2024 WISCONSIN In-Person Get Out the Vote Retreats (Milwaukee and Oconomowoc) - Engaged Buddhist Election Retreats

Wisconsin was won by Joe Biden in 2020 by a margin of only 20,000 votes, and it promises to be another critical swing state this year. It is essential that we do our utmost to encourage like-minded people to vote. Some of us walked precincts in the Spring of 2023 to help Janet Protasiewicz win a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, which put an end to 14 years of Republican domination and almost immediately remedied the gerrymandering that had so warped Wisconsin’s elections. And recent trends have also been promising, especially the huge turnouts whenever the issue of reproductive choice is on the ballot.

We’ll be conducting residential Get-Out-the-Vote retreats in two locations: in Milwaukee and in Oconomowoc, a town in Waukesha County halfway between Milwaukee and Madison. Especially in Oconomowoc we can augment the efforts of local Democratic volunteers by knocking on doors that might not have been knocked in prior elections. (As they say of us excitedly in Carson City: “The Buddhists are coming!”)

To register, please fill out the form below, and be sure to click the red “Register” button at the bottom of the page!

Schedule

For the Milwaukee location, the retreat will run from Saturday, October 19, through Election Day, November 5th. The Oconomowoc retreat will begin a week later, on Saturday October 26, and also end on Election Day.

For both locations daily schedule will include two periods of meditation, a dharma talk and a shared breakfast in the morning; precinct walking in the afternoon; and dinner and a closing period of meditation in the evening.

Housing

The Milwaukee retreat will be a hybrid form: housing will be provided at the homes of friends and supporters in and around the Riverwest neighborhood. Dharma activities will take place at a nearby Buddhist temple, while political activities will occur at the home of a friend who lives nearby.

The Oconomowoc retreat will be held at the home or our dharma sister Anne Johnson, a beautiful, four-bedroom house on the shore of Lac La Belle, with five bathrooms and two living rooms, (plus a big yard if you want to bring your tent to sleep outdoors). All dharma and political activities will take place in Anne’s home.

Transportation. For participants coming from outside Wisconsin, you can fly into Madison, Milwaukee, or Chicago, and then make your way by train or rental car to your preferred site. We can also help with pickup and dropoff. Many local participants will make the drive from Madison or other locations, and will use their autos for the canvassing work. Let us know if you need a ride and we’ll put you in touch with other people with cars.

Precinct Walking. We will be getting out the vote for the Democratic candidates by knocking on the doors of Democratic voters and independent voters who may lean Democratic. We’ll track our interactions with voters using a phone-based app called miniVAN.

Food. Breakfast, dinner and bag lunch will be prepared by experienced Zen cooks. All food will be vegetarian; please indicate on the registration form if you have any special dietary needs, for example if you are vegan or if you have food allergies. We ask that you make a donation of $35 per day for food and supplies. (A few partial scholarships may be available.)

Work Positions. We are looking for volunteers to take positions such as cook, zendo manager, treasurer/administrator, and political liaison — all critical positions to help make these retreats a success. On your registration form please let us know what you can do to help.