Happy Thursday! Here is your Weekly Update from the League of Women Voters Milwaukee County (LWVMC). Something for everyone! | WI Supreme Court Election Resources | |
Supreme Court Election Matters- Madison Civics club event
Jan 28, 2023 - 10:00am to 11:15am- Virtual Event
The Madison Civics Club has invited the LWVWI's Executive Director to join a panel of guest speakers on Saturday, January 28, at 10:00am for a Madison Civics Club Zoom Webinar on the importance of the race for Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice.
We’ll learn about the issues affecting our rights and democracy that will be likely be decided by the state’s highest court in 2023, and why your vote matters. Join the conversation with us at 10:00 am CST.
Speakers include:
- Debra Cronmiller, League of Women Voters WI Executive Director
- Janine Geske, Marquette University Law Professor and Retired Supreme Court Justice
- Howard Schweber, UW-Madison Political Science Professor and affiliate faculty member of the UW-Madison Law School and Legal Studies Program
| Wisconsin Courts Matter: Wisconsin 2023 Elections
Via Zoom: Thursday, February 9th from 6:30-7:45 pm
Join the Disability Vote Coalition on Zoom to hear from a panel of experts about why Wisconsin Courts matter. On February 21 and April 4, Wisconsin voters will decide who serves on our courts, including an open Wisconsin Supreme Court seat. The winning Supreme Court candidate will be appointed for a ten-year term. Depending on where you live, you may also vote for Court of Appeals or Circuit Court. State courts make decisions that affect our rights and liberties. They address issues like voting rights, education, mental health, access to healthcare, employment rights, guardianships, and more.
Click here to register for the Zoom event.
Justice Janine P. Geske, former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice
Monica Murphy, Civil Rights Attorney
Martha Chambers, disability rights advocate
Click here to read their bios.
| Understanding Wisconsin's Supreme Court Election
February 17, 2023 at 2:30-3:30 pm via Zoom
The State Democracy Research Initiative (SDRI) and the Elections Research Center at University of Wisconsin–Madison invite you to attend a panel on state judicial elections from 2:30-3:30 pm on Feb. 17, at the University of Wisconsin Law School or via Zoom. The February primary and April general election for the open Wisconsin Supreme Court seat have high stakes, potentially affecting the Court's decisions on a wide range of important issues. But why are Wisconsin judges and justices elected in the first place? What advantages and disadvantages are associated with judicial elections? How do judicial campaigns compare to campaigns for other state offices? Our panelists, Professor Miriam Seifter (UW Law School, SDRI faculty co-director), Professor Barry Burden (UW Political Science, Elections Research Center director) and Professor Jane Schacter (Stanford Law School), will aim to situate this election in broader context. The panel will be moderated by Professor Robert Yablon (UW Law School, SDRI faculty co-director).
| | |  | | As we enter the new year, it is time to begin the process to identify a slate of LWVMC officers for the 2023-2024 fiscal year (starts July 1, 2023). We will be nominating up to five members to fill positions on the Board and three members for the 2023 Nominating Committee.
The Nominating Committee will be encouraging wider participation in the nomination process than in past years. To accomplish that, we will be developing a Nomination Form to use for self-nominations or to nominate another member. If nominating another member, it is important to ask their permission before submitting a nomination.
Serving in a position on the Board of Directors is a privilege and an opportunity. It is about learning how the League operates behind the scenes as well as becoming acquainted with some amazing members.
Watch for additional information in the Weekly Updates delivered to your email on Thursdays. If you have questions or would like to discuss the Board of Directors positions, you can contact any of the Nominating Committee members.
|  | VOTE411.org Spring Online Voter Guide
Publishing on January 30
The primary election is on February 21. There are State and local races on the ballot. One of the State races is the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
The Wisconsin Supreme Court is the state’s highest court. It is responsible for determining if laws violate the Wisconsin Constitution. It also establishes and enforces rules and codes of conduct for Wisconsin attorneys, judges and the justices themselves. The court is located in Madison.
The court is made up of seven justices who serve 10-year terms. One of those seats is up for election. There are four candidates running for the seat. The two candidates who receive the most votes in the primary election will advance to the Spring Election on April 4.
Why does this matter? The Wisconsin Supreme Court makes decisions that affect us all! Their rulings can decide: voting rights, reproductive rights, economic development, educational policy and more. While the justices serve 10-year terms, the impact of their decisions can last for even longer. |  |
Primary Election February 21, 2023!
There are very important primary elections coming up which will determine who will be on the ballot for the April General Elections.
Primaries include:
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State Supreme Court Judge,
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Special Election for Senate District 8.
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City of Milwaukee Alder Districts 1, 5. 9
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Elmbrook School Board Member At-Large
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Oak Creek City Alderman District 1
Below you can link to a calendar in both English and Spanish that outlines the important dates for the February primary election and lists the candidates for each of the primary races noted above.
2023 February Primary Calendar and Contested Races
2023 Bilingual February Primary Calendar and Contested Races
We have gathered resources that you/your organization or your constituents might find useful. Of these resources the first five fliers provide information about the various levels of the Courts and the importance of the upcoming judicial elections. Click link below.
LWVMC Resources 2023 Elections
Please contact Voter Services chair Peg Schrader at p.schrader@lwvmilwaukee.org if you have any questions or requests for printed materials. |  | | Prepare yourself to help people register to vote! Learn how to register people to vote using MyVote.wi.gov. Learn what is acceptable photo ID for voting in Wisconsin and how to acquire it.
Registration required.
Thursday March 9th | 6pm-7:30pm
Escuela Verde's Newline Community Cafe
3618 W Pierce St, Milwaukee, WI 53215
Questions regarding this announcement? Please email e.aelion@lwvmilwaukee.org.
Register here: My Vote Training Sign Up |  | "Adopt a Library" Volunteers Wanted
The Library Outreach Committee is looking for volunteers to build community relations with the Milwaukee Public Library. Join us as we develop a new "Adopt a Library" program and become a library liaison to provide voter registration, voter education, and LWVMC resource opportunities at the Milwaukee Public Library.
Contact Heather Lesko:
h.lesko@lwvmilwaukee.org. | Time to Gear Up Again for Voter Registration at the DMV!
The DMV Mill Road was a strong site for us for voter registrations last fall with 54 in six weeks. The days and times are Monday, Wednesday or Friday from 11:00-1:30pm. If you haven’t been at this location before you’ll have the support you need to be comfortable…and successful. This is a great opportunity to talk with potential voters, inform people about the importance of the positions on the Spring ballot and, of course, register them to vote! Questions? Email Ellen Trytek at e.trytek@lwvmilwaukee.org
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State Constitution: Are Changes Necessary?
View the Panel Discussion
Four proposed amendments to the WI Constitution, which are opposed by the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin, are likely to be on the ballot this spring. Our panelists discuss the implication of changes to how bail is granted, voter eligibility, election administration, and the authority of the governor. With Dustin Brown, Senior Staff Attorney, State Democracy Research Initiative at University of Wisconsin Law School; Jerome Dillard, Executive Director, Co-Founder of EXPO; and Jeff Mandell, Founder, President, Lead Counsel at Law Forward. Sponsored by The League of Women Voters of Dane County and the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin.
Watch here | Resources here |  | Milwaukee County’s
Climate Action 2050 Plan Survey
You are invited to participate in the development of Milwaukee County’s Climate Action 2050 Plan (CA50). The plan will describe how County government will achieve net zero carbon emissions in its operations while advancing equity, justice, & community resilience.
To take this survey in Spanish (Español), please CLICK HERE
To take this survey in Hmong, please CLICK HERE
The goal of this survey is to learn more about your experiences with and concerns about climate change. This will inform Milwaukee County’s development of an equitable and effective climate action plan that reflects community needs and priorities. Participation in this survey is voluntary, and your responses will be kept anonymous. |  |  |
RENAISSANCE THEATERWORKS PRESENTS COST OF LIVING
Renaissance Theaterworks
255 S. Water Street
Now through February 12, 2023
More information and tickets here.
Winner of the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, this achingly human and surprisingly funny play is about the forces that bring people together, the realities of facing the world with disabilities and how deeply we all need each other.
Unemployed truck driver Eddie is struggling to rebuild a relationship with his estranged wife, Ani, and Jess is trying to navigate the day to day with John, her new boss in a job she really needs. People are hard.
['Cost of Living'] slams the door on uplifting stereotypes… Tremendous emotion flows around the impediments [Playwright] Majok has placed in the characters’ paths… In both of [the play’s] stories… the biggest handicaps are the universal ones: fear and disconnection… Immensely haunting…[Majok] is exquisitely attuned to the many varieties of alienation hiding in plain sight in America.” -- New York Times
|  | | Enjoy film screenings, conversations, and events celebrating Black heritage, traditions, and culture throughout February at the Milwaukee Film Festival. Download the full program guide here.
NO Studios Presents Critical Content Interview Series with Award-winning Documentary Filmmakers
In this series, Director John Ridley interviews David Siev, Director of Bad Axe; Matthew Heineman, Director of Retrograde; and Shaunak Sen, Director of All That Breathes.
BAD AXE captures a closely knit Asian American family living in a rural Michigan community as they now fight to keep their American dream alive. As owners of a local prominent restaurant, they reckon with a global pandemic, racial tensions, and generational scars from Cambodia’s killing fields. Watch the interview here.
RETROGRADE captures the final nine months of America’s 20-year war in Afghanistan from multiple perspectives: one of the last U.S. Special Forces units deployed there, a young Afghan general and his corps fighting to defend their homeland against all odds, and the civilians desperately attempting to flee as the country collapses and the Taliban take over. Watch the interview here.
In ALL THAT BREATHES, two brothers — Nadeem and Saud — devote their lives to the quixotic effort of protecting the black kite, a majestic bird of prey essential to the ecosystem of New Delhi that has been falling from the sky at alarming rates. Amid environmental toxicity and social unrest, the ‘kite brothers’ spend day and night caring for the creatures in their makeshift avian basement hospital. Director Shaunak Sen (Cities of Sleep) explores the connection between the kites and the Muslim brothers who help them return to the skies, offering a mesmerizing chronicle of inter-species coexistence. Watch the interview here. | January Is National
Human Trafficking Prevention Month
Human trafficking — whether in the form of forced labor, sex trafficking, or other offenses — is an abhorrent abuse of power and a profoundly immoral crime that strikes at the safety, health, and dignity of millions of people worldwide. During National Human Trafficking Prevention Month, we reaffirm our commitment to protect and empower survivors of all forms of human trafficking, to prosecute traffickers, and to bring an end to human trafficking in the United States and around the world. Find out more HERE, and how you can fight human trafficking HERE. | Support Democracy. Support your League.
Your support is critical to help our nonpartisan grassroots organization reach voters play a critical role in democracy. It would not be possible to empower voters and defend democracy without your support. Thank you.
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