Inside this issue...
- President's Message
- Welcome to the new Administrative Assistant
- Congrats to new City of Milwaukee Ethics Board and League Member
- In Memory of Maria Tully
- Public Forum Dispels Myths about Abortion Care
- The League Needs Hands-on Help in 2024
- Honoring Chief Election Inspectors
- Naturalization Ceremony at the International Folk Fair
- Reflections on the League's Involvement at the MATC New Citizenship Event
- LWVMC Receive Community Service Award
- Vote 411 celebrates 17 years
- LWVMC Goes to the Theatre
- Money Matters
- LWVMC League Member Observed at COP28
- Announcements & Events
| President's Message
Happy New Year to you all! I hope your holidays were merry and somewhat restful, because we have a year ahead of us that will be demanding. We need all the energy we can muster in order to execute our mission: to empower all voters and defend our democracy. It cannot be said too often that our democracy is under attack. But we can make sure that its demise is not imminent. There are a number of ways you can help.
Vote411: Our Vote411 team stays busy year-round, but never more so than during election season. First, we need volunteers to call the election clerks in their communities to ask them to inform us of the candidates who intend to run for election in the upcoming races. Then we need computer-savvy volunteers to help enter the candidates’ information. Once the slates are finalized, we will send out invitations to the candidates to respond to the questions that will appear on Vote411.org.
Voter Registration: One of the League’s most important community roles is to make sure that as many people who are eligible to vote are properly registered to do so. On January 20, we will hold registration training at our office. For further information, contact Liz Aelion at e.aelion@lwvmilwaukee.org or register here My Vote Training Sign Up.
Poll Workers: The election clerks are always in need of poll workers. Contact your local election clerk to find out how to go about working the polls on election day. You can see up close exactly how secure our elections are!
Donate: Finally, while your time and talents are vital to our League’s success, we also need funds to be able to continue to accomplish our mission. Please consider donating whatever you feel comfortable giving. The easiest way to accomplish this is to go to our website Donate page.
I hope you'll check out more opportunities on our Volunteer page. Here’s to a happy, healthy New Year and safe and secure elections!
In League,
Nancy Maloney, President LWVMC
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From President Nancy Maloney:
I am delighted to announce that we have a new Administrative Support Coordinator, Debra Block! Debbie has extensive experience working in the non-profit sector, and is highly skilled in technology including website management and Google. I will allow her to introduce herself:
From new Administrative Support Coordinator Debbie Block:
I am so excited to be a part of the League of Women Voters for Milwaukee County! I am really looking forward to spreading the power of casting your voice through voting. My passion is working with like-minded people and helping however I can.
My husband and I just celebrated 34 years of marriage. Our home base is in Waukesha County where we raised two children (a daughter, Candice and a son, Nicholas). Candice is a clinical therapist in Chicago where she lives with her husband, and dog Doodle. Nicholas is a computer wizard who is a Leukemia Warrior. He finished college two days after being moved from the ICU to the cancer treatment floor. Nick continues to battle Graft vs Host … but is doing well.
We are owned by two dogs – Stella, a Doberman, and Norman, a Great Dane and a host of small animals. | |
By Nancy Maloney
I am so pleased to announce that Barbara Notestein was sworn in as a member of the City of Milwaukee Ethics Board last month. Her experiences as a League member for a number of years, a Wisconsin State Assembly Representative for 14 years, a political strategist and a grassroots organizer make her eminently qualified for this position. The Board has one seat that is reserved for one of our League members. I am proud to have been able to nominate Barbara to the position, and am sure she will represent LWVMC and the City of Milwaukee admirably. | In Memory of Maria Tully
LWVMC member Maria Tully passed away on November 8, 2023 from cancer. Maria’s passion for social justice fueled her League volunteering, where she was a member of the VOTE411 team and the Police Accountability and Community Safety (PACS) Committee.
PACS committee chair Molly Collins said, “Maria worked on many projects over the past three years with the committee and was part of a small group that researched and wrote a report detailing changes the League would like to see in Milwaukee's Fire and Police Commission (FPC). She met with FPC members to try to move these changes forward. She always brought insight and thoughtfulness to meetings, and a willingness to ask important questions. She will very much be missed.”
Sarajane Kennedy, chair of the VOTE411 team, said, “Maria was a special person, a beautiful soul, a pleasure to know. For the spring 2020 VOTE411 Voter Guide, Maria offered to be a community volunteer covering Milwaukee and MPS, but she quickly demonstrated her political astuteness and enthusiasm for the goals of VOTE411 and joined the Candidate Question Subcommittee, as well as the Voter Guide Team.”
Beyond her work with LWVMC, Maria was a founding board member of the Sojourner Family Peace Center and was actively involved with Penfield Children’s Center. Maria’s 20+ year career in local television included positions as WITI TV6 Station Manager and Director of Local Programming at Time Warner Cable, where she launched award-winning programming. Maria is survived by her husband Andy, three daughters and six grandchildren.
A Celebration of Life is being planned for February 10, 2024. Her obituary stated a request for donations to Sojourner Family Peace Center or League of Women Voters. Maria's LWVMC friends may make a donation to our local League in her honor on our donation page. |  | Public Forum Dispelled Myths About Abortion Care
By Peggy Creer
The LWVMC’s newest advocacy committee, the Reproductive Healthcare Rights Committee, presented its first public issues forum on Nov. 13. The forum, titled "Fact or Fiction: Dispelling Abortion Care Myths" featured experts on the medical and legal aspects of reproductive health care.
Presenters were: Allie Linton, MD MPH, Chief Medical Officer, Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin; Helen M Werner, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Biology, Beloit College; Tia Renier, BSW, Advocacy and Outreach Project Manager, Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin; Michelle Velasquez, JD, Chief Strategy Officer, Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin.
The program opened with Helen Werner’s personal story of her pregnancy, which entailed a tragic complication nearly midway through that resulted not only in the loss of her twins, but also in a frustrating, heart-wrenching struggle with our post-Dobbs health care system. Among the information presented by Dr. Allie Linton, the facts about fetal development, which contrast sharply from images seen on anti-abortion billboards, were a surprise to many attendees. Tia Renier discussed ways to converse about the often taboo topic of abortion with people who have differing viewpoints.
The Reproductive Healthcare Rights Committee is co-chaired by Charlie Gaebler-Uhing, M.D., and board member Betsey Caron. Additional members include: Peggy Creer, Lorna Grade, Pat McFarland, Kathy Randall, Gail Sklodowska, Nikita Werner. Watch the weekly Update e-news for further activities of the committee or contact the co-chairs at c.gaebler-uhing@lwvmilwaukee.org or b.caron@lwvmilwaukee.org | The League Needs Hands-On Help in 2024!
LWVMC is a volunteer-powered organization, with lots of opportunities to engage in vital mission-focused work. With four elections in 2024, there's plenty of work to go around! Many of these jobs, such as newsletter editing, social media or VOTE411 data management tasks, can be done from home on your own schedule. Others, such as voter registration events at high schools or at naturalization ceremonies, require in-person attendance -- but are so rewarding!
Please visit the Volunteer page of our website to see current opportunities. Visit the Our Work page to learn more about League activities and committees you may want to be a part of. All committee meetings (except Nominating Committee) are open, so you’re welcome to attend without an implied commitment. Some of the volunteer gigs are for members only. If you need help logging in to access the members-only content on the website, please contact Mary Ellen Spicuzza at me.spicuzza@lwvmilwaukee.org. | | Voter Services in the Community | Honoring Chief Election Inspectors
by Peg Schrader
Director of the Milwaukee Election Commission, Claire Woodall Vogg invited the League to honor all Chief Inspectors who have managed a polling place in over 30 elections. To give you context, that means at a minimum each inspector honored served at least a decade as Chief!
The League was co-sponsor for the event for the Chiefs, who are often some of the biggest advocates in the community to dispel election myths and to help their friends and neighbors navigate the voting process.
Peg Schrader stated, “It was an honor to be part of this event to recognize these dedicated Chief Inspectors who work so hard to maintain fair and reliable election results.”
This event took place on Friday night, November 10th, in the Rotunda of the City Hall. We joined in fellowship and to celebrate their invaluable civic duty with the Election Commission and Mayor.
From left to right: Peg Schrader, LWVMC VP of Voter Services; Claire Woodall Vogg, Director of the City of Milwaukee Election Commission; Nancy Maloney, President of LWVMC.
Forty Chief Inspectors and their families gathered at City Hall to celebrate their service to the Milwaukee Election Commission.
Each honoree has at least one decade of service; one had 40 years of service. |
Naturalization Ceremony at the International Folk Fair
By Linda Neubauer
When asked how long we have had a presence at the Folk Fair, long-time League members inevitably replied “As long as I can remember!”
On November 17th, the Honorable William Duffin administered the oath of citizenship to 303 enthusiastic applicants from 75 countries. While those with name changes could not register to vote immediately, every new American received an envelope of print material detailing name change procedures and how to register and vote in Wisconsin. And our volunteers were kept busy registering eager new voters. Adding to the festive atmosphere were the sights of Fair participants in traditional dress and the aromas of the delicious foods of their native lands.
Many thanks to those who volunteered for this special event: Susan Armour Seidman, Pam Millington, Kathleen Scullin, Nancy Beaumier, Martha Davis-Kipcak, Karen Brubakken, Annette Mertens, Mary Delgado, Kathy Ulbricht, Pat McFarland, Nick Bokas, Freda Bell. |  |
Reflections on the League’s Involvement at MATC’s New Citizenship Event
By Eloisa Gomez
Twenty new citizens (former citizenship students) were given recognition certificates from Governor Tony Evers, Common Council President José Perez and MATC officials at MATC Walker Square.
LWVMC’s CVL/LVO volunteers had a central role by hosting a registration table (Maria Avila and Barbara Medina), a resource table of bilingual materials (Esperanza Gutierrez), and a Mock Voting Machine from the Milwaukee Election Commission (Diane Steigerwald who was the lead League organizer). Eight citizens were registered to vote, four more looked up their polling place, about 20 people did the mock election and about 40 people were given voting and election information.
With this event fresh in our minds, CVL-LVO volunteers encourage all League members understand that:
Greater Support is needed to help people register to vote. With our history of Southside voter outreach, CVL-LVO volunteers know that for many, we cannot just handover a tablet as eligible voters register themselves online. Maria Avila shared that at most Southside outreach events she has worked on, complications were found with online registrations, some simple and others time-consuming. One eligible voter at the MATC event had four first names, for example. It took time to determine which first and last names were in the WEC database. Other experiences include:
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People with a primary language other than English.
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Registrants are sometimes nervous about making a mistake and worry that mistakes can’t be corrected.
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Some are not familiar with using technology, Wi-Fi or computers/tablets/smartphones.
Greater support is needed to explain the voting process:
Similar to Maria’s experiences, many of the people that Diane reaches are first-generation voters; others are those with low literacy skills and/or are limited English-speaking voters. The entire voting process-- from registering online, to understanding how find information on the candidates, to completing a ballot—involves more instructions from League volunteers. Let’s build on this knowledge to increase our capacity to effectively support people as they navigate through the electoral process for the long term. | League of Women Voters Receive Community Service Award | |
By Peg Schrader
On Oct 3, 2023 the League of Women Voters of Milwaukee County’s Jail Based Voting Team was awarded the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office Community Service award for its work in registering people to vote at the Milwaukee County Jail.
Peg Schrader states, “This recognition could not have been possible without the tireless work and dedication of our volunteers and the collaboration of the Sheriff, administrators and officers at the Milwaukee County Jail.”
Pictured with the award are Peg Schrader, Vice President of Voter Services LWVMC, and Nancy Maloney, President of the LWVMC. |  | Vote411 celebrates 17 years!!
The League of Women Voters’ Education Fund launched VOTE411, a nonpartisan, online election resource in 2006. By entering your address, you can build your ballot for each election. Using the online voters’ guide, you can see the races on your ballot, compare candidate positions side-by-side and print out a ballot indicating your preferences as a reminder and take it with you to the polls on Election Day. Our local League poses questions to the candidates running for local offices about issues important to their constituents. These are published verbatim in Vote411.
Starting in 2014, celebrities including Justin Timberlake, Rosario Dawson, Taye Diggs, and Connie Britton gave shout outs to VOTE411 on their social media. Celebrities used their platforms to empower voters! In 2018, John Oliver promoted VOTE411 by urging audiences to check out VOTE411 resulting in a 2000% increase in website traffic.
In 2019 VOTE411 underwent a major upgrade, making it even easier to navigate. And in 2020, VOTE411 became available completely in Spanish, reinforcing the League’s core value of making voting accessible for all people. This same year, VOTE411 was named Best Government & Civil Innovation Website in the annual Webby People’s Voice Awards. The awards continued in 2021 and 2022 with three Telly awards honoring excellence in video and television. More celebrity support followed with postings on Instagram from Cyndi Lauper, Zooey Deschanel, and Billy Porter.
The personalized voter guide section of VOTE411 got a revamp last year with a new layout and easier navigation that allows users to compare where candidates stand on issues in their communities and choose who they will support in the upcoming elections.
This publicity and the upgrades led to over 2 million voters accessing VOTE411 in 2023. In Wisconsin, over 48,000 voters accessed VOTE411 during 2023. While this is good and exciting news, we can get more voters to access VOTE411 and more local candidates to answer the League’s questions. What we need and have control over includes getting more voters in Milwaukee and Waukesha County using VOTE411, and more local candidates (Milwaukee and Waukesha County) answering the questions we pose to them about issues important to their constituents.
CALL TO ACTION:
· Promote VOTE411 on your social media. Follow League of Women Voters of Milwaukee County and share their postings about VOTE411.
· If you are working, ask Human Resources to include information in your internal communication about VOTE411, the non-partisan electronic voter guide.
· In early February (for the Primary election) and mid-March (for the April election), contact candidates on your ballot. Thank them if they have answered the League’s questions. If they have not answered the League’s questions, ask them to please do so. Tell them that their constituents expect candidates to answer questions about issues important to them. It is in their best interest for voters to hear from them in their own words!! | LWVMC Goes to the Theater!
LWVMC is placing an ad in the playbill for a Milwaukee Repertory Theater performance titled, "What the Constitution Means to Me," which runs Feb. 6 to March 10. Ticket sales here.
"We were thrilled to learn of this opportunity," said Communications Chair Peggy Creer. "This is a perfect audience for us to reach, and I hope we gain new supporters and donors."
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Questions and Answers about LWVMC and Money Matters
Your time and talent as member volunteers for LWVMC are essential to carrying out LWVMC’s mission. The third ingredient is having the financial resources to accomplish its mission.
I made a donation online at lwv.org - will the League of Women Voters of Milwaukee County get the money?
No, gifts to LWVUS (League of Women Voters of the United States) stay with the National League. Gifts to the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin stay with the State League. Your donation must be to the League of Women Voters of Milwaukee County for the gift to stay with our local League.
LWVMC members pay dues. Why does the League need donations from its members?
From the $75 Individual membership dues, $32 goes to the National League, $30 goes to the State League, and $13 stays with our local LWVMC. We need more than $13 per member to carry out our mission.
What other sources of revenue does LWVMC have?
During the 2022-2023 fiscal year, LWVMC’s revenue sources with percent of total revenue were:
● Donations 45%
● Grants 34%
● Bequests 8%
● Fundraising 7%
● Miscellaneous 5%
Giving USA reports that nationally, nonprofits receive 64% of their revenue from individual donors and 6% from corporations.
How does LWVMC spend its money?
The 2023-2024 fiscal year budgeted revenue is $95,900. Almost half of this goes to operating expenses including rent, utilities and wages for our part-time administrative assistant. This also includes the dues payments to the national and state leagues. The League’s mission-centered work is around voter services and advocacy activities. While work is done by volunteers, including 9 voter services teams, about $20,000 of the budget is spent on these activities.
How do I make a donation to LWVMC?
Here is a list of gifting options available:
● A check made payable to “LWVMC” mailed to 6737 West Washington Street, Suite 2218, West Allis, WI 53214.
● A credit card payment. Visit www.lwvmilwaukee.org/donate.
● A qualified charitable distributions (QCD) from your IRA. This can be used to offset your IRA Required Minimum Distribution (RMD). Consult with your tax and/or financial advisor. It is important to make LWV-Milwaukee County the recipient.
Does your employer have a matching gift program? This is an easy way to double your gift. Gifts can also be made in memory or in honor of a special person in your life.
Is my donation tax-deductible?
Yes, LWVMC is a 501c(3) nonprofit organization. EIN: 39-6096750
In addition to making a donation, how can I help raise money for LWVMC?
LWVMC has started a Fund Development Committee. Its inaugural meeting was in December and the Committee will continue to welcome new members.
Contact Mary Voelker at m.voelker@lwvmilwaukee.org and watch the weekly Update and the Volunteer page on our website for opportunities.
| LWVMC League Member Observed at COP28
LWVMC Board member Candice Owley is a member of the Natural Resources committee and attended the COP28 global climate change conference as an official League Observer. COP28 was held Nov. 30 to Dec.12 in Dubai, UAE. Candice wrote these observations early in the summit.
By Candice Owley
Today was the first ever Health Day at COP. The effort was led in large part by the World Health Organization (WHO) to let the world know that the climate crisis is the greatest health threat in the world. The health care workers on the front line were the first to sound the alarm about the deadly effect of climate change. Throughout the day there were many health connected events and the day ended with the first ever convening over 100 global health ministers. To bring attention to the health crisis, the COP issued a Declaration on climate and health. The declaration, signed by 123 countries, expressed grave concern about the negative impacts of climate change on health and stressed the urgent need to strengthen health systems given lessons learned from the Covid-19 pandemic which strained all health systems and widened inequities. The declaration concluded with the commitment to convene regularly and to review progress at future COP meetings and other WHO and global meetings.
The messages of yesterday were reiterated: climate change is killing us; urgent action is needed, health is the human face of the climate crisis; and that health care leaders and providers have an ethical responsibility and public trust to be the ones that make this crisis real to policy makers and the general public. This urgent call to action included the role of civil society to also take the lead in educating the public about the clear and present danger of climate change. One speaker suggested we measure progress on the climate crisis not only by emissions reduced but by how many lives were saved or lost by our actions each year. It would be a powerful way to put people at the center of the discussions.
I can’t help reflecting that while today we celebrate the fact that finally COP put health front and center at this year's meeting, the reason is because we failed to understand how fast climate change would become life-threatening. In many ways, today is a sign of our failure to act. We’ve allowed the situation to get so bad that we can no longer turn away or bury our heads in the sand as we could for the last 27 COPs.
My other reflection is that I believe the League can play a role in this crisis by educating our members and our communities about the life-threatening effects of climate change. Lives are being lost every day and we all have a part to play in this fight for the future of mankind and of the planet. | |
2024 is going to be a very busy election year. Have you thought about helping the League with voter registration? If so, this is your opportunity to get trained in all of the twists and turns of online voter registration.
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 is required and can be found here: My Vote Training Sign Up.
January 20 Saturday | 10am-Noon
League of Women Voters Office - Summit Place
6737 W. Washington Street Atrium Conference Room
Questions regarding this announcement? Please email e.aelion@lwvmilwaukee.org | | | | League of Women Voters Milwaukee County | Milwaukee, WI | 414-273-8683 | league@lwvmilwaukee.org | You have received this message from the mailing list of League of Women Voters of Milwaukee County.
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