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Date: 1/4/2024
Subject: LWVMC: Weekly Update for January 4th
From: League of Women Voters of Milwaukee County

Our sincere thanks to you for your support during 2023 to EMPOWER VOTERS and DEFEND DEMOCRACY.

We appreciate everything you did, whether you

Made a donation
Joined LWVMC as a new member
Renewed your membership
Took on or continued a leadership role
Volunteered for an activity
Attended an event.

Your engagement and enthusiasm has been contagious in contributing to a successful year.

Watch for our 2023 Year in Review in an upcoming weekly UPDATE.

You made a difference in 2023 and we look forward to your continued support in 2024!!!

Your LWVMC board of directors

DISABILITY RIGHTS COMMITTEE

Sunday, Jan. 14th from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

The next regular meeting of the Disability Rights Committee will be a virtual meeting. All are invited to attend! There is no need to register in advance for this meeting. Here is the Zoom meeting link.

We will be joined by Kathy Sharpe, author of, “Aging Into Poverty,” and will discuss the important issues raised in her book. Questions? Contact committee chair Laura Priebe at l.priebe@lwvmilwaukee.org or Program VP Lorna Grade at l.grade@lwvmilwaukee.org.

SAVE THE DATE!

January 16, 2024

Lorna Grade, VP Program

Early each year, Leagues across the country convene for a Program Planning meeting to set the advocacy agenda for the next League fiscal year.

This year the League of Women Voters of Milwaukee County (LWVMC) will meet virtually on Tuesday, January 16, 2024 at 7:00 p.m. to plan our Program for July 2024 through June 2025. Devoting a meeting to just this topic allows us to select program initiatives that represent the most urgent needs in our community matched with the interests of our members. Therefore, we need to hear the voices of a broad cross-section of our membership.

For more than 100 years, the League has worked to secure the right to vote for every eligible citizen fulfilling its mission to empower voters and defend democracy. The defense of democracy is incumbent upon free and fair elections, but it extends further in the League’s work in issue advocacy.

LWV policy positions are categorized in Program areas of Representative Government, Natural Resources, Social Policy, and International Relations. All League advocacy is nonpartisan and stems from League principles and from positions adopted at the local, state, and national levels and is carefully coordinated so that the League speaks with one voice.

At this meeting, we will discuss our current advocacy programs and hear suggestions for new initiatives.

Please plan to attend the January 16 meeting to have input into the advocacy program for next year and to explore ways that you can be involved.

Registration is required and can be accessed below.

Voter Registration Training Jan. 20

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 learn about the twists and turns of the online voter registration process, including how to acquire an acceptable photo ID for voting in Wisconsin. Registration required.

January 20 Saturday | 10am-Noon

League of Women Voters Office - Summit Place

6737 W. Washington Street Atrium Conference Room

Questions? Please email Elizabeth Aelion at e.aelion@lwvmilwaukee.org .

Easy New Year's Resolution!

Resolutions don't get much easier than this: Visit MyVote.WI.Gov today to check your voter registration and to request absentee ballots for all elections in 2024. Post the link to MyVote.WI.Gov on social media. Sample social media messages and graphics are in this LWVWI toolkit.

Learn More About LWVWI Legislative Positions

The LWVWI Legislative Committee is making its work more accessible and widely available through a dedicated email list detailing the positions taken on legislation and including LWVWI positions and statements. The Committee hopes to empower League members and individuals of all backgrounds to advocate on state legislation with the information these emails provide. Anyone interested can sign up for the email list here.

Getting Ready To Launch

The deadline for candidates to file nomination papers for the Spring election was Tuesday, January 2. Our League member Community Volunteers are obtaining the candidate names and contact information for the Voter Guide Team. Then the Team will send invitations to participate in the Milwaukee County League of Women Voters of Milwaukee County Spring 2024 Voter Guide.

The Voter Guide is an opportunity for candidates to reach their potential voters using this free, nonpartisan resource where their responses to our questions are published verbatim. Since 2017 VOTE411 has been a trusted source of unbiased election information and has won national awards. VOTE411 reached over two million voters in 2023. It is a "one-stop-shop" for everything elections related.

In Spring 2020, a comparable election, over 27,000 Milwaukee and Waukesha County residents used VOTE411 to learn about the candidates on their ballot. While this may seem like a big number, in the City of Milwaukee alone, for the April 2023 election there were 290,462 registered voters and 112,815 ballots cast (38.8%).

When the 2024 Spring Voter Guide is published on January 30, there will be a lot of work to get candidates to respond to our questions and to educate voters about VOTE411.

WE WILL NEED YOUR HELP!

Friday, Jan. 26th from 10 a.m. to Noon

East Branch of the Milwaukee Public Library

2320 N Cramer St Study Room 115

In the New Year, we are back to our usual meeting on the 4th Friday of the month. We will once again meet at the East Branch of the Milwaukee Public Library (East · MPL) but in January we will meet in Study Room 115 rather than the Community Room there.

Our January meeting will be a general discussion meeting, not about a particular topic or book. There will be time to continue the discussion of our December book, “Usual Cruelty,” and any other topic of interest to the group.

Our book choices for February and April are about immigration, particular to the State of Wisconsin. March will be a general discussion meeting. We will announce those meeting locations after reservations have been confirmed.

Book Choice for February 23, 2024 League Cafe Book Club

"Milked: How an American Crisis Brought Together Midwestern Dairy Farmers and Mexican Workers", by Ruth Conniff

Book Choice for April 26, 2024 League Cafe Book Club

"Obreros Unidos: The Roots and Legacy of the Farmworkers Movement", by Jesus Salas.

Remember, if you want to purchase one or both of these books at Boswell Books, online or at their store (Boswell Book Company, www.boswellbooks.com, 2559 N Downer Ave, Milwaukee, WI 53211) mention you are a Member of the League Cafe Book Club for a 10% discount.

Warmest Regards from,

Marie Garnhart

Pat McFarland

Mary Ellen Spicuzza

The League Needs Hands-On Help!

LWVMC is a volunteer-powered organization, with lots of opportunities to engage in vital mission-focused work. Many of these jobs, such as newsletter editing 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 you may want to be a part of. Some of the volunteer gigs are for members only. If you have questions, please contact Mary Ellen Spicuzza at me.spicuzza@lwvmilwaukee.org.

LWVMC In Milwaukee Rep Playbill

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. This great outreach for LWVMC: an audience of democracy-minded folks!

Amazing Faith Dinner Dialogue, with Interfaith Earth Network

Wednesday, January 31, 6 p.m.

Urban Ecology Center Riverside Park

1500 E. Park Place, Milwaukee

Join people of all faiths and no faith in small groups to share a meal and participate in a moderated discussion evoking deep exchanges about lived experiences and the role of faith and/or spirituality in their lives with the theme of our environment. Through exploration and dialogue, participants learn about the beliefs and traditions of others within an atmosphere of respect and understanding and are empowered to stand as witnesses for tolerance and inclusion.

Food & Faith: Langar at Sikh Gurduara

Wednesday, January 17 (snow date 2/7)

Gather between 5:30-5:45, Dinner at 7:00

Brookfield Gurduara, 3675 N Calhoun Road

Learn more about the Sikh Faith, especially the Langar, a vegetarian meal prepared for all who attend. A full itinerary and important information will be emailed to you the Monday before the event. Sponsored by the Interfaith Conference of Greater Milwaukee.

Support Local 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.

Donate Here

Thank you! LWVMC

Volunteer Here

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