Trust & the Vote (2024-25)
Story Cart: Trust & the Vote documented exchanges that reflect Milwaukee County’s collective hopes, doubts, and ideas for transforming democracy.
With an historic U.S. presidential election on the horizon, C21 interviewed over 60 people in Milwaukee County about their relative trust or distrust in the U.S. voting system. Between April 2 and October 1, 2024, Story Cart fellows conducted 24 site visits across 16 unique locations, engaging 15 campus and community partners. 95 interviews were conducted in total. Story facilitators connected with a wide range of communities through the Center’s mobile Story Cart to understand how people across diverse backgrounds experienced civic engagement.
Story Cart: Trust and the Vote was also made possible by a grant from the Greater Milwaukee Foundation.
Stories About Trust & the Vote
Story facilitators invited people to share where they fell on a sliding scale, from 0-10, between distrust and trust of the U.S. voting system.
Most stories fell on the side of trust, as many of the contributors either volunteered as poll workers or observed their family, friends, and neighbors working behind-the-scenes at polling locations on election day. For many contributors, trust in their community meant trust in the voting system.
On the other side of the scale, many people expressed distrust the voting system because they felt overlooked and unheard. Some interviews unpack the perceived unfairness of the electoral college versus the popular vote, while others discuss accessibility barriers to voting in the United States.
Select stories can be streamed via the player below.
Coming Soon: The complete Trust & the Vote story archive!
Teach a Kid to Vote
With collaboration from Peck School of the Art’s design instructors and students, as well as UWM’s Children’s Learning Center, C21 integrated issues of civic engagement into the classroom to address voting as a lifelong form of civic practice and self-expression. Young children from the learning center explored the process of voting, while university students and instructors illustrated that process from the children’s point of view.
At the Story Cart, adults were asked to visualize a group of children, then teach them how to vote. If those adult interview subjects explained the voting process effectively, they were rewarded with a sticker emblazoned with the words “I Taught a Kid to Vote.” If their explanations were ineffective or incomplete, they were given a guide to voting in Wisconsin, illustrated and authored by kids at UWM’s Children’s Learning Center.
Alongside other Wisconsin residents, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, Wisconsin Superintendent of Public Instruction Jill Underly, and Mayor Caviler Johnson took on, and won, the challenge of teaching a kid to vote. Senator Tammy Baldwin offered a letter in lieu of a live visit to the Story Cart.