Combating distrust, Wisconsin Elections Commission makes ‘Elections 101’ videos for teens
As Wisconsin state lawmakers have sought to decertify 2020 election results and sow doubt in the elections process, the Wisconsin Elections Commission is looking to clear some things up.
With a series of four “Elections 101” videos made for high school students but also promoted to the general public, Commission Administrator Meagan Wolfe said she wants to help residents understand who runs elections and how they do it.
“We know people are really hungry for that information," Wolfe said. "We wanted to make sure we have lively, energetic content that helps them understand exactly how elections work.”
Hoping teachers will play the videos for their students, the commission worked with the state Department of Public Instruction to offer lesson plans that accompany the videos.
The videos, about five to seven minutes each, cover subjects like who election officials are, how to register to vote, how officials keep voting information secure, and a walkthrough of how to vote in person.
The lesson plans cover valid forms of voter identification, ways to register to vote, questions about who should be allowed to vote, and how to serve as a poll worker.
Students in Wisconsin are allowed to serve as poll workers before they are allowed to vote. To qualify as a poll worker, minors must be 16 or 17, have at least a 3.0 grade-point average, and have written permission from a guardian.
In focus groups of high school students who helped shape the lessons, WEC communications specialist John Smalley said there was a clear need for "baseline" information on how elections function.
"It was not that surprising that there wasn't a great baseline of knowledge there, so we felt like we could go forward with a pretty baseline level of how the elections process works," Smalley said.
Additionally, Wolfe said, the videos are meant to explain how officials keep elections secure and accurate.
"The other piece of it is what you need to know to draw your own conclusion about if the elections are secure and make sure that people have information so they can have confidence in the election process and understand how we secure elections," she said.
In August, the commission asked lawmakers for funding for a new office within the agency aimed at responding to misinformation, complaints and requests for records that have skyrocketed since former President Donald Trump began spreading false claims about Wisconsin's elections.
"It's based on this new climate, this new environment where people are asking and demanding more of election officials, and we want to be able to meet that need," Wolfe said.
Wolfe said the "higher level of engagement" is in some ways positive, as more people are seeking information on the election process. She hopes the videos help with that.
"I think that people having that basic understanding of election administration will help them be able to weed out misinformation about the election process," she said. "We want to try to make sure we're creating that base level of understanding for people so that when they hear these rumors or inaccuracies about the election process, they're less likely to fall for it."
Watch the 'Elections 101' videos
The "Elections 101" videos can be found at elections.wi.gov/101.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin Elections Commission makes ‘Elections 101’ videos for teens
