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Help find new places for sharing Get Out the Vote (GOTV) information
As we enter 2024, it is time to look at what we accomplished in 2023. Elsewhere in this Update, you will find Part I of the “2023 Year in Review.” Look for Part II next week. Thank you for everything you did to make these accomplishments happen. Whether it was your volunteer time or a donation to LWVMC (or both), the results are impressive.
With gratitude for continued success in 2024, we can increase our impact with help from non-members. Last week, we talked about identifying businesses and corporations where you work as well as any Board affiliations that the League can share GOTV information and build relationships with as potential donors.
This week, I ask you to consider businesses you come in contact with, e.g. your bank, coffee shop, grocery store, restaurants, etc. If you feel they would support our mission by sharing GOTV information (posters and flyers), please share contact information.
Please email the information to Mary Voelker at m.voelker@lwvmilwaukee.org.
Thank you!! | Join the LWVMC Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Team | | Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Planning Meeting
Sunday, February 4, 2-4 p.m.
Summit Place, Glass Patio Rm, 1st Floor
6737 W. Washington St, West Allis | | | LWVMC has a new Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Strategic Plan to implement. We need your ideas, energy and commitment to make it happen. Please join the conversation at an informational and planning meeting on Sunday, February 4, 2:00-4:00 p.m., in the Glass Patio Room, at Summit Place, 6737 W. Washington Street, West Allis. Meet your fellow leaguers and learn more about our exciting plans for 2024 and beyond. Use the “Visitor’s Entrance.” Ample free parking. Light refreshments will be served.
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2023 Year in Review – Part 1
Thank you for your role in the many accomplishments of LWVMC during 2023. With over 400 members, we did a lot! This week we review the work of Voter Services in 2023. We will consider the 2023 summary for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) and the League’s Advocacy work later.
Voter registration initiatives include High School Voter registration; Latinx Voter Outreach; Jail Based Voter registration; Community Outreach/Partners/Alliances Outreach; New Citizens/Naturalization; Voter Registration; and Milwaukee Public Library Outreach.
The Voter Services Teams had good results for the 2023 calendar year. Here are the totals for the year in the following categories.
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Voter Services Annual Results
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Assisted with voter registrations
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1106
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Assisted with a name or address change
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726
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Assisted in requesting absentee ballots
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18
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Total number of people who received voter information and education
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7271
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Number of filled volunteer slots at these events
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542
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Total number of volunteer hours
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2085
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LWVMC and sponsor organizations connected over 2600 voters with their candidates this election season during six candidate forums. All forums were held in person.
Seven training sessions on voter registration were held between July, 2022 and March 2023. Approximately 85 people attended.
In December the LWVMC completed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Milwaukee REC department. The League has been given permission to hang banners at 13 playfields and community centers with GOTV messages. The locations chosen were based on a less than 50% registered voter turnout rate in that ward.
Milwaukee Public Schools Board issued a resolution stating that all students should have the opportunity to register to vote and be equipped to make informed voting decisions before graduating from high school. The resolution is the result of the successful LWVMC High School Voter Education and Registration Program.
Leigh Ann Tidey, team lead of the LWVMC High School Voter Education and Registration Program, received the Meg McLane Award for Advocacy from the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin.
In October, the League of Women Voters of Milwaukee County’s Jail Based Voting Team received the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office Community Service award for its work in registering people to vote at the Milwaukee County Jail. | The Loss of a Great Leader | | LWVUS announced the death of President Dr. Deborah Turner, who passed away Jan. 28. Dr. Turner, who practiced gynecologic oncology for 35 years, was a long-time advocate for voting rights and reproductive freedom. Read the obituary here. |  |
Comité por el Voto Latino - La Causa Parent Teacher Night
By Eloisa Gomez
We inaugurated CVL-LVO’s newest voter engagement prop at the La Causa Parent-Teacher Night: the Future Voter sarape stole. Two La Causa School students saw the stole on our voter outreach table. One of the girls simply picked it up off the table and asked us to take a picture of her and her "BFF” (Best Friend Forever). It was a touching and powerful moment for all of us as the girls who celebrated their friendship with an achievement symbol and a reminder of the importance of becoming registered voters.
Salma, the La Causa’s Parent Coordinator, intends to add this photo to an upcoming parent newsletter. In the process of sharing this photo, we connected with the parents to receive approval to use the photo and this strategy connects us to adults, too. And we also have a “Registered Voter” sarape stole! CVL-LVO picked the sarape design last fall when three of our LWVMC members (Las Tres Marias as I’ve been calling them—Maria Cruz, Maria Rodriguez and Maria Torres) selected this design for some of our marketing outreach.
You will find some of our new marketing designs including elements of the sarape design in them. As you may know, the sarape is a colorful woven cloth with ancient roots in Mexico and Latin America. Latinos, particularly of Mexican heritage, have used the design as a symbol of cultural pride. The best example of this is its design for graduation stoles. Across the U.S. sarape designed stoles are worn at high school and college graduation ceremonies. |  | | 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 required.
March 18 Monday | 5:30pm - 7:00pm
Milwaukee Zen Center
2825 N Stowell Ave, Milwaukee
Questions regarding this announcement? Please email e.aelion@lwvmilwaukee.org
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The 2024 Spring Primary Voter Guide was published this week to VOTE411.org for the February 20 primary election. There were 50 candidates in 12 races invited to participate in the Voter Guide. Answers to the League’s questions are published verbatim so voters see the candidate’s answers in their own words. We do not edit the responses.
Primary elections are being held in Cudahy, Fox Point, Franklin, Greendale, City of Milwaukee, and Shorewood; also for Brookfield Alderperson in District 5 and Milwaukee County Board Supervisor in District 8.
You can help by writing emails about VOTE411.org to friends, neighbors, relatives, and colleagues who live in communities having a primary (see above). Follow this link for a sample script for your email.
Can you commit to writing at least five (5) emails? Anita Gullota-Connelly and Mary Voelker created a volunteer opportunity for you! Go to the date-specific volunteer opportunity page on the League’s website.
If you have questions, please contact Anita Gullota-Connelly at anita.g.connelly@gmail.com or Mary Voelker at m.voelker@lwvmilwaukee.org. |
Performances Added!
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 17. Ticket sales here. This is a great outreach for LWVMC: an audience of democracy-minded folks! | | |
Volunteer to Help
with High School
Voter Registration | | | We are looking for volunteers to help us register and welcome high school students as new voters. Join us and work alongside student helpers to facilitate student voter registration and distribution of voter information. The Bucks are helping out - you may get to attend a pep rally and watch Bango make baskets! See the article below.
Volunteer sign-up for high school registrations differs from volunteer sign-ups for other events. All high school volunteers are required to take the online high school training (Voter Registration in Milwaukee and Waukesha Area High Schools2.pdf). At the end of the training, there is a place to join our call list. Once on the call list, you will receive notices about upcoming registrations and how to sign up for them.
If you have taken the high school training, watch for emails about new registration events. Questions? Contact Judy Winn (j.winn@lwvmilwaukee.org | Election Observers Needed on April 2
The League of Women Voters of Wisconsin (LWVWI) is recruiting volunteers across the state to observe the Spring Election on April 2. Election observers help ensure a fair election by watching for signs of voter disenfranchisement and intimidation, and by monitoring the way Wisconsin's election laws and procedures are being applied. Even if you only have a couple hours to spare on Election Day, you can still sign up to be an election observer. Learn more and sign up to volunteer today!
Volunteers will receive online training, a reporting form, a polling place assignment with flexible shifts, and an Election Day hotline number for questions or for reporting a problem. Questions? Contact LWVWI Voter Education Manager Eileen Newcomer at enewcomer@lwvwi.org or at (608)256-0827. Please share this opportunity with anyone who might be willing to be part of this vital program. | | LWVMC Seeks Coffee Sale Coordinator
LWVMC needs an organized and energetic volunteer to coordinate its annual coffee sale. You will organize teams for sales and distribution, track orders and promote sales. Over the past five years, the annual coffee sale has netted LWVMC more than $30,000. Put your leadership and organizing skills to work and help LWVMC realize its fundraising goals. LWVMC needs your time and talents. Training available. Interested? Contact Mary Sussman at m.sussman@lwvmilwaukee.org. | | |  |
Panel Discussion: New Legislation Impacting Wisconsin” Workforce Gap and DACA Recipients
Friday, Feb. 2, 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM CT Via Zoom | Register Here.
Learn about the proposed bipartisan legislation to help address Wisconsin's workforce needs by removing barriers in place for DACA recipients. The panel discussion, sponsored by Wisdom, will feature legislators and speakers who worked closely on the bills. For more information on these bills, listen to Wisdom’s Immigration Organizer Amanda Ali in this interview on WORT 89.9 discuss how they would expand rights for DACA recipients while supporting Wisconsin's workforce gaps.
| The History of Black Milwaukee presented by John Gurda
There have been Black Milwaukeeans for as long as there’s been a Milwaukee. African Americans were here when the future metropolis was just a fur-trading post, and they grew with the city during its rise as a hotbed of abolitionist activity, an industrial powerhouse, and a haven for immigrants. The Milwaukee Public Library hosts John Gurda, a Milwaukee-born writer and historian, for a talk on the history of Black Milwaukee.
Tuesday, February 6, from 6-7:30 p.m.
This program includes facilitator Clayborn Benson, Executive Director of the Wisconsin Black Historical Society
Center Street Branch
Tuesday, February 13, from 6-7:30 p.m.
Villard Square Branch
Saturday, March 2, from 3:30-5 p.m.
Washington Park Branch | Author Jonathan Eig in conversation with Cree Myles at Centennial Hall
Feb 16, 2024, 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM, Centennial Hall
Milwaukee Public Library, 733 N 8th St, Milwaukee
Register Here. | |
Jonathan Eig’s "King: A Life" is the first major biography in decades of the civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr.—and the first to include recently declassified FBI files. In this revelatory new portrait of King, Eig provides an intimate view of the courageous and often emotionally troubled human being who demanded peaceful protest for his movement but was rarely at peace with himself. Join author Jonathan Eig for a conversation with Cree Myles, bookfluencer and curator of Penguin Random House’s All Ways Black, about the legacy of Dr. King and its impact on the concerns, aspirations and future of Milwaukee’s Black Community. Books will be for sale during and after the event from Rooted MKE book store.
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Thank you! LWVMC
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