Maayan Silver is an intern with WUWM's Lake Effect program. She is a practicing criminal defense attorney, NPR listener and student of journalism and radio production.
This year, there aren't as many large public events with volunteers signing people up to vote in the weeks before the election, due to the pandemic.
But doctors' offices are stepping in to fill the void, through programs like VotER and Vote Health 2020, nonpartisan efforts to register patients in free clinics, community centers and emergency rooms.
President Trump's campaign to discourage the use of mail-in voting this fall is raising concerns among Republicans, particularly in the key swing state of Wisconsin, that his efforts could hinder their party on election night.
Last week, Trump called expanding mail-in voting during the coronavirus pandemic "the greatest scam in the history of politics" — although there's no evidence to back up his claim that it will lead to widespread voter fraud.
After losing Wisconsin to Donald Trump in 2016, Democrats vowed not to take the state for granted — taking steps like picking Milwaukee to host the 2020 Democratic National Convention.
At least seven people may have become infected with the coronavirus as a result of Wisconsin's controversial decision to go forward with in-person voting for its April 7 election, Milwaukee's top public health officer said Monday.
"As of today, we have identified seven individuals that contracted, or at least it appears, COVID-19 through election-related activities," said Jeanette Kowalik, the city's health commissioner.
More than half a dozen states have pushed back presidential primaries because of the coronavirus outbreak. Wisconsin, which has a primary on April 7, hasn't. State leaders are holding on tightly to that date, despite Monday's stay-at-home order issued by Gov. Tony Evers.
Evers urged voters to cast mail-in ballots, saying he and his wife have already done so.
"It's very easy," Evers said Monday. "If we can do it, you can do it."
President Trump has been spending a lot of time this year talking about his record on criminal justice reform, a low black unemployment rate and his support for historically black colleges.
It's part of his re-election campaign's quest to peel off some support from one of Democrats' most loyal constituencies — black voters — particularly in battleground states like Wisconsin, where the race in November may be tight.
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