Pictured L-R are Elizabeth Harris-Hodge,  Mayor Cavalier Johnson and Karen Nelson.

The City of Milwaukee's Office of African American Affairs (OAAA) opened their new office Friday, September 6, 2025 located at 4830 N. Fond du Lac Avenue. The office is a one-stop-shop with services for education, entrepreneurship,  self-care,  financial literacy, and youth and family wraparound offerings.

Our DEI Co-Chairs Elizabeth Harris-Hodge and Karen Nelson were there representing the LWVMC.

Federal Climate Action:

URGENT!  Before September 15, sign this petition to the EPA and add your comments regarding the repeal of the underpinnings of the Clean Air Act and its air pollution and climate regulations. Use this link.

Concerning News: The EPA has established an interim final rule and delayed critical compliance deadlines for reducing methane and pollution emissions by the oil and gas industry. The delay means exposure to increased harmful pollutants (960,000 tons of volatile organic compounds and 36,000 tons of other toxic air pollutants) leading to health impacts like cancer. And the delay means acceleration of climate change; over 20 years, methane is 80 times a more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide - and 2050 is fast approaching.

LWVUS signed on to a JOINT STATEMENT OPPOSING EPA Director Lee Zeldin’s  POLLUTERS FIRST AGENDA. About 200 organizations signed onto this statement.

Our Goal: 100% of MPS High Schools

September 15–19 is Civic Engagement Week in Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS). Voter registration is at the heart of civic engagement, and our goal is ambitious but achievable: to hold registration events in all 25 MPS high schools during that week and the following week (September 15–26).

Many students will be eligible to register—those who will turn 18 by the next election on February 17, 2026 can sign up. This is an extraordinary opportunity to help young people take a huge step into civic life.

If you’re already on our volunteer list, watch for emails announcing specific school registration dates and sign up where you can help. If you’re not yet on the list, we invite you to join us! Just review the slides here and then complete the form at the end. Once you’re on the list, you’ll receive email updates about volunteer opportunities.

Most registration shifts last about two hours (some are shorter, some a bit longer). Every shift offers a chance to witness the excitement of students registering—and often encouraging their friends to do the same.

Join us at this League Immigration Advocacy Committee co-sponsored event

Immigrants in Crisis: Our Stories

Sunday, September 21, 5:00-7:00 

United Methodist Church of Whitefish Bay

819 East Silver Spring Drive

This event will include a panel discussion and facilitated table conversations.

Register here: Immigrants in Crisis

New Medicaid/FoodShare Task Force

Extreme Abortion Law Proposed in S.C. Where next?

An abortion ban bill, drafted by National Right to Life, has been introduced in South Carolina in what may be a blueprint for other state legislatures. Under S0323, the “Unborn Child Protection Act,” abortion patients could be charged with murder and face the death penalty. The bill would ban all abortions, with no exceptions for rape, incest, or fatal fetal abnormalities. Also, certain types of contraceptives could be banned. A hearing is scheduled for Oct. 1.

Planned Parenthood South Atlantic describes the bill:

The bill threatens doctors with felony charges and decades in prison, strips them of their medical licenses, and even allows private lawsuits against providers, patients, and anyone who helps someone get an abortion. It would also criminalize sharing information or resources about abortion care, leaving people in our state isolated and at risk.

If passed, this bill would devastate the health and safety of South Carolinians – forcing people to carry dangerous pregnancies, silencing medical providers, and punishing those who offer compassion and support. 

LWVMC’s Repro Rights Committee invites members who are interested in promoting access to reproductive health care to join the committee. Contact co-chair Gail Sklodowska g.sklodowska@lwvmilwaukee.org. Committee members Lorna Grade and Kathy Randall are also part of the LWVWI Legislative Committee, which monitors bills introduced in the Wisconsin Legislature. 

LGBTQ+ Fact Of The Week

Did you know that Wisconsin was the first state to ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation? This law was passed in 1982 and protects people from discrimination based on sexual orientation in the workplace, in housing, and in public accommodations. While this is a great victory for equality, this law does not protect transgender and non-binary people from discrimination.

Money, Politics and the First Amendment

Friday, October 3, 2025, from 3:00 p.m. to 4:15 p.m.

UW-Madison Law School

975 Bascom Mall, Room 2260 Madison, WI 53706

In-Person and Virtual Register here.

The State Democracy Research Initiative invites you to attend “Money, Politics, and the First Amendment” with a reception to follow. This event will take place in-person in room 2260 in the UW Law School, with the option to attend virtually. The panel will focus on the impacts of increasingly expensive elections, and the tension between campaign finance regulation and free speech. There will be an in-person reception to follow. Our panelists will include Attorney Benjamin Ginsberg (Hoover Institution), Attorney Saurav Ghosh (Campaign Legal Center), Professor Raymond La Raja (UMass Amherst, Political Science), and Professor Abby Wood (USC Gould School of Law), with Professor Barry Burden (UW-Madison, Political Science) moderating.

Waukesha County Volunteer Coordinator for VOTE411 Needed

 VOTE411 is a nonpartisan online voter guide provided by the League of Women Voters Education Fund.  In order to produce this guide for all voters, LWV needs lots of help!  Community volunteers contact municipal or school board clerks to get candidate information.

 Coordinators for Milwaukee and Waukesha Counties work with volunteers and with clerks to collect this information and to relay it to tech team volunteers who post candidates and their contact information to the system.  The League invites the candidates to participate in the online voter guide and answer questions important to their constituents. The candidates respond to our questions on the VOTE411 site.

The position of Waukesha County Volunteer Coordinator for VOTE411 is open.  Experience with VOTE411 is helpful, whether as a community volunteer or otherwise, but not essential.

If you are interested or want more information, please contact Beth Lueck at b.lueck@lwvmilwaukee.org

* Help Register and Inform Voters *

National Voter Registration Day (Sept. 16) is fast approaching, and Voter Services has scheduled quite a few Voter Registration events that day/week. New events added every week. We need volunteers to help register voters, update addresses, encourage civic engagement, offer informational handouts and answer questions. If you have some experience helping people register to vote at myvote.wi.gov (and on paper, if necessary), please sign up! It will be a few hours well spent!!

CHOOSE YOUR EVENT HERE

Friday, Sept. 26th at 10:00 a.m.

East Side Library, 2320 N. Cramer St., Milwaukee

League Café will meet this month. There is parking behind the library through the archway.  We alternate between a specific book for discussion and general discussion. 

This month our topic is “Refugees & Immigration”.  The specific book we will be discussing is “After the Last Border” by Jessica Goudeau, and a retired immigration lawyer will be our special guest.  The book is non-fiction but reads like a novel about the experiences of two refugee families.  There are some in-between chapters about U.S. immigration policy over the years.  Marie will provide a  time-line hand-out  summarizing those chapters.  Even if you don’t read the book, our discussions are always interesting, and everyone has something to learn and/or contribute on the topic.  Join us!

In October we will have general discussion and we again have a reservation at the East Side Library. 

Brennan Center Presentation: The Campaign to Undermine the Midterms

From issuing an unconstitutional executive order to pardoning violent January 6 rioters, President Trump is making a concerted push to undermine American elections — a drive that will likely gather momentum as the 2026 midterms approach. Join us for a live virtual discussion with Brennan Center experts about these unprecedented actions and ways to protect the integrity of the vote. RSVP today.

The Milwaukee Turners are excited to announce that Alec Karakatsanis, author of Copaganda: How Police and the Media Manipulate Our News, will be joining us for a Vel Phillips Forum on Wednesday, October 8. Registration is now open here.

In preparation for the forum, on September 25 our Confronting Mass Incarceration team will host a book discussion and outline how copaganda is used in Milwaukee news. Sign-up to attend the discussion here.