Happy Thursday! Here is your Weekly Update from the League of Women Voters Milwaukee County (LWVMC). Something for everyone! |  |  | | REGISTRATION NOW OPEN!
We look forward to seeing you at the LWVMC Annual Meeting at Summit Place, 6737 W. Washington in West Allis, on Wednesday, May 24!
Please join us at 5 p.m. for social time in the first floor large conference room. Dinner will be served at 5:45 p.m. for members and their guest(s) who purchase tickets in advance, $20 per person. The dinner will be a Middle Eastern buffet, vegetarian and gluten free friendly options available. No ticket is required to attend the business meeting, which will begin at 7 p.m. The annual meeting is our opportunity to elect officers and directors, vote on bylaws changes, and adopt a budget and program of work for the coming year in League. Paid Registration is required for the dinner (Although you may pay at the door, we prefer that you pay in advance.)
Our guest speaker this year is LWVMC member, Anita Johnson, voting rights advocate and recipient of many awards including: the 2020 Robert H. Friebert Social Justice Award and the 2023 Black Excellence Award in "Community Leadership." Her work with Souls to the Polls is ongoing.
We look forward to seeing you there and thank you for all you do for the League!
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April 2023 Voter Experience Survey
Complete the survey from LWVWI here. |  |  |
Thank You to the Community Volunteers!!
The Spring 2023 Election Voter Guide at VOTE411.org published online by the League of Women Voters of Milwaukee County was a success due to the amazing group of volunteers who worked on the project.
The Community Volunteers are the liaisons between the municipal clerks/school boards and the Vote411 Team. They work with the municipal clerks/school boards to find which positions are up for election, who is running for those positions. and the candidates’ contact information. Our sincere thanks to the Community Volunteers for this spring’s election: Nancy Barbieri, Theresa Bellone, Jude Bringe, Janet Brown, Pam Chester, Ruth Jones, Pat Jursik, Melissa Kelley, Sarajane Kennedy, Mary Sue Kristiansen, Mary Jo McDonald, Tom Neubauer, Raven Niles, Diana Otterbacher, Deborah Patel, Louise Petering, Piper Plummer, Page Remmers, Kellie Sanders, Susan Schalig, Peggy Serrano, Eilene Stevens, Jane Stoltz, Maria Tully, Mary Voelker, Mary Jo Wellenstein and Jennifer Williams.
Watch next week’s Update for thank yous to more League members who helped with VOTE411 during this Spring Election season.
The Voter Guide on VOTE 411.org for the Special Milwaukee County Supervisory District 14 Election is published! | The Milwaukee Bucks supports voter education and civic engagement! | | On Sunday April 2, the Bucks invited the League to staff a kiosk during their game. Volunteers JoAnn (Joey) Walsh (pictured on the right) and Nancy Beaumier volunteered to staff this kiosk. They talked to over 100 people, provided voter information, distributed literature and buttons. One of the people who stopped by the booth was Josh Kaul, Wisconsin’s Attorney General.
The Bucks offered the League free tickets to the game and Joey was able to distribute 12 of them to high school volunteers and contacts who recently worked very hard to register as many eligible students as possible prior to the April 4th election. | | |
Jail-Based Voting
Two More iPads Needed | | | |
We continue to work with the MIlwaukee County Jail and the Community Reintegration Center (CRC) formally the HOC to register eligible residents and to request absentee ballots. Year to date we have registered 60 people and requested 100 absentee ballots. (Total number of absentee ballots is greater than the number of people registered because there are multiple elections and some of the people we registered last year (not in the YTD county) are still incarcerated.)
We are using iPads to do this work. The connectivity of these devices work well in the work that we do, however we need more of them. So if you have an iPad that you are no longer using or if you are thinking about upgrading would you please consider donating your old iPad to the LWVMC/Voter Services?
Thank you to two of our members who have donated their iPads for this work. We could still use two more.
You can contact me if you have questions about this or to arrange for pickup, p.schrader@lwvmilwaukee.org. |  | Help Recruit Municipal Clerks
LWVWI will be holding a virtual Clerk Recruitment Information Session on Tuesday, April 25th, 2023 (7:00pm- 8:00pm)
Municipal clerks play one of the most important roles in our democracy. In Wisconsin, these 1850+ individuals have enormous power to make sure elections are carried out in a way that makes voting accessible for all eligible Wisconsin voters. It is for this reason that we are working together with our partners to educate the community on this important role and help raise awareness and generate interests to help fill vacancies whenever they arise.
Attendees will have the opportunity to hear from current municipal clerks about what clerks do, how they lift up their communities, and how to become employed as a clerk in your own communities.
This is where we will need your help: Help us get the word out about this event! Please share this exciting opportunity with your networks.
| 54th Annual Municipal Clerks Week (April 30 - May 6, 2023) Nomination Form | | | |
Join the Disability Vote Coalition to recognize the important work of our Wisconsin Municipal Clerks. Nominate an outstanding municipal clerk in recognition of the 54th Annual Municipal Clerks Week. This is a great chance to recognize clerks for their work to make our elections accessible and welcoming.
Do you know a clerk has done a great job supporting voters with disabilities and older adults in your community? Please use the short survey below to make your nomination. Submit your nomination as soon as possible and no later than April 24, 2023. Nominations will be shared with clerks and posted on our website.
Municipal Clerk Appreciation Nomination | New Edition of LWV Impact on Issues Announced
The LWVUS 2022-2024 edition of Impact on Issues, the League’s cornerstone policy positions document, is now available online.
Check it out, and also watch the LWVUS advocacy team’s webinar for further details on this biennium’s Impact on Issues. Throughout our 103 years, the League has served dual purposes of education and advocacy, engaging in studies on representative government, international relations, natural resources, and social policy. Although our history of advocacy goes back to our beginnings, this version of Impact on Issues covers our advocacy efforts beginning in the 1960s.
Impact on Issues provides a clear understanding of LWVUS positions, how they interrelate, and how they can complement and reinforce state, local, and regional Inter-League Organization (ILO) positions, strengthening the League’s impact at all levels of government.
Leagues can begin using the positions in Impact on Issues right away, and a paperback version will be available through Amazon in the coming months.
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LWVMC BOOK DRIVE ON APRIL 30, 2023
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If you are downsizing or simplifying, you can help support the League of Women Voters of Milwaukee County…JUST BRING YOUR GENTLY USED BOOKS, CDS AND DVDS to the Visitor’s Parking Lot at 6737 W. Washington St., West Allis on Sunday, April 30 between 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. LWVMC volunteers will take the items to Sharehouse Goods for resale or donation to the Milwaukee Public Library. If the items are saleable, Sharehouse Goods will sell them online, then donate 50% of the profits to the League of Women Voters of Milwaukee County.
We will also be accepting non-perishable food donations for the Hunger Task Force. Especially needed items include: healthy breakfast grains (whole grain/sugar free cereals, oatmeal); canned veggies (no salt added); canned fruits (no sugar added/in their natural juices); and peanut butter.
Looking forward to seeing you in the parking lot on Sunday, April 30. In the event of rain, LWVMC volunteers will be located in the Atrium, just inside the Visitor’s Entrance. |  |
League Café
The next League Café meeting will be in-person, on Friday, April 28 at 9:30 a.m. in meeting room 2212 of the office building where the League Office is located, (Summit Office Building, 6737 W Washington St., West Allis, WI 53214). The League Cafe meets monthly and welcomes League members old and new, as well as community members. All are welcome! We get to know each other better, share knowledge and have interesting conversations. In rotating months, we meet as a book club. Our April meeting will be an open meeting to socialize and discuss topics of interest to the group at large. We will also decide on the book to discuss at our May meeting. There is a place in the Summit Office building to grab a cup of coffee before the meeting. | Join the YWCA’s Racial Justice Challenge | | For a full month, beginning on April 17, the YWCA will send you daily activities to foster personal reflection, encourage social responsibility, and motivate you to identify and act on ways to dismantle racism and other forms of discrimination.
Download the Racial Justice Challenge app for free today:
Not into App's? You can register online from your computer here.
Watch the video detailing why you should join thousands of other participants across the country for the YWCA Racial Justice Challenge. | Milwaukee’s Poet Laureate Mario "The Poet" & Friends Celebrate National Poetry Month Celebration at Milwaukee Public Library Branches
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Each event includes a poetry reading by Mario “The Poet” and an Open Mic session facilitated by Ryeshia Farmer. All ages are welcome to participate.
- Saturday, April 1, 3-4:30 p.m.; East Branch, 2320 N. Cramer St.
- Saturday, April 8, 3-4:30 p.m., Bay View Branch, 2566 S. Kinnickinnic Ave.
- Saturday, April 15, 12-1:30 p.m., Washington Park Branch, 2121 N. Sherman Blvd.
- Saturday, April 22, 3-4:30 p.m., Villard Square Branch, 5190 N. 35th St.
- Thursday, April 27, 4-5:30 p.m., Mitchell Street Branch, 906 W. Historic Mitchell St.
|  | Meg Zucker in Conversation with Sally Haldorson
Boswell Book Company
2559 North Downer Avenue
Friday, April 14, 3 pm, Free
Register here.
Boswell presents an afternoon featuring Meg Zucker, empowerment speaker, UW-Madison grad, and author of Born Extraordinary: Empowering Children with Differences and Disabilities, which offers a parent's guide to empowering children to embrace their visible and invisible differences. In conversation with Sally Haldorson, Managing Director of Porchlight Book Company. Cosponsored by Independence First and Porchlight Book Company.
Meg Zucker was born with a genetic condition called ectrodactyly, which she would eventually pass on to her two sons, and, along with her husband, raise them and their adopted daughter, who has her own invisible differences. Born of the family’s hard-won experiences, this book offers invaluable advice on raising confident, empathetic, and resilient children who succeed, not despite but because of their differences.
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What: League (& friends of the League) field trip presented by the LWVWI Multicultural Adventures Committee
When: Saturday, April 15th at 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. CT
Where: Menominee Cultural Museum located at W3236 Wolf River Drive, Keshena, WI
Who: Led by David Overstreet, Ph.D. (LWV Milwaukee County) & the LWVWI Multicultural Adventures Committee
Further details and registration here. Space is limited. | 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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