Happy Thursday! Here is your Weekly Update from the League of Women Voters Milwaukee County (LWVMC). Something for everyone! |  |  |
Wisconsin Supreme Court Election April 4th
Consider these issues as you consider who you want to represent you on the Wisconsin State Supreme Court.
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Courts uphold our freedoms.
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The Wisconsin Supreme Court has significant power and the people choose the justices who hold that power.
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The court hears roughly 60 cases each year and the seven justices on the court decide the policies that impact the freedoms we have as Wisconsinites. The justices who make up the Wisconsin Supreme Court have split ideologies, which means court decisions are often decided by just one vote.
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On April 4, the power is in the hands of the people – Wisconsinites will vote to choose who will be the next justice on the Supreme Court.
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In the past, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled on cases about voting maps, ballot drop boxes, COVID-19 emergency orders, the governor’s veto power and environmental protections.
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Future cases that will likely come before the court include the legality of the criminal abortion ban, the make-up of voting maps, election rules, environmental protections, LGBTQ+ rights, gun issues, and more.
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This election has long-term implications.
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The Supreme Court will likely take cases in the near future that have to do with voting rights, fair voting maps, abortion, climate regulations, and more. The decisions the justices make will have impacts on our state for generations.
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Wisconsin Supreme Court justices serve for 10 years. Their decisions will impact our children, and our children's children.
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Laws should serve our communities.
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Wisconsinites of every background can agree that our state courts should focus on delivering equal justice that ensures we all have the freedom to live safely and take care of our families.
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This April, we can come together to elect a justice who will uphold laws that ensure everyone’s voice is heard.
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The court should be nonpartisan and maintain our system of checks and balances.
|  | Your Civic Superpower:
Why Citizen Engagement Matters
As part of our participation in the International Women’s Day (March 8) celebration and events honoring Women’s History Month, LWVMC is presenting a free public virtual presentation on civic engagement. Voting is critically important -- but so is civic engagement between elections. If you're passionate about a public policy issue, here's a quick overview of how to advocate effectively to make your voice heard.
Wednesday, March 15, zoom
Presentation: 7:00 - 7:30 p.m. followed by Q&A
Presenters:
Peggy Creer, president of the League of Women Voters of Milwaukee County
Barbara Notestein, a former WI state lawmaker, having served in the Wisconsin State Assembly for 14 years. She has been Executive Director of Safe and Sound, and earlier the ED of the Hunger Task Force of Milwaukee.
REGISTER HERE |
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 |  |  | Prepare yourself to help people register to vote!
Last Chance- tonight!
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
Questions regarding this announcement? Please email e.aelion@lwvmilwaukee.org .
Register here: My Vote Training Sign Up |  |  |
Early Voting Schedule for the 2023 Spring & Special Election
Tuesday, March 21 - Saturday, April 1
(Voter Registration, including address changes, ends on Friday, March 31, at all locations)
Midtown Shopping Center, 5740 W Capitol Dr
Zeidler Municipal Building, 841 N Broadway
Zablocki Library, 3501 W Oklahoma Ave
Additional Locations
Tuesday, March 21 - Saturday, April 1
Good Hope Library, 7715 W Good Hope Rd
Mitchell Street Library, 906 W Historic Mitchell St
Villard Square Library, 5190 N 35th St
Washington Park Library, 2121 N Sherman Blvd.
Not in the City of Milwaukee? To find out about early voting in your city go to
My Municipal Clerk and call or email them.
|  | Voter Guide on Vote411.org will publish on March 14
The Spring 2023 Voter Guide will be your resource for the election on April 4 which will include races for state-wide and local offices. Voters in the 14th supervisory district of the County Board of Supervisors in Milwaukee will have a primary election on April 4 with a special election on May 2 to fill a vacancy for County Supervisor.
Your VOTE411 Team has invited candidates to participate in the Spring 2023 Voter Guide at VOTE411.org. Candidates participate by entering their campaign information and answering the League’s questions. All candidate responses to our questions come directly from the candidates and are unedited by the League of Women Voters. The League does not support or oppose any candidates or parties.
Voters want to know candidate qualifications and positions on issues important to the office they are seeking. To be informed about the candidates on our ballot, we must hear from the candidates themselves. We have heard some eligible voters say they don’t vote because they don’t know the candidate's positions on issues. | If you have this sign, now's the time to show it! | | | Still Need League Volunteers for Milwaukee Public School Voter Registration!
Still looking for more volunteers to fill high school registration slots for MPS for the next week! LWVMC members who would like to participate in the high school events should access the training materials at the link below. If you sign up on the Google form at the end of the training, your name will be placed on the high school volunteer list. New volunteers will be paired with experienced volunteers.
Click this link if you are interested
If you have any questions about this please contact p.schrader@lwvmilwaukee.org.
| Combat Dis- and Mis-information & Promote Accurate Election Information |  | | Social Media Monitoring Program (through LWVWI): Help the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin monitor election-related social media content. LWVWI is seeking volunteers to be trained as social media monitors to help stop the spread of misinformation. Register HERE for training. We can only combat dangerous misinformation if we know it is out there.
To report something you think may be mis- or dis-information, CLICK HERE or send an email to Delany Zimmer from LWVWI at dzimmer@lwvwi.org.
Here are some additional misinformation resources:
League of Women Voters Misinformation Guide
Countering Mis/Disinformation Guide
Wisconsin Watch Fact Check Tipline
Social Media Amplifier Program (through Fair Maps WI): The purpose of this amplification group is to share posts, graphics and information on the social media platforms you use (like Facebook) and with your friends to help educate and inform a broad swath of Wisconsin residents regarding the issues impacted by gerrymandered maps. These posts are being created by various organizations, including members of the Fair Maps Coalition Lead Team and the Wisconsin Voting Rights Coalition. They are meant to lift up pro-democracy messages and combat mis- and dis-information. That said, it is important that we not respond to mis- and dis-information in a way that elevates their messages.
Please sign up using this link: Be a Grassroots Social Media Amplifier
|  | Upcoming Candidate Forum Volunteer Opportunities
Volunteers needed to fill a variety of roles at upcoming candidate forums which will be facilitated by LWVMC. Each event needs volunteers to serve as greeters, timers, question sorters, and moderators. To Volunteer, do so HERE
March 13 5:30p-7:30p - Merton School Board
Our Savior’s Evangelical Lutheran Church
W299 N5782 County Rd. E, Hartland, WI 53029
March 30 (Thurs) 5:30 PM – 7:30 PM - Greendale School Board
Greendale Historic Hose Tower
5699 Parking St, Greendale, WI 53129
Any questions regarding this specifically, contact Julie: j.bowles@lwvmilwaukee.org |  | League Cafe Book Club
March 24 at 9:30 a.m.
Remote
Join the League Cafe Book Club for a discussion of The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times by Michelle Obama. Join here. The book is widely available in the Milwaukee Public Library System and is also available with a 20% discount at Boswell Book Company.
“Miraculously, these self-help bromides don’t come across as cloying, mainly because Obama is so disarmingly honest about her fears, failures and all-too-human flaws. . . . You can’t argue with the hard-fought wisdom of such an accomplished woman.”—The Guardian
League Cafe meets monthly and welcomes League members old and new, as well as community members. In a small-group setting, we get to know each other better, share knowledge and have interesting conversations. In rotating months, we meet as a general discussion group, and in opposite months, convene as a book club to discuss noteworthy books on racial equity, immigration and/or voting.
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UPDATE on the City of Milwaukee Climate and Economic Equity Plan.
The Milwaukee County League has again expressed support for the City-County Climate and Economic Equity Plan, most recently at the City of Milwaukee’s February 22nd virtual webinar sponsored by the City’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Task Force. The ARPA Task Force has received comments from community members about where those dollars, specifically $92.7m, should be allocated and spent by the 2026 deadline.
Our statement supported an appropriation to the City’s Environmental Collaboration (ECO) Office since is it poised to work with other City departments and community stakeholders. We asserted the ECO Office deserves an “allocation of ARPA funds commensurate with the challenge of meeting the Plan’s climate and equity goals so that all in our community thrive.” The two overarching goals of the Plan are:
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Reduce community-wide net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 45% by the year 2030 and achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 or sooner.
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Reduce racial and income inequality by assuring that greenhouse gas reduction investments and policies will create the maximum number of permanent living wage green jobs for people who live in the most impoverished Milwaukee neighborhoods with limited economic opportunity.
To Prepare to advocate for the Plan, PLEASE read the Executive Summary of the latest Plan draft HERE Many League positions support the Plan. We will monitor the Plan as it moves forward and will solicit your timely support as it is considered by the City Plan Commission and appropriate Committees - and, if recommended, by the Common Council. |  |  |
Women's History Month: The 1913 Suffrage Parade
From PBS’ “American Experience”: In March of 1913, thousands of women from all over the country descended on Washington, D.C. to make their great demand. The parade began without incident, but after the first few blocks the crowd of 100,000 men surrounding the marchers turned violent. The hostile mob insulted, tripped, shoved and grabbed the women, who were forced at times to walk single-file through a gauntlet.
The women’s defiant advocacy, despite physical violence and verbal abuse, revived the crusade for a federal suffrage amendment and established a tradition of highly visible public protest in the nation’s capital. Milwaukee PBS Learn how the day suffragists paraded down Pennsylvania Avenue was a turning point in the movement in this video.
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Abstract Portraiture and Feminism Workshop
March 11th, 12:00p noon
Sarah Ball Allis Art Museum
1801 N. Prospect Avenue
Milwaukee, WI, 53202Cost: $25
Register here.
Join artist Melissa Dorn at the Sarah Ball Allis Art Museum for a workshop. Make work using paint and craft materials that plays with abstraction while communicating the ideals of feminism and equality. Your subjects will be women we would like to honor with our time and attention. Images to work from will be provided or feel free to bring an image with you. No experience needed.
| Censor, Cancel, Condemn: On the front lines of the book ban wars |  | |
Thursday, March 30, 7:00 p.m.
Jewish Museum Milwaukee
1360 N Prospect Avenue
Museum Members $8 | Nonmembers $15
Register here.
Join Jewish Museum Milwaukee for a panel discussion that offers insights about a new wave of censorship emerging in school districts and libraries across the country.
Book bans and educational gag orders have made their way from online discussion boards to state-wide legislation. The targets of these censorship efforts often include representations of disenfranchised groups or aspects of U.S. history deemed to be ‘un-American’.
The panel includes individuals from the Milwaukee area who have direct experience with these renewed efforts to silence diverse voices in our communities. Through their perspectives, we’ll garner a greater picture of what is at stake in this moment. Panelists include: Vince Tripi III, Director of Education & Outreach, Milwaukee Pride; Ron Kuramoto, President of the Japanese American Citizens League-Wisconsin Chapter; and Paula Phillips, Director – Equity Operations, Milwaukee County Office of Equity. |
Free Screening: “Stranger at the Gate” March 17
The Milwaukee Muslim Women’s Coalition will be working with Milwaukee Film to present a free screening of the short film documentary, “Stranger at the Gate.” This will also include a talkback session with Mack Mckinney, the would-be terrorist, who the film is about. The film will be shown at the Oriental Theatre, 2230 N. Farwell Ave., Milwaukee. The film’s executive producer is Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai.
| | Dominic Marak, Self Portrait with Tumors, 2021. Collaged paint samples on paper, 14 x 11 inches |
Art Against the Odds: MIAD exhibition showcases the work of Wisconsin's incarcerated people
Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design
273 E. Erie Street, Milwaukee
Through March 11, 2023
Hours: Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
FREE Admission
Art Against the Odds is a statewide prison art exhibition, organized and curated by Portrait Society Gallery of Contemporary Art, through its related project On the Wing (supported by fiscal receiver Feast of Crispian). With approximately 60 artists participating, the exhibition looks at the many incarcerated individuals who turn to art to survive. The project generates visibility for this invisible population, bringing a sense of humanity to the carceral system. A first of its kind, this professionally mounted, museum-scaled project showcases several room-sized installations, an environment created out of hand-written or typed letters, and hundreds of works of art, including painting, sculpture, knitting and beadwork. The exhibition is divided into six thematic sections that look at different aspects of art that is made in confinement. Listen to the WUWM segment on Art Against the Odds here.
| Native America: In Translation
Milwaukee Art Museum
February 24 - June 25
Native America: In Translation, is a group exhibition comprised of artworks by ten contemporary Indigenous artists, including the late artist Kimowan Metchewais (Cree, Cold Lake First Nations) and Madison-based photographer Tom Jones (Ho-Chunk), that considers the complex histories of colonialism, identity, and heritage through a contemporary lens. | | | | Friday, March 10; 9:00 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Free and open to the public. More information here
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Thank you!
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