THREAD - please read and RT:
1) In Wisconsin, someone who wants to run in a primary election has to collect signatures to be put on the ballot – minimum 1K verified signatures, and you can only provide 2K total, so you have to have a 50% verification rate ...

2) (that’s high, but in the Walker recall, the sigs were 96.8% valid – fakes are rare). You also have to register with the FEC for elections for federal office, but just doing that does NOT get you on the ballot.

3) To be clear: I'm good w/ absentee *ballots*. My concern is petitioning to be ON the ballot in the 1st place. I have to obtain at least 1K verifiable signatures to get on the ballot - how am I supposed to do that without infection risk to myself & others?

4) I’m not worried about getting enough signatures. I’m worried about NOT GETTING MYSELF OR ANYONE ELSE SICK *while* getting enough signatures! Yes, the August primary seems far off, but the petitioning starts 4/15 and ends 6/1.

5) The signatures have to be collected in-person – emailed signatures aren’t acceptable. Not only can signatures not be collected online, they have to be DELIVERED to the WEC in person, as well!
https://elections.wi.gov/sites/elections.wi.gov/files/2020-03/ELIS-14%20Ballot%20Access%20Checklist-Federal%20Candidates%20for%202020%20%282020-03%29.pdf

6) In NY, where similar rules normally exist, Gov. Cuomo lowered the number of signatures needed from 1000 to 300. https://www.politico.com/states/new-york/city-hall/story/2020/03/14/cuomo-eases-election-rules-in-response-to-coronavirus-1267090

7) Florida changed its rules to allow for signatures to be collected online. https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/491131-florida-candidates-allowed-to-collect-petition-signatures-online

8) On Mar 16, I wrote a letter (linked below) to the Wisconsin Elections Commission ( @WI_Elections), seeking guidance re: petitioning to be on the ballot for the AUGUST primary (which is for FED races, i.e., House), given the current crisis.
https://documentcloud.adobe.com/link/track?uri=urn%3Aaaid%3Ascds%3AUS%3A63b15218-385a-4df5-b2fe-1c698ca03050

9) On Apr 14, @WI_Elections responded via Twitter saying, essentially, that no changes would be made to Wisconsin’s rules: https://twitter.com/WI_Elections/status/1250171856230834176

10) Thus, I have to provide the full 1,000 verifiable (no more than 2,000 total) signatures to petition to be on the ballot for the August primary, and they have to be in-person signatures, not online or typed in, etc.

11) Everyone who circulates the form & signs it MUST LIVE IN THE DISTRICT. So, troops, I need the assistance of those of you living in Wisconsin’s 6th District, specifically.

12) If you aren’t sure if you live in the district, go to this website & check w/your zip code:
https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative.

13) Again, my concern has never been with obtaining enough signatures; rather, it’s about doing so without causing an INFECTION RISK to myself or others.

14) So, IF YOU LIVE IN THE DISTRICT and are willing to assist, please email me at [email protected] with the subject PETITION. I will email you back with a copy of the petition form and the address to which it should be returned.

15) Please print out the form and, starting on 4/15, get as many signatures as you can SAFELY – don’t stray from your normal routine or go outside the friends and family you’ve already been in contact with, please – and then mail the completed form to me.

16) I must receive completed forms back by absolutely no later than 5/31, as they have to be delivered in person to the WEC in Madison on 6/1, so please put the forms in the mail by no later than 5/15. If you have questions, please email or leave a comment.

17) I can’t flip WI-06 blue if I’m not on the ballot. I can’t get on the ballot without these signed forms. Because of the pandemic, I can’t get these forms signed without YOUR HELP. Thank you!