandemic, Emily Thurmann was forced to stop working at the locally owned restaurant where she is a waitress.
And yet, the state is still encouraging voters like her to flock to the polls come Tuesday, when it defiantly plans to hold its presidential primaries amid a deadly nationwide outbreak of Covid-19.
“It’s just nuts,” Thurmann says. “I have no idea what they’re thinking.”
Fortunately for the 38-year-old mother of two, early voting allowed her to cast a ballot ahead of the state’s elections. It was one less thing to worry about at a time when she’s worried one of her loved ones could soon get sick, and unsure of how long it will be until she can earn her next paycheck.
“The governor shut down all restaurants about two weeks ago so I haven’t been working for about two weeks, and the kids are at home,” she tells The Independent. “It’s stressful, honestly. My son is at the age where he just wants to play Xbox with his friends, and it’s been difficult to get him to understand the seriousness of this virus … With social distancing, we’re just trying to keep everything as safe as possible.”
Thurmann, her 13-year-old son and one-year-old daughter are all staying at her mother’s house during the pandemic, which has given her some comfort and extra hands with the kids – a silver lining in the chaos of it all.
But she remains concerned about her financial prospects.
“I had initially been denied unemployment [benefits] because I didn’t make enough in the first quarter, since I didn’t start working until after my pregnancy,” she says.
“I finally had just gotten my financial stability back after not working for a while,” Thurmann adds, explaining that bills had piled up. “I just got some of my student loans in good standing and was rebuilding my credit, so it’s really nerve-wrecking to think I put in all that work and now this will all definitely have an impact on my credit rating and the things I need to move forward at some point when this is all over.”
Thurmann, who studied political science and considers herself a passionate human rights advocate, is paying close attention to the 2020 presidential elections while encouraging folks in her area to vote by mail. But she’s dismayed by the state’s decision to go forward with its primaries, saying there’s “no way” it can be a representative vote during the pandemic.
“I really don’t know how that can be free and fair unless they send every single resident here a ballot. There’s just no way they are going to be able to get an accurate representation of our vote,” she says. “There are so many people who won’t be able to take part. Some people don’t have access to WiFi. Some elderly folks may not understand how to file a ballot online. What about people who don’t have computers?”
She adds: “We also were supposed to have the convention in Milwaukee just 30 minutes from where I live. I don’t how they could have thought they would have all those people so close together. Who knows when this is going to end?”
Through all of this, Thurmann says the decision to support her candidate of choice has only been reinforced.
Voting in the city of Racine, she says she “proudly” and “enthusiastically” chose to support Bernie Sanders. Thurmann says the Vermont Senator’s decades-long calls for Medicare-for-All are part of what initially inspired her to support his 2016 bid for the Democratic nomination against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who she went on to vote for in the general election.
Sanders’ foresightedness on universal healthcare seems even more important now, Thurmann says, as Democrats and Republicans alike call for progressive measures to battle the pandemic.
Democrats like Kamala Harris, the California senator previously seen as a more moderate contender for the White House before dropping out of the race, has called for free Covid-19 testing and treatment as health officials warned as many as 100,000 to 240,000 Americans may die from the virus.
But it didn’t take a pandemic for Sanders to support universal coverage – a key drawing point for a significant faction of his base.
“He’s been fighting for the same things for 40 years,” Thurmann says. “I’m disillusioned with the Democratic party, and I feel like he represents more of the party’s interests, but for some reason – I don’t know how – they’ve convinced people to feel more comfortable with a centrist Democrat.”
Thurmann supports Sanders for his progressive stance on issues like human rights, environmental policy and criminal justice, and sees former vice president Joe Biden like a Clinton carbon copy – flaws and all.
“The Democrats are going to lose big and probably a lot of votes if they don’t choose Bernie as their candidate,” she says. “You can just see that people are not enthused about going out and supporting Biden. His policies, I would say, are more in line with a moderate Republican than a centrist Democrat.”
Like all voters, Thurmann is totally unique in her decision-making about casting her ballot for Sanders. But I’ve spoken to a number of the senator’s supporters for this project who echo those same thoughts. They’re disillusioned, frustrated, and in some cases unwilling to support the Democratic nominee a second time around if it isn’t their choice.
“I don’t want to just vote for somebody who isn’t Donald Trump. I want to vote for somebody who stands up for my values,” she says. “Trump is totally crazy and scary and I would like to see him out of office, but at the same time I don’t see how Biden would be much different. Why can’t we at least give Bernie the shot instead of trying to push forward this candidate… didn’t we learn our lesson from that? The whole process feels false.”
Click here to read more of The Independent's series, Polarized: Voices From Across America
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