, a nonpartisan reporting project covering local election integrity and voting access.
When Angela Lang reflects on the thousands of conversations she and other members of her community organization, BLOC, have had with Milwaukee residents, one floats to the top of her mind.
It was with a 54-year-old Milwaukee resident who explained to Lang’s colleague that she wasn’t voting because she was a convicted felon. Unbeknownst to her, she had been eligible for about 12 years since she completed her probation. A BLOC staffer was the first to tell her she could, in fact, vote.
“It’s bittersweet,” Lang said. “I think it’s incredibly powerful that we’re the ones to tell people when their voting rights have been restored. It’s also very frustrating that it took that long and people didn’t know until we had to talk to them.”
When
Angela Lang reflects on the thousands of conversations she and other members of her community organization, BLOC, have had with Milwaukee residents, one floats to the top of her mind.
Angela Lang from BLOC, a community organization that focuses on informing and empowering residents, stands outside her home on Dec. 22, 2020 in Milwaukee. Lang is among the activists who worked to turn out the vote in predominantly Black communities in the city. Darren Hauck for Wisconsin Watch
It was with a 54-year-old Milwaukee resident who explained to Lang’s colleague that she wasn’t voting because she was a convicted felon. Unbeknownst to her, she had been eligible for about 12 years since she completed her probation. A BLOC staffer was the first to tell her she could, in fact, vote.