MILWAUKEE — On the last day of in-person early voting in Wisconsin, NextGen America held a final push to the polls for Milwaukee’s LGBTQ+ community.
Held at This Is It, one of the city’s oldest LGBTQ bars, the event had food, a 360 photo booth and music to encourage voters to drop their ballots.
“This is honestly my very first time voting,” said participant, Kyle Hayes. He said it was important for him to make his voice heard this year
“Voting affects our community so if I’m not out here we might not have a space to do these things anymore,” Hayes told TMJ4. “So it’s important to protect my community at all costs.”
Matthew Grover, the regional organizing director for Next Gen America says that’s a big reason why they make sure to hold events like these.
“A lot is at stake this election and members of the LGBTQ+ community are acutely aware of what's at stake. So we're just excited to raise your voices and make sure that we're heard,” said Grover.
He also says events like this are geared towards providing easy access in what can be a confusing process.
“Next Gen and many of our other community partners have been doing some great work to demystify the voting process, connect people to the resources that they need, and make sure that they have the ability to cast your vote by planning ahead.”
And Saturday’s rain and winds didn’t stop them from walking to drop off their ballots.
“Actually, it’s kind of good that it’s raining because it shows just how important that we’re still out here doing this,” said Hayes. “Rain or shine, this is important.”
Election Day is this Tuesday, Nov. 8th.