September 2021
This weekend I did something I had not done for ages. I attended two gatherings. Outside, wearing a mask and socially distanced, I was able to talk, laugh and have the pleasure of the extended company of friends, colleagues and acquaintances that I had not seen in person for 18 months. Sure, we had dropped off items, talked from sidewalk to front porch or shouted into car windows on occasion; but to really have long meaningful conversations, to hear that laugh in person, to remember just how silly or tall or kind people are, it was a relief and a treat.
It was also a devastating disappointment. As conversations rolled around to specifics, I was crushed to discover that these bright, engaged, up-to-date, caring people knew little to nothing about the current congressional battles regarding voting rights. They were seemingly oblivious to the current assault on democracy. They did not appreciate that an attack on voting rights is a threat that affects all of us, no matter where we live.
“Oh, now is that an Illinois thing?” “Oh, it’s in Congress? Really?” “Well, we are good in Illinois, right?” “I have been so busy, I haven't followed up” “I think it won't hold up, it's going to be okay, right?”
Haven't they been listening? Sigh. So here is where I say the latest version of what we all have all been saying for so long. Our democracy is under attack and we need to be loud about it!
We need to make noise like never before. We need to get ourselves out of our echo chamber because no matter what we think, we are deep in that chamber. We are preaching to the choir. We must reach our bright, engaged, up-to-date, caring, friends, family, neighbors and even the most remote people in our networks. We must make sure they appreciate the threat to our democracy. We must make sure they understand the urgency.
Apart and naive we are setting course for disaster. Together we can be the difference. Together we can preserve the right to vote for all, and guarantee a voice for all in the future. We can protect our democracy.
It's up to us to make a difference.
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President
League of Women Voters of Illinois
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Voter Supression Threatens Democracy
Eighteen states have enacted 30 voter suppression laws this year, threatening our democracy. With voting rights under attack, two key pieces of legislation designed to protect the freedom to vote will be taken up when the Senate returns from recess. They both face a partisan battle.
The John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act was passed on August 24 by the US House of Representatives by a 219-212 party-line vote. The bill will restore provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
The For The People Act, passed by the House on March 3, was stopped along party lines in the Senate earlier this summer. A compromise bill will be introduced now that the Senate has reconvened.
Senators opposed to the bills have signaled their intent to filibuster the proceedings. It takes 60 votes to overcome a filibuster, which means that a minority of 41 Senators can stop the progress of any legislation they oppose.
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Take Action!
The coming days are critical.
Contact Senators Durbin and Duckworth. Tell them you appreciate their support for Voting Rights legislation. Urge them to vote for filibuster reform. When voting rights are under attack, our democracy is threatened.
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Nation-wide day of action
September 17th
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National Voter Registration Day
Tuesday, September 28
You can also register for the September 14 discussion on how to have meaningful, non-partisan conversations with voters during registration. |
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Voter ID Required—What's the harm?
Did you know that 15 states, including Illinois, do not require any form of identification at the polls?
In Illinois, voters show identification when they register to vote and sign their name on the registration documents. Once their signature is on file, all they need to do to get a ballot is to have their signature verified by an Election Judge. A registered voter’s signature becomes their voter ID for use at the polls.
So what is the harm in requiring the voter to bring an ID to the polls each time they vote? Requiring an ID at the polls can disenfranchise voters who don’t have access to a state ID - often those who are young, elderly, poor or who have a disability. ID requirements can often be a burden that restricts their right to vote.
Some voters don’t have easy access to the documents needed for a state ID, such as a birth certificate and social security card, both of which are difficult to replace when lost. The list of documents accepted for voter registration is more extensive than those required for a state ID, which reduces the burden on voters.
Additionally, requiring an ID instead of a signature to vote in person is inequitable. Those who vote by mail do not show an ID, their signature is sufficient identification.
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LWV Calls Out SCOTUS Refusal to Rule on Texas Law
The League of Women Voters of the United States and the LWV of Texas issued a joint statement when the US Supreme Court failed to block a Texas abortion law. The law bans abortions after six weeks of pregnancy and allows private citizens to sue anyone who assists a person seeking an abortion. It went into effect on September 1.
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"By refusing to rule on Texas’s near-ban on abortions, the Supreme Court allows a horrific, anti-woman law to take effect in the state. Not only does this law essentially ban abortion services, but it opens up service providers to unjust lawsuits by private citizens simply for doing their job.
“Reproductive choice is not only a dire issue concerning the rights of women and all people who may become pregnant, but one of racial and economic justice. Limits on reproductive health services disproportionately impact Black, brown, and low-income communities, therefore upholding and perpetuating income inequality and white supremacy.
“Bodily autonomy is a personal right. The League of Women Voters believes every person deserves the access and the privacy to make their own reproductive choices, and we will continue the fight for reproductive justice in Texas and across the nation.”
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The Texas law foreshadows the possibility of deep cuts into national abortion rights. A case expected to come before the Supreme Court soon, Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, involves a Mississippi law and could overturn Roe v. Wade. Roe v. Wade has protected abortion rights since 1973.
Should Roe v. Wade be overturned, Illinois residents remain protected by the Illinois Reproductive Health Act (RHA), passed in 2019. The RHA established the fundamental right of every individual to make personal decisions about their reproductive health with limited governmental interference. It took abortion out of the criminal code and required insurance companies to add abortion to their coverage of contraception, infertility treatment, and maternity care.
US Sues Texas Over Constitionality of Abortion Law
On Thursday, September 9, the US Justice Department sued the State of Texas, claiming that the new law is unconstitutional. The US Justice Department is also seeking an injunction to halt enforcement.
In addition to the challenge to Roe v. Wade, the Texas law removes the power of the federal government to defend Americans' constitutional rights against local vigilantes. By placing law enforcement in the hands of citizens, the law makes it impossible for the federal government to rely on the historic power of the Fourteenth Amendment to protect women and minorities against discriminatory state laws.
US Attorney General Merrick Garland warned that all Americans should be concerned about this tactic. “If it prevails, it may become a model for action in other areas, by other states and with respect to other constitutional rights and judicial precedents.”
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LWVIL Joins Friend of Court Brief in Fight for ERA Ratification
This fall, LWVIL joins more than 20 other organizations in an amicus curiae (friend of the court) brief on the issue of ERA ratification.
The brief is intended to bolster a lawsuit brought by the last three states to ratify the ERA: Nevada (2017), Illinois (2018) and Virginia (2020). Virginia became the 38th state to ratify the ERA, thereby meeting the constitutionally required 3/4 state threshold to become a Constitutional amendment.
However, in light of questions about the amount of time lapsed between the original proposal and final state ratification, the Archivist of the US refused to record and certify Virginia’s ratification and publish the ERA as the 28th Amendment to the US Constitution.
The Archivist’s position is based on a January 2020 memo from the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) of the US Department of Justice, then under the direction of former US Attorney General William Barr.
In response, last spring, the Attorneys General of Nevada, Illinois and Virginia filed a lawsuit in the Washington DC Circuit Court to compel certification. However, the court granted the national Archivist’s motion to dismiss the suit, stating that the Attorneys General had no legal standing to file for certification.
The case was appealed in May, and is now in the Washington DC Circuit Court of Appeals. The amicus brief that LWVIL joins will emphasize that the Attorneys General of Virginia, Illinois, and Nevada have standing to sue on behalf of their residents for ERA certification by the Archivist.
Find further information on Commonwealth of Virginia, State of Illinois, and State of Nevada v. David S. Ferriero, in his official capacity as Archivist of the United States (Virginia, et. al. v. Ferriero) at Vote Equality. |
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Local League Educational Events
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Should You Drink That? The Unfolding Story of PFAS in Our Lives
Monday, October 4, 6:00 pm
Join the LWV of the Upper Mississippi River Region to learn how PFAS "forever chemicals" have entered our lives and can impact our health—and what we can do to protect ourselves. Register to attend.
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