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LWVMC Value Proposition
The League of Women Voters of Milwaukee County now has a Value Proposition about who we are and the issues that our donors and others care about. We extend a huge thank you to LWVMC member and volunteer Mary Rode. Mary wrote the content and then worked with Maddie Mason on the layout and design. The result is a professionally created document that we can be very proud to have for our marketing and fund development. You can access the Value Proposition here.
The value proposition is a one-page, two-sided document explaining our mission, history, and impact. We will use it as supplemental information in our grant applications. It will also be used to inform and influence our supporters and donors and the public at large.
You can use the value proposition to explain our work and why you are a member and volunteer to your friends and colleagues as you expand our efforts to identify and cultivate prospective supporters and donors. Please feel free to print it out and make copies to share with others in your network!! |  |
Tickets Now on Sale for the 2024 LWVWI Annual Meeting in Green Bay, WI!
This year's theme is Tipping Points & Shared Purposes - Challenges of 2024 & Beyond: What We Need to do This Year to Move Through Them Together. Issues we face today affect us in more ways than the obvious. How do we encourage everyone to come together again in our hyper-polarized world? From civics education to artificial intelligence to fair redistricting and beyond, we explore how to find balance before reaching the tipping points. The deadline to purchase tickets is May 17.
FORMAT: Hybrid (in-person and virtual options)
DATE: May 31 - June 1, 2024
LOCATION: Oneida Hotel and Conference Center, Green Bay, WI
For additional information on theme, lodging, parking, & material, visit the LWVWI Annual Meeting Hub. |
Next Steps For Fair Maps Coalition
Following the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s decision in the Clarke v. Wisconsin Election Commission case that the 2021 legislative voting district maps were unconstitutional, and the passage and signing of Governor Evers’s maps, Wisconsin has fair maps for the 2024 election!
Now it's on to the next phase: promoting a fair, transparent, nonpartisan redistricting process to ensure an end to gerrymandering. If you'd like to be involved, contact the Fair Maps Team Leaders listed below:
North Shore Fair Maps (Milwaukee, Washington, & Ozaukee Counties)
Debbie Patel: deborah.j.patel@gmail.com
Cheryl Maranto: cmaranto4860@gmail.com
Waukesha County
Vicki Aro-Schackmuth: varoschackmuth@gmail.com
Keep up with developments by signing up for the WI Fair Maps Coalition newsletter here. |  | Recordings of PFAS Webinars Available
This spring, LWVWI hosted two webinars about PFAS, the everyday, everywhere chemical. The webinars discuss: where it originates; how it gets into our bodies and our environment; what it does to our health; personal protections we can take; current remediation options and innovative remediation methods under investigation; and the state of PFAS in the WI legislature.
Watch both webinars below:
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LWVMC is looking for a member volunteer to manage our bookkeeping. Working with the Treasurer, the bookkeeper will use Quickbooks online to perform the following duties. Estimate of time is 7-10 hours per month. All work can be done remotely.
- Enter and categorize accounts receivables into Quickbooks to include checks, PayPal payments, LWVMC online payments via Club Express, direct deposits, interest payments.
- Pay bills twice a month (average of 12 checks/month).
- Monthly account reconciliation.
- Prepare monthly reports for the Treasurer/Board in Quickbooks.
If you are interested, please contact Linda Brundage at l.brundage@lwvmilwaukee.org. |  |  |
VOTE411 Use Outcomes
The VOTE411 Team published two voter guides in Spring 2024 for races in Milwaukee and Waukesha Counties. The VOTE411 Team invited 342 candidates in 190 races to participate in the online voter guide for the February primary and April elections.
The League always has asked its members to spread the word about the VOTE411 online voter guide to encourage citizens to use this tool as a source of unbiased information about candidates and their position on issues. This year we made a more concerted effort and recruited volunteers to commit to sending emails to their family, friends, neighbors, and colleagues promoting the online VOTE411 voter guide.
Anita Gulotta-Connelly led this campaign and recruited volunteers through the Volunteer page on our website and personal contact. Thank you to Marilyn Boeldt, Charlene Gaebler-Uhing, Sue Leister, Terry McClellan, Carol Montgomery, Candice Owley, Gail Sklodowska, Mary Ellen Spicuzza, Mary Sussman, and Mary Voelker for writing emails to encourage participation in VOTE411.org.
During Spring 2023 there were just over 8000 users and during the Spring 2024 there were almost 9000 users which is a significant jump!!
The volunteers also encouraged friends to contact their candidates and request they participate in the voter guide by answering the League’s questions posed to them. Watch for the report next week on candidate participation.
|  | Wisconsin’s Constitutional Amendment Process
The League of Women Voters of Wisconsin is launching a Constitutional Corner series to highlight issues related to our constitution. This week's topic is the process to amend our state constitution.
Wisconsinites cannot currently put referenda or constitutional amendments on the ballot. All amendments to the state constitution start in the state legislature. To amend the constitution, lawmakers must approve identical language in two consecutive legislative sessions. After that, the amendment is scheduled for an election where it will be on the ballot of every Wisconsin voter. The Governor cannot veto a constitutional amendment, unlike regular bills the legislature passes.
Since the state’s founding in 1848, there have been 200 proposed amendments to the constitution and 150 of those have been ratified. In 2024 alone, Wisconsinites will vote on five constitutional amendments. This dramatic increase in constitutional changes should set off an alarm. Voters need to understand why so many amendments are being proposed, their origins, and the impact they will have on our state. LWVWI's Constitutional Corner series will be posted on its website. |  |
Learn how to help people register to vote!
May 18, Saturday | 9:30-11:00 am
League Offices, Summit Place, Conference Rm-2135
6737 W. Washington St.
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.
Questions regarding this announcement? Please email e.aelion@lwvmilwaukee.org
Register here: My Vote Training Sign Up |  | League Cafe will meet on Friday, May 31 at the MPL East Branch at 10 a.m.
Milwaukee Public Library East Branch Community Room https://www.mpl.org/hours_locations/east.php
2320 N Cramer St, Milwaukee, WI 53211
Everyone is invited to attend. Come one and all!
Normally we meet on the 4th Friday of the month but we are meeting one week later to avoid the Memorial Day weekend. This meeting will be a general discussion meeting. When we have a general discussion meeting we talk about anything and everything of interest to the group. It is also an opportunity for newer members to come and learn more about our League. Also, at this meeting, we will choose our book selection for our June meeting. If you have a title in mind, please feel free to bring it up on the 31st. | Celebrate Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month with Ron Kuramoto |
May 16, 6-8 P.M.
WOMAN’S CLUB OF WISCONSIN
813 East Kilbourn Avenue, Milwaukee
Tickets can be purchased online and include samples of different Asian dishes. Join Ron Kuramoto, President of the Japanese American Citizens League, for a talk about how Asian communities survive and thrive in Asian American Communities. Kuramato will explore the Japanese American experience, as well as touch on the influences of other Asian cultures, how they have enhanced and contributed to our society, and how they have built resilience to racism.
| Accessing Members-Only Website Portal
The LWVMC website has information and resources that are available only to LWVMC members. To access the membership directory or members-only resources and volunteer opportunities, click on the button below. Contact Mary Ellen Spicuzza at me.spicuzza@lwvmilwaukee.org with any questions. | 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.
Thank you! LWVMC
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