Mary Beth Whitzel-Bail is the city clerk in Madison, Wisconsin.

She has spent the last 15 years running elections in that city.

Here she is 11 years ago holding a mock election in 2011.

She was trying to figure out how much extra time voters would need to

cast their ballots in 2012 under the state's new voter ID law.

I'm Mayor Beth Witzel-Bale, Madison City Clerk, and today we're having a mock election in the City

County Building to time various scenarios with voter ID and figure out how to do the best practices for 2012 before we actually have an election.

Whitzel-Bail says she chose to do this work because she wanted to combat voting inequities in Madison. She encourages every new Wisconsin

election clerk who comes to her for training to similarly find their why.

Quote, they have to focus on why they are doing this work.

What it comes down to is making voting accessible to those who are eligible to vote.

That's why we keep showing up day after day.

Her why is more important now than ever because in 2020 Mary Beth contemplated not

showing up she almost quit that's because after election day 2020 Mary Beth

started to get death threats. They included online

discussions contemplating which weapons to use against her. At one point she

says people spoke about lynching her. Mary Beth received so many threats that year

that she began worrying about the safety of her election staff

and her family.

She screened visitors at the office

and she kept the blinds closed at home. But ultimately, she decided to stay on the job for another five years. So Mary Beth

Whitzel-Bail will be on the job this election day. Across this country staying in the job has not been easy for a lot of people.

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