INTERVIEW: Trump Won Wisconsin Thanks to Conservatives Adapting to Mail-In and Early Voting

Wisconsin provides an example of how Republicans can win through mail-in and early voting

Activists trained by the conservative group American Majority Action (AMA) closed the gap in mail-in and early in-person voting in Wisconsin, likely winning the state for Donald Trump and ensuring there would be no day-after surprises like in 2020.

The Left continues to push for expanded mail-in voting and early in-person voting, assuming this will increase Democrats’ chances of winning by vote harvesting from low-propensity voters. But the success of conservative early-vote activism proved Republicans can beat Democrats at the Left’s own game if they have to.

(READ MORE: America’s Worst Voting Irregularities Started With Oregon’s All-Mail Elections)

Democrats have long used mail-in voting to turn out likely, but unreliable, voters from Democratic-leaning demographics. This boosts turnout above what was achieved when elections were held traditionally with a short absentee voting period aimed only at overseas voters, shut-ins, and voters who plan to be out-of-state on Election Day. In recent elections, these tactics caught Republicans flat-footed who typically target mid-to-high propensity voters for Election Day. But with Wisconsin allowing no-excuse absentee voting, conservatives had to adapt.

In an exclusive interview with Restoration News, Matt Batzel, the executive director of AMA, said they helped change the way conservatives vote in Wisconsin. “We helped to change conservative voter behavior,” Batzel said via email. “We were able to win early in-person voting.”

A Marquette Law School poll, conducted from Oct. 16–24, found that among those who planned to vote early in-person, Donald Trump led Kamala Harris 52 percent to 47 percent. This cut deeply into Democrats’ typical pre-Election Day lead in Wisconsin.

A Case Study In One Wisconsin County

Washington County provides a notable example of the success of conservative early-vote activism. Batzel remarked that both the Washington County Clerk and County Executive are AMA-trained conservatives. This offers reassurances to skeptical conservative voters that their mail-in votes will count. Batzel noted that Washington County officials expanded voting opportunities by adding over 300 extra hours of in-person absentee voting time, which resulted in over 28,000 early ballots cast.

Although no county reached 2020’s level of absentee voting, Washington County was among the top 6 closest counties to their 2020 totals, and all 6 went heavily for Trump.

According to Batzel, AMA also targeted around 300,000–400,000 low to mid propensity-voting conservatives over the summer, encouraging them to request absentee ballots. Around 166,000 of those contacted requested a ballot, and 94.4 percent of them returned their ballots.

But conservative activists did not achieve this successful rate of return by hoping for the best. Through postcards, phone calls, door knocks, and peer to peer texts, AMA and likeminded organizations reminded voters who requested ballots to return them.

Batzel noted that in 2020, Biden held a 600,000-vote lead heading into Election Day; and, in 2022, Democratic Senate candidate Mandela Barnes led by over 300,000 votes. “In 2024, Kamala only led by 200K votes,” he said. “So, Trump was able to win.”

This is not hyperbole. Unlike most states, Wisconsin did not swing widely to the right this election. Trump only won it by 29,600 this year—a smaller margin than any state—making it the third presidential election in a row the state was decided by less than a percent. Many of the 154,000 mail-in voters AMA-trained activists recruited would likely have stayed home on Election Day, easily costing Trump Wisconsin.

Democrats continue to push for voting laws they think will rig the results in their favor. Their latest tactic is pretending to help historically disenfranchised voters. This allows leftist “charities” to spend tax-free donations to register and turn out Democratic constituents during expanded mail-in and early voting periods. AMA and likeminded organizations are showing that conservatives can do the same thing better and legally.

(READ MORE: Automatic Voter Registration Exists To Keep Democrats In Power, So Why Aren’t Republicans Fighting It?)