With a history of strong representation at the polls, older voters are set to play a major role in November’s election.
In November 2020, Wisconsin residents over the age of 65 had the highest percentage of voter turnout, 82.4%, of any age group, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
The 45-to-64 age group also had a high voter turnout rate of 73%, Census data also showed.
NNS asked longtime Black and Brown voters: Why do you continue to vote?
Here’s what they said:
‘I came to this country that guaranteed freedom’
Name: Leonor Rosas
Age: 76
Occupation: Retired
Why do you continue to vote? “We cannot allow this freedom that the founding fathers created to be abolished by greed.”
What issues are important to you in this election? “The 2024 presidential election has a huge implication on our democracy. It will impact reproductive freedom. The 2025 Project, also known as The First 180 Days, calls for mass deportations, ending birthright citizenship. The plan calls for using federal law to target journalists as well as protesters. The plan, when implemented, will severely limit voting access. I lived under a dictatorship and left Colombia for this country that guaranteed freedom.”
‘That person has to come back to you and respond’
Name: Viola “Vi” Hawkins
Age: 84
Occupation: Retired
Why do you continue to vote? “I encourage people to look for someone that you’re going to put in there that you can communicate with and that he or she can meet your needs. That’s the important thing to voting. You don’t vote just to put it out there and say, ‘I vote’ – or whatever it is. That person has to come back to you and respond to your goodness of electing them as an official.”
What issues are important to you in this election? “Not so much an issue, but who’s going to get elected so we can at least have a little pipeline to say, ‘This needs to be here. This needs to be over here’ – instead of somebody just getting there and being totally about themselves and how much money they can make.”
‘It’s the duty of every American’
Name: Rickey Townsell
Age: 71
Occupation: Chair of the NAACP Milwaukee Branch political action committee, Army veteran with a 100% disability rating
Why do you continue to vote?
“Because it’s the duty of every American. I believe in Americanism. And as a Black man, even though we’ve been disenfranchised over the years and the rights that we do have have been legislated to us can be taken away at any time. Still, every war that this country has fought, from the French and Indian War to the current conflicts, Black Americans or Black men have participated in, so we’ve earned the right to call ourselves Americans. And if you’re going to be an American, you must do the American thing, and that’s to vote. Decide who will be making the decisions in your family and your livelihood. If you don’t vote, far as I’m concerned, it’s very un-American.”
What issues are important to you in this election?
“I’m focused on getting the rights. I’m focused on the rights of all Americans to make their own choices about how they want to live their lives, so long as they’re within the borders of the law, they’re not breaking the law. I don’t believe in big government. I believe the government has its place to protect and defend its citizens and to make sure injustices don’t occur. It’s not the government’s right to create those injustices. So, I’m voting this year to make sure that those injustices do not occur.”
‘I know how important it is’
Name: Rose Scott
Age: 84
Occupation: Retired
Why do you continue to vote? “My reason is being Black and growing up in the Jim Crow South. My first presidential election was 1960, and I don’t think I have missed one since then. … I’ve stood in many lines, you know, to get to vote. So I know how important it is. It’s like a sacred duty, a duty to vote.”
What issues are important to you in this election? “What specifically I’d like to push is the correctional system we have gotten. It is ridiculous – the way that our correctional system is organized and how inhumane it is.”
‘I have the ability to collectively bring positive change’
Name: Barbara Smith
Age: 57
Occupation: Retired; active Amani resident
Why do you continue to vote: “My voice and dedication has demonstrated that I have a great impact in my neighborhood and community. So, by me casting my vote on the ballot, I know I have the ability to collectively bring positive change that not only affects me today but also my grandchildren in the future. What affects one, affects us all, either intentionally or due to the ripple effect.”
What issues are important to you in this election: “Issues of concern for me: safe, stable and affordable housing. Putting programs with assistance money in place for our seniors to be able to age in place without fear of displacement. The opportunity to increase Black and Brown homeownership and retain it; safe streets and neighborhoods, especially for our seniors and children; economic development in our under-invested in neighborhoods, assuring that money and contracts are not only offered to but granted to the small businesses (women and Black-owned).
“In closing, it is important that residents do their research so that we are able to elect those who support our values and we must hold them accountable. Yes, the presidential election is upon us, but know that the local elections hold the weight and power we look for at the every four years election.”
‘People have died for this right’
Name: Paul Moga
Age: 53
Occupation: Coordinator for the Department of Black and Latino Male Achievement with Milwaukee Public Schools
Why do you continue to vote?: “Especially now, we see how important voting is – choosing sober and sane leadership is important. For me, as a Black man whose family came from the South, it’s incredibly important to utilize the franchise. It’s a cliche, but yeah, people have died for this right. And my mom made sure as soon as I turned 18, I went to vote, and I do the same with my own kids. It’s super important to have representation, especially now when freedoms are being taken away and stuff.”
What issues are important to you this election?:
“Obviously, education is important to me, and they haven’t been talking a lot about education either. For me, I would say health care is a huge one. The attempt to dismantle affordable care and all that, that’s a huge deal for me as I look toward retirement. And then obviously for me also, community policing is an important issue for me. Police need some more training. They need to be doing more DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) stuff instead of less.”
education. (Photo by PrincessSafiya Byers)
‘I believe we can make things work out for us’
Name: Rosie Stringer
Age: 72
Occupation: School teacher
Why do you continue to vote: “I vote because I was raised believing it was the only way to get where we need to be. My parents emphasized the importance of the work of people like Dr. Martin Luther King. So, I vote because I believe we can make things work out for us.”
What issues are important to you in this election: “The biggest issue for me is fighting. It seems like politics has become so polarizing. I just want to see things be right. It doesn’t matter who gets it done.”
‘I believe it’s my duty’
Name: Brenda Brown
Age: 67
Occupation: Clarence and Cleopatra Johnson Park Neighborhood Association chairperson
Why do you continue to vote: “I vote because I was born and raised in Milwaukee and taught by my mother the importance of voting. I remember her taking me with her to vote as a child. As an African American woman, I believe it’s my duty and commitment to vote because I experience the impact and positiveness of my vote.”
What issues are important to you in this election: “Homeownership and helping families qualify for down payment assistance is my biggest issue now. It’s my personal mission to help as many families as possible and uplift my community.”
‘The basics for survival are a struggle for far too many’
Name: Denise Washington
Age: 69
Occupation: Retired social worker
Why do you continue to vote?: “The past few elections have been challenging! I’m 69 years old and can count on one hand how many elections I didn’t vote in (local & national). I spent many years working with those affected by the outcome of policies. As the plight of youth (education), so-called lower-middle class (affordable housing and cost of living), seniors (food and meds) declines, they affect the quality of life. We are at the point where even the basics for survival are a struggle for far too many. Only having a two-party system seems to cause division instead of two ideologies.”
What issues are important to you this election?: “Homelessness, veterans (housing and mental health), police brutality and abortion rights.”
Election Watch 2024
Election 2024: What you need to know to vote in the Nov. 5 election
Young Black and Brown Milwaukeeans weigh in on the election
There’s an election coming up. Here’s what you need to know
Key Wisconsin election dates to keep in mind
For additional information about the election, including how to find your district, check out the Wisconsin Watch 2024 Voter Guide.
Meredith Melland, Devin Blake, PrincessSafiya Byers and Edgar Mendez contributed to this story.
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