Souls to the Polls Wisconsin, also known as Souls to the Polls Milwaukee or Pastors United Community Advocacy, is a left-of-center voter mobilization project aimed at providing rides to polling locations for African-American churchgoers in the Milwaukee area. The group is a project of Pastors United Community Advocacy, an advocacy group based in Milwaukee founded by Greg Lewis, a local pastor who also leads the Souls to the Polls project. The group is one of many “Souls to the Polls” events operated by or on behalf of African-American church organizations throughout the United States. ^{1 2 3}

Background

Souls to the Polls Wisconsin, also known as Souls to the Polls Milwaukee/MKE, was founded by Greg Lewis, a Milwaukee pastor who founded the the advocacy group Pastors United Community Advocacy in 2022, which states on its tax form that the group is “doing business as” Souls to the Polls. Pastors United also states that it operates programs regarding criminal justice advocacy, housing and development, and health care but does not elaborate on these programs and maintains no website outside of the Souls to the Polls website. The group generated $1.2 million in revenue in 2022, while reporting over $550,000 of unspecified consulting expenses. Lewis earned $112,000 in salary from the group in 2022. ⁴

Activity

Souls to the Polls states that its program aims to “educate, register and transport community residents to voting sites for future elections so that we can fulfill our vision of 100,000 souls to the polls” The group states that it has canvased more than 3,400 homes and conducted voter registration and media campaigns, ultimately claiming to provide “hundreds” of rides to the polls. ⁵

While officially nonpartisan, the group focuses on driving voter participation among African American residents in Milwaukee, a key voting bloc for Democrats in statewide and presidential elections due to Wisconsin’s status as a swing state. The group’s founder Greg Lewis explained that the group was aiming to help the Biden campaign, stating that “The last presidential election was won by 20,000 votes (in Wisconsin), and President Biden won…that Midtown early voting site, early voting site, there came 18,500 votes, early votes. The election was won by 20,000 votes. If we had not pushed and prodded people to go to the polls, that election could have been a lot different in Wisconsin.” ⁶

Feud with Wisconsin GOP

In 2024, Souls to the Polls called on Wisconsin Republican Party executive director Andrew Iverson over “Election Day 2020 text messages in which he asked about getting supporters of then-President Donald Trump to flood the Milwaukee voting rights group with requests to be taken to the polls.” Souls to the Polls and other left-of-center groups such as Black Leaders Organizing Communities (BLOC) alleged that the plan, which Iverson contended was a joke, resulted in voter suppression of black voters. ⁷

The state Republican Party responded by blaming Carlton Huffman, a former Trump campaign staffer who in 2023 was fired from a job in the North Carolina legislature for previous racist statements and later became an anti-Trump independent. The Wisconsin GOP’s communications staff alleged that “The real story here is Carlton Huffman, a known white supremacist, was caught lying to the press by spreading falsehoods about former colleagues.” ⁸

1. Dirr, Alison and Bice, Daniel. “Souls to the Polls calls for removal of Wisconsin GOP executive director over text messages.” Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. April 25, 2024. Accessed May 3, 2024. https://pbswisconsin.org/news-item/in-focus-with-rev-greg-lewis-the-power-of-the-black-church/
2. “About.” Souls to the Polls MKE. Accessed May 3, 2024. https://www.soulstothepollswi.org/about
3. Dirr, Alison and Bice, Daniel. “Souls to the Polls calls for removal of Wisconsin GOP executive director over text messages.” Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. April 25, 2024. Accessed May 3, 2024. https://pbswisconsin.org/news-item/in-focus-with-rev-greg-lewis-the-power-of-the-black-church/
4. Return of and Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). Pastors United Community Advocacy. 2022. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/900947280/202333199349319928/full
5. Return of and Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). Pastors United Community Advocacy. 2022. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/900947280/202333199349319928/full
6. Dirr, Alison and Bice, Daniel. “Souls to the Polls calls for removal of Wisconsin GOP executive director over text messages.” Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. April 25, 2024. Accessed May 3, 2024. https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/2024/04/25/souls-to-the-polls-seeks-firing-of-wisconsin-gop-executive-director/73453727007/
7. Dirr, Alison and Bice, Daniel. “Souls to the Polls calls for removal of Wisconsin GOP executive director over text messages.” Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. April 25, 2024. Accessed May 3, 2024. https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/2024/04/25/souls-to-the-polls-seeks-firing-of-wisconsin-gop-executive-director/73453727007/
8. Dirr, Alison and Bice, Daniel. “Souls to the Polls calls for removal of Wisconsin GOP executive director over text messages.” Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. April 25, 2024. Accessed May 3, 2024. https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/2024/04/25/souls-to-the-polls-seeks-firing-of-wisconsin-gop-executive-director/73453727007/