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On Election Day, West Allis voters eager to weigh in on abortion, ballot referendums

a woman walks into a brick building. there is an American flag and a sign that says VOTE HERE
Lina Tran
/
WUWM
A voter walks into the polling place at the West Allis library.

West Allis voters braved cold, rain and — for a short time — hail to get to the polls on Tuesday.

The library saw a steady stream of voters around lunchtime. For many of them, abortion was top of mind. The state Supreme Court race is expected to decide the future of abortion in the state.

Retiree Theresa Conner, who aligns herself with the Republican party, wants to see the abortion ban held in place, but with exceptions added for rape and incest, as well as health protections for the pregnant person.

“Otherwise, it’s just not right,” she said. “Even with my religious convictions, I don’t think God would demand that a mother have to carry.”

David Paider wants to see the ban revoked. He works for Planned Parenthood, as a facilities manager.

“It’s been hard, especially back in June, explaining to patients that they can’t get care here anymore,” he said. “Definitely looking to overturn the 1849 abortion ban and hopefully return access to folks who need it.”

Paider took the lunch hour to vote with his wife, Kathy Paider, a product developer. She says the abortion ban has opened the doors to attacks on women and trans rights.

“We are an LGBTQ family also,” she said. “Just seeing all of the things that have been falling since Roe v. Wade was overturned is terrifying to me.”

Voters also weighed in on the ballot referendums, seeing the bail questions as a matter of public safety.

Felisha, a Black woman in her 40s, declined to share her last name. She voted yes on the first two questions, which would write stricter bail measures into state law.

“Because some people are being released with a low bail amount and committing more crimes, which is terrible,” she said.

Greg Lemmermann, a special education teacher with Milwaukee Public Schools, answered no to both of the bail-related questions.

“It’s not going to work,” Lemmermann said. “All it’s going to do is push people of color and people who are already incarcerated at higher rates into worse situations.”

The race saw record-breaking spending on ads, but many voters at the library didn’t seem to be swayed by them.

“I feel like 90% of people are already decided, and [the ads] just cause people to hate their own candidate,” Lemmermann said. “Like hating the smear campaigns, which is just trash.”

For voters with deeply held convictions on abortion, no attack ad changed their mind.

Lina was a reporter with WUWM from 2022 to 2024.
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