WISCONSIN RAPIDS, Wis. — A former Miss Wisconsin is using her passion for voting to help hundreds of citizens navigate the voter identification laws across the country.
Wisconsin Rapids native Molly McGrath began promoting voting in her home state more than 10 years ago. Now, she's the national campaign coordinator at nonpartisan, nonprofit organization VoteRiders, which focuses on helping voters understand the voter ID laws, Daily Tribune Media (http://wrtnews.co/2dQ1vhG) reported.
"(In 2004,) I was talking about voting and how great and easy it was to vote in Wisconsin," McGrath said. "I always knew I would come back to Wisconsin and work with voting. It was always my passion. I never thought that I'd come back to Wisconsin and work in a way to fight restrictive laws. I thought it would be much more progressive and voting would be easier. Instead, we're helping people with laws that are making (voting) harder."
The organization's efforts persuaded a federal judge to order an investigation to learn whether Wisconsin's Division of Motor Vehicles is abiding by the law when it comes to giving voters the IDs necessary to vote.
"Part of my job is to make sure they're excited," McGrath said. "If I'm doing my job well, they're not discouraged. It's not as easy as the government is claiming; you do need volunteers and nonprofits to help, but people are determined to vote. People are really energized for this election. The last thing we want is for the voter ID law to keep anyone from the polls."
McGrath won Miss Madison in 2004 and went on to be Miss Wisconsin. Under the title, she promoted voting in 150 schools across the state.
http://www.startribune.com/former-miss-wisconsin-continues-fighting-for-voter-rights/397233551/