• La Crosse, Wisconsin, La Crosse Democratic Party, 1:30P.M. September 23, 2017, Cameron Park

To help celebrate U.S. Constitution Week, the La Crosse County Democratic Party (LCDP) is sponsoring a voting rights rally. Partisan gerrymandering and voter suppression schemes are threats to our fundamental right to vote.

Moderated by John Medinger, former Mayor of La Crosse and former state representative, Professors Keith Knutson and Mike Smuksta (retired) of Viterbo University, will speak on:

Gerrymandering and its corrosive effects on democratic participation. This practice lets a party use data mining and sophisticated software to draw party-favored districts. This is the case in Wisconsin, and it’s why the U.S. Supreme Court will soon hear a case about whether these techniques are legal. One of the plaintiffs in that case, Emily Bunting, will also attend the rally and will give a short summary of the case.

President Trump’s Commission on Election Integrity and its effort to suppress voting rights. In an effort to prove that he didn’t lose the popular vote, the President is asking for confidential information on U.S. voters.

Voter ID laws and other voter suppression efforts, especially among minority voters.

Local, state and federal officials will make brief statements; Democratic gubernatorial candidates have been invited to this event, and many have accepted. Immediately following the rally, the candidates and public officials will be available to answer questions from the press and public at the Brick House, across the street from the park. This will give people an opportunity to speak one-on one with the candidates and learn more about each one’s positions.

The rally is being sponsored by the LCDP in an effort to reinvigorate participation in the Democratic process. The LCDP is committed to strengthening public education, safeguarding civil and human rights, providing health care for all, protecting the environment, and ending gross income inequality.