Wisconsin Native Vote is a voter turnout initiative of Wisconsin Conservation Voices. The initiative has been active since 2011, and it was formed out of a partnership with the Bad River Band to oppose the development of an iron-ore mine near the Bad River Reservation in northern Wisconsin. 1 Wisconsin Native Vote interacts with voters both in-person and through social media. Wisconsin Conservation Voices committed to spending $80,000 on a digital advertising campaign for Wisconsin Native Vote during the 2020 election. 2
Although Wisconsin Native Vote claims it is nonpartisan, its leadership has connections to left-of-center environmentalist causes and Democratic politicians. Wisconsin Conservation Voices has publicly supported President Joe Biden’s multi-trillion-dollar American Jobs Plan. 3 The executive director of Wisconsin Conservation Voices, Kerry Schumann, also leads its lobbying and electoral advocacy arm, Wisconsin Conservation Voters. Wisconsin Conservation Voters lobbies the Wisconsin legislature on environmental issues. 4 Schumann is also the President of the Wisconsin Conservation Voters Independent Expenditure Committee, a PAC that donated to 59 Democrats campaigning for seats in the Wisconsin legislature in the 2020 election. The PAC also has received hundreds of thousands of dollars from left-of-center environmental organizations, including the League of Conservation Voters and the Green Advocacy Project. 5 6
Wisconsin Native Vote has often cited environmental issues, specifically opposition to mining, as a reason for Native Americans to vote. 7 8 The efforts of Wisconsin Native Vote have succeeded in electing anti-mining politicians to local offices across Wisconsin, in line with the left-of-center environmentalist agenda of Wisconsin Conservation Voters and the Wisconsin Conservation Voters Independent Expenditure Committee. 9
Founding and History
Wisconsin Native Vote began in 2011, formed out of a partnership between Wisconsin Conservation Voices and the Bad River Band, a tribe of the Chippewa Nation. 10 The partnership opposed the development of a new iron ore mine near the Bad River Reservation in northern Wisconsin. 11 Since 2011, Wisconsin Native Vote has worked to increase voter turnout among Native Americans in Wisconsin, notably around the Bad River Reservation. Wisconsin Native Vote staff often cited opposition to mining development as a reason for Native Americans to vote, and the organization has succeeded in electing anti-mining candidates in local elections across Wisconsin. 12
The organization has engaged with voters in person and over social media. In the 2018 election, Wisconsin Native Vote reported that staff knocked on over 4,000 doors on eight different reservations and reached over 80,000 people over Facebook. 13 In the 2020 election, Wisconsin Conservation Voices announced it would spend $80,000 on a digital advertising campaign for Wisconsin Native Vote. 14
Political Activism
Wisconsin Native Vote describes itself as “nonpartisan.” 15 However, the leadership of the program, and of Wisconsin Conservation Voices overall, has demonstrated clear Democratic and left-wing sympathies. Matthew Dannenberg was the field director for Wisconsin Conservation Voters, and he made media appearances and accepted awards on behalf of Wisconsin Native Vote. 16 17 After Dannenberg left the organization, he worked for the campaign of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. Dannenberg then transitioned to working in the Biden White House. 18 19 20
Denise Sweet, the First Nations Organizer for Wisconsin Conservation Voices, is a self-described “environmental activist.” 21
On its social media, Wisconsin Conservation Voices has supported President Joe Biden’s multi-trillion-dollar American Jobs Plan. 22
Kerry Schumann, the executive director of Wisconsin Conservation Voices, is also the executive director of Wisconsin Conservation Voters. Tax documents for Wisconsin Conservation Voices refer to Wisconsin Conservation Voters as “an unrelated 501(c)(4) organization.” However, Schumann received $92,425 in compensation in 2019 from Wisconsin Conservation Voters that was then reimbursed by Wisconsin Conservation Voices. 23 Wisconsin Conservation Voices and Wisconsin Conservation Voters also share an office and the two organizations’ logos are nearly identical. 24 25
Wisconsin Conservation Voters was formerly called the Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters. According to OpenSecrets.org, Wisconsin Conservation Voters received $1,289,500 dollars from the left-of-center environmentalist organization League of Conservation Voters. 26 Wisconsin Conservation Voters employs a lobbyist that lobbies the Wisconsin legislature on environmental issues. 27
Kerry Schumann is also the president of the Wisconsin Conservation Voters Independent Expenditure Committee. 28 This organization has been described as a “powerhouse PAC.” In the 2020 election, the PAC supported 59 democrats running for seats in the Wisconsin legislature. 29 The Wisconsin Conservation Voters Independent Expenditure Committee has received hundreds of thousands of dollars from left-of-center environmentalist organizations, including over $365,000 from the League of Conservation Voters and $247,000 from the Green Advocacy Project. 30
References
- “Wisconsin Native Vote.” Wisconsin Conservation Voices. Accessed April 30, 2021. https://www.conservationvoices.org/native-vote-history.
- “Wis. Conservation Voices, Wis. Native Vote: Digital ad campaign launched to engage Native American voters in Wisconsin.” WISPOLITICS.com. October 16, 2020. Accessed April 30, 2021. https://www.wispolitics.com/2020/conservation-voices-native-vote-digital-ad-campaign-launched-to-engage-native-american-voters-in-wisconsin/.
- “Wisconsin Conservation Voices” Twitter.com. April 30, 2021. Accessed April 30, 2021. https://twitter.com/WisConVoices/status/1388146624946262017.
- “Wisconsin Conservation Voters.” Eye on Lobbying: Wisconsin Ethics Commission. Accessed April 30, 2021. https://lobbying.wi.gov/Who/PrincipalInformation/2021REG/Information/8921?tab=Profile.
- League of Conservation Voters Inc Form 990. 2018. Accessed April 30, 2021. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/display_990/521733698/02_2020_prefixes_47-52%2F521733698_201812_990O_2020021017132830.
- “Wisconsin Conservation Voters Independent Expenditure Committee.” Transparency USA. Accessed April 30, 2021. https://www.transparencyusa.org/wi/pac/wisconsin-conservation-voters-independent-expenditure-committee-1100103-ind_expn_committee/donors.
- “Wisconsin Native Vote Boosts Native American Voter Turnout.” PBS Wisconsin. April 18, 2014. Accessed April 30, 2021. https://pbswisconsin.org/watch/here-and-now/here-and-now-wisconsin-native-vote-boosts-native-american-voter-turnout/.
- “About Wisconsin Native Vote.” Wisconsin Conservation Voices. Accessed April 30, 2021. https://www.conservationvoices.org/nativevote.
- “Wisconsin Native Vote Boosts Native American Voter Turnout.” PBS Wisconsin. April 18, 2014. Accessed April 30, 2021. https://pbswisconsin.org/watch/here-and-now/here-and-now-wisconsin-native-vote-boosts-native-american-voter-turnout/.
- “Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa.” Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. Accessed April 30, 2021. https://dpi.wi.gov/amind/tribalnationswi/badriver.
- “Wisconsin Native Vote.” Wisconsin Conservation Voices. Accessed April 30, 2021. https://www.conservationvoices.org/native-vote-history.
- “Wisconsin Native Vote Boosts Native American Voter Turnout.” PBS Wisconsin. April 18, 2014. Accessed April 30, 2021. https://pbswisconsin.org/watch/here-and-now/here-and-now-wisconsin-native-vote-boosts-native-american-voter-turnout/.
- Wisconsin Native Vote.” Wisconsin Conservation Voices. Accessed April 30, 2021. https://www.conservationvoices.org/native-vote-history.
- “Wis. Conservation Voices, Wis. Native Vote: Digital ad campaign launched to engage Native American voters in Wisconsin.” WISPOLITICS.com. October 16, 2020. Accessed April 30, 2021. https://www.wispolitics.com/2020/conservation-voices-native-vote-digital-ad-campaign-launched-to-engage-native-american-voters-in-wisconsin/.
- “Wisconsin Native Vote.” Wisconsin Conservation Voices. Accessed April 30, 2021. https://www.conservationvoices.org/native-vote-history.
- “Wisconsin Native Vote Boosts Native American Voter Turnout.” PBS Wisconsin. April 18, 2014. Accessed April 30, 2021. https://pbswisconsin.org/watch/here-and-now/here-and-now-kira-loehr-discusses-end-heating-moratorium/.
- “Native Vote 2018.” Issu.com. January 28, 2019. Accessed April 30, 2021. https://issuu.com/conservationvoters/docs/2018_native_vote_report.
- “Matthew Dannenberg.” LinkedIn.com. Accessed April 30, 2021. https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattdannenberg/.
- “Matt Dannenberg Heading to White House.” Sokaogon Chippewa Community. January 8, 2021. Accessed April 30, 2021. http://sokaogonchippewa.com/matt-dannenberg-heading-to-white-house/.
- Chappell, Robert. “Wisconsin to the White House: Matt Dannenberg brings Indigenous heritage, climate change experience to Biden Administration.” Madison 365. January 15, 2021. Accessed April 30, 2021. https://madison365.com/wisconsin-to-the-white-house-matt-dannenberg-bring-indigenous-heritage-climate-change-experience-to-biden-administration/.
- “Who We Are, What Is Ours: Getting Out the Vote in Native America.” League of Women Voters of Dane County. Accessed April 30, 2021. https://www.lwvdanecounty.org/forums/2020/3/4/who-we-are-what-is-ours-getting-out-the-vote-in-native-america.
- “Wisconsin Conservation Voices” Twitter.com. April 30, 2021. Accessed April 30, 2021. https://twitter.com/WisConVoices/status/1388146624946262017.
- Wisconsin Conservation Voices Inc Form 990. 2019. Accessed April 30, 2021. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/display_990/731628891/02_2021_prefixes_68-74%2F731628891_201912_990_2021022217739105.
- “Wisconsin Conservation Voices.” Wisconsin Conservation Voices. Accessed April 30, 2021. https://www.conservationvoices.org/.
- “Wisconsin Conservation Voters.” Wisconsin Conservation Voters. Accessed April 30, 2021. https://conservationvoters.org/.
- “Wisconsin league of conservation voters.” OpenSecrets.org. Accessed May 1, 2021. https://www.opensecrets.org/outside-spending/political-nonprofits/receipts?id=392018854
- “Wisconsin Conservation Voters.” Eye on Lobbying: Wisconsin Ethics Commission. Accessed April 30, 2021. https://lobbying.wi.gov/Who/PrincipalInformation/2021REG/Information/8921?tab=Profile.
- “Kerry Schumann.” LinkedIn.com. Accessed April 30, 2021. https://www.linkedin.com/in/kerry-schumann-71964a43/.
- “Wisconsin PAC Spotlight: Wisconsin Conservation Voters Independent Expenditure Committee.” Transparency USA. September 9, 2020. Accessed April 30, 2021. https://www.transparencyusa.org/article/wisconsin-pac-spotlight-wcviec?state=wi.
- “Wisconsin Conservation Voters Independent Expenditure Committee.” Transparency USA. Accessed April 30, 2021. https://www.transparencyusa.org/wi/pac/wisconsin-conservation-voters-independent-expenditure-committee-1100103-ind_expn_committee/donors.