Happy Thursday! Here's this week's Update for League of Women Voters Milwaukee County (LWVMC) news, information and events. |  |  | | School is starting and so is an incredibly rewarding activity in the LWVMC - voter registration for high school students. It is great to witness the students’ excitement when they realize they are registered and ready to vote and know how to do it.
We are in need of Outreach Coordinators for the High School Voter Registration Project. Coordinators facilitate registration events - linking with a staff member, training and supporting students, and coordinating the League volunteers.
Sound daunting? Most of us felt that way when we started, but we soon began signing up for more schools. We have all of the training and registration materials, as well as step-by-step directions for coordinators.
Please consider volunteering to be a coordinator. You can start with just one school and add others as you wish. For more information or to volunteer, please contact Judy Winn: jwinn@lwvmilwaukee.org. |  |  | | We have finalized our plans with the Milwaukee Public Library (MPL), in collaboration with the City of Milwaukee Election Commission and VoteRiders regarding NVRD on September 19.
We will again have a Mini Carnival and Mock Election:
- City of Milwaukee Election Commission will provide voting machines for mock election
- LWVMC will provide information, voter assistance, and voter registration
- MPL will have voting trivia questions and swag to give away
- MPL will provide refreshments for attendees, including mocktails and cookies
We are seeking volunteers for NVRD Events at Good Hope Road Library and Mitchell Street Library from 3:30 to 6:30pm. If you are interested in helping people register to vote and to provide voter information to individuals, please click the link below and volunteer. Thank you!
| Women's Equality Day and LWVMC Potluck Brunch Kickoff! August 26, 2023 | Join the fun at the annual LWVMC Kickoff on Women's Equality Day. The event is traditionally the first all-member event of the new League year and is a great chance to meet new members and connect with friends.
| | Getting Ready for 2024 Elections
We are looking to get data on our members’ use of VOTE411.org. Please take our quick three questions survey to help us gather information.
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Recruiting a Key Volunteer for 2024 and Beyond
The VOTE411 team needs a tech-savvy League member to join the VOTE411 team.
| | The League of Women Voters of Milwaukee County and the Whitefish Bay Public Library will co-host a Community Conversation on Freedom to Read: How Librarians Fight Back Against Book Challenges and How the Law Protects Them.
Whitefish Bay Public Library
5420 N Marlborough Dr., Whitefish Bay
5:30-6pm socializing and light refreshments | 6-8pm program
In-person registration limited to 80 | Register Now to reserve a spot. |  | Ballot Bulletin: Accessible Voting Equipment
The latest topic of LWVWI’s Ballot Bulletin, a series highlighting election security topics, is accessible voting equipment (also known as ballot marking devices). Accessible voting equipment allows voters to fill out their ballot on a touch screen, have the options read aloud to them and enables people with disabilities to cast their ballot privately and independently. Any voter may use this equipment. Learn more here.
These electronic voting devices are secure, are not connected to the internet and provide a verifiable paper record. Read and share the Ballot Bulletin series:
Ballot Bulletins (clickable links):
|  | LWVWI Response to State Budget
LWVWI joined a coalition of issue advocacy organizations to issue a joint letter to Gov. Evers to express their concerns with the budget and to advocate for Wisconsin’s families. Citing the record budget surplus, the coalition advocates for racial equity and adequate funding for child care, public education, healthcare, and environmental protections.
READ THE FULL LETTER |  | Join Us On August 25
The August 25 League Cafe Book Club will meet at 10 a.m. in the Community Room of the East Branch of the Milwaukee Public Library: 2320 N. Cramer St. Milwaukee, WI 53211.
Because we had such a good discussion in July and we still had a lot more to talk about, we decided to continue the discussion of our July book club selection, “400 Souls: A Community History of African America, 1619-2019”, edited by Ibram X. Kendi and Keisha N. Blain.
Whether you attended in July or not, feel free to pick just a single story or a single part or a few parts or a poem or two to read in the book.
At our August meeting, we will take turns talking about what we read in particular and then open it up for discussion.
Whether or not you will have read the book, please do not hesitate to come to listen and join the discussion! |  | Help set the framework for housing growth in the city
Open House Public Meeting
Monday, August 28, 2023, 5:30- 7:00 pm
Washington Park Library
2121 N Sherman Blvd, Milwaukee, WI
The Department of City Development (DCD) is leading an effort called Growing MKE. Growing MKE is a citywide planning effort that will set a framework for housing growth and choice in Milwaukee. The project will result in a proposed amendment to the Citywide Policy Plan and updates to the City’s Zoning Code.
Growing MKE will advance the goals and recommendations from several recent City of Milwaukee planning efforts. These plans were shaped through stakeholder and resident input and include recommendations to increase housing supply within the city of Milwaukee. Goals also include supporting new housing that creates walkable urban neighborhoods, increasing transit options and access to jobs, and providing more quality, affordable housing choices for all Milwaukeeans. This project will also advance Mayor Cavalier Johnson’s vision for economic prosperity, which includes updating the City’s Zoning Code to support new development and growth. |  | Volunteer to Sell Coffee for the 5th Annual Coffee Sale
The Coffee for Our Cause Sale is LWVMC's biggest fundraiser. Last year, we sold more than 700 pounds of coffee and brought in about $6000 net to support the work of the League.
We ask that you sell 10 bags of League-branded Colectivo coffee in your personal networks. Some volunteers just buy coffee for themselves and as gifts for family and friends. Others actively sell to friends, family, neighbors, or associates.
The coffee sale begins on September 1 and will end around October 27. Your coffee order will be ready in the last week of November or first week of December, which allows ample time for the sales team members to deliver the coffee to their customers before the holidays.
We offer four different kinds of coffee, which can be ordered as whole bean or ground, as well as cocoa. We also sell a League-themed Lady Liberty coffee mug.
|  | Be a Poll Worker!
Being a poll worker is a valuable way to give back to your community and support your neighbors. It’s one of the most effective ways you can help make sure our democracy works as it should. Poll working is fun, nonpartisan, and you get paid! Do your part to ensure safe, free, and fair elections for Wisconsin voters. With four statewide elections in 2024, the demand for poll workers is great. | League of Women Voters Milwaukee County | 6737 W Washington St, Milwaukee, WI | 414-273-8683 | 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.
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