September 12, 2020 Update from LWVLA |
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Still Time to Register!
Join Us for Tuesday's Virtual L&L
with Ginny Dankmeyer
La Crosse County Clerk
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Next week, we will resume our monthly Lunch & Learn program using Zoom, the online meeting platform. Members of the public are invited to join the free live Zoom webinar by registering through the link below. A recording of the program will be available for viewing on our website following the live Zoom presentation.
September Lunch & Learn
Tuesday, September 15, 2020
11:30 AM - 1:00 PM
A Voting Conversation with Ginny Dankmeyer
La Crosse County Clerk
Ellen Frantz, a member of the League's Executive Board, will open with a brief update on the legal status of recently contested Wisconsin electoral policies. Ginny Dankmeyer will then address the upcoming election--its voting issues, challenges and solutions.
Directions for joining the Zoom Webinar:
1) Click on the button below to register in advance for this webinar. Fill in the required information on the registration page.
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2) After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing a link to join the Zoom webinar that says "Click Here to Join."
3) Save your email confirmation, and use that link to join the meeting on 9/15. You can join on a computer or a mobile device. Our audience will not appear on your screen, but you will have access to a Q&A feature to enter questions that will be shared after the program with our speaker.
We look forward to your joining us!
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LOOKING FOR A WAY TO HELP GET OUT THE VOTE?
Research shows that personal contact is one of the most effective ways to drive the vote. That is difficult to do during these times. However, one safe and effective means of getting out the vote is door hangers.
Please join the drive!
Grab a friend! This activity is most efficiently done with a partner, so that you each take a side of the street.
Pick up your door hangers and get your street assignment on Saturday, September 19th, from 10:00 – 2:00 in the parking lot of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship at 401 West Avenue South.
Can’t do the hanging on Saturday? No problem. Pick up the hangers and do it as you can in the following few days.
Report back to Peter Nelson at the UU or at [email protected] when you’ve completed your assignment.
Have left over door hangers? Return them back to the UU or to the box on the front porch of 111 17th Street South, Chris Haskell’s house.
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Be a Hero: Apply to Be a Poll Worker
The La Crosse City Clerk encourages all private citizens to vote and to become involved in the election process. One of the most rewarding ways to do this is to become an Election Day poll worker, also known as an election inspector.
Citizen involvement is essential to conduct open, accurate and fair elections in Wisconsin. We hope that you will consider participation in one of the positions available for working at the polls on Election Day. Learn more and apply here.
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November 3 General Election News |
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Wisconsin Supreme Court Order
Could Delay Absentee Ballots
Conservatives on the Wisconsin Supreme Court issued an order Thursday that will keep clerks from mailing absentee ballots to voters while justices consider a lawsuit by the Green Party's presidential ticket.
The move could set up a last-minute change to ballots with state and federal deadlines closing in, prompting warnings from county clerks across the state. According to documents filed with the court on Thursday night, at least 2.3 million ballots have already been printed.
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League Sends Letter Urging Postal Service to Continue Longstanding Practice of Placing Voter Registration Forms in Postal Offices
Amid reports that local post offices in the Houston, Texas, area declined to place voter registration forms in their lobbies, citing a “directive” from the Postmaster General, the League of Women Voters of the United States and the League of Women Voters of Texas sent a letter to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy demanding that the Postal Service continue their longstanding practice of displaying and providing voter registration forms and postcards in post offices across the country. Is your post office providing voter registration forms?
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For Your Consideration... |
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Please send us your recommendations for local events or viewing, listening, and reading materials that you feel reflect our League mission and priorities. and we will share them with our readers. Remember that League is a nonpartisan organization. |
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La Crosse School District Hosts Online Forum
on School Resource Officers
Monday, September 14
6 - 8 PM
On Sept. 14th the School District of La Crosse will host a virtual open forum for members of the community to discuss the district’s ongoing review of the School Resource Officer (SRO) program. The program review is being used to determine if the existing partnership will continue, be modified, or eliminated. The current SRO contract between the district and the City of La Crosse expires in June of 2021.
Community members interested in speaking at the forum should register by calling the superintendent’s office at 608.789.7659, or via email at [email protected]. Prospective speakers should register by 4:30 p.m. on September 14. Registered speakers will be given five minutes to speak during the forum.
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Addressing the Elephants in the Room |
Wisconsin Green Fire is hosting virtual programs on Age, Race, Politics, and Conservation as part of their 2020 annual meeting taking place on September 16, 23, 25 and 26. |
Wednesday, September 16
4:00 - 6:30 pm
Understanding Racial Equity and Inclusion in Conservation
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In this special interactive workshop, we'll work to better understand racial inequities, and especially ways in which inequities have existed in the field of conservation.
August Ball, founder and CEO of Cream City Conservation, will present on the history and concepts behind racial inequities and lead our interactive discussion.
Wisconsin's Green Fire is co-hosting this unique program with our allied organizations Gathering Waters and the Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin. August will challenge us to look at race on personal and societal levels to help us integrate diversity, equity, and inclusion into our work. Check out Cream City Conservation here.
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Vote Safe Project... Your Vote Counts! |
In collaboration with Great Rivers United Way, the La Crosse Tribune, WXOW, WKBT and WIZM, the Vote Safe Project program will address these questions & others with updated and accurate information. We are pleased to have experienced panel members on hand.
The program will be offered via Facebook Live on the Facebook pages of Great Rivers United Way and the four media partners. If you would like to receive updated program information, you may preregister here.
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La Crosse Virtual Town Hall: Policing in Our Community |
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Eight panelists spoke during the two-hour virtual event that discussed a range of topics: from police training, to implicit biases, the historical trauma Black citizens have faced, to defunding police departments and diversity among police forces, and more.
Though the topics ranged on how to fix policing practices and racism in policing for the community, solutions continued to round back to starting the work together, and starting to develop real change now.
“I know it sounds too simple, too good to be true, but it starts with a conversation. It starts with just talking, it starts with a relationship,” said panelist Chauncy Turner. (from The La Crosse Tribune, 8/20/20)
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The 19th*
A New News Organization
The 19th* is a nonprofit, nonpartisan newsroom reporting on the intersection of gender, politics and policy that was recently launched during a celebration of the passage of the 19th Amendment. They aim to empower women, especially those underserved and underrepresented by American media. The national League is a supporter.
The 19th Amendment made voting a right regardless of sex, but in fact excluded millions, including many women of color, for generations. The 19th Amendment remains unfinished business, a fact they acknowledge in their logo with an asterisk, a visible reminder of those who have been omitted from our democracy.
You can receive their free weekly newsletter by signing up at 19thnews.org.
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Looking Ahead
October Lunch & Learn
Tuesday, October 13
11:30 AM - 1 PM
Diana DiazGranados, Public Health Advocate
Co-Creator, Creating a Healthier Multicultural Community Project
Promoting Better Understanding of Racial Understanding and Justice in our Communities
In preparation for Ms. DiazGranados's talk, the Program Committee is suggesting two books our members might want to read beforehand. First is “Waking Up White and Finding Myself in the Story of Race” by Debbie Irving. If you have read it, a second suggestion is “So You Want To Talk About Race” by Ijeoma Oluo. The committee felt that reading one or both of the books, if possible, in preparation for the meeting would help to further our self-education and stimulate further discussion.
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Speaking of Democracy
Join the Conversation at LWVLA Book Club
Wednesday, September 30, 6:30 - 8:00 pm
ALL ARE WELCOME!
So it is now time to get back into the book club mode after taking off our Covid respite. We will attend by Zoom! I think we have gotten more used to Zoom meetings even though we might not love them. Please register to receive a link from Zoom for Book Club. You will get an email confirmation from Zoom.
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Biased: Uncovering the Hidden Prejudices That Shape What We See, Think, and Do by Jennifer Eberhardt.
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From one of the world’s leading experts on unconscious racial bias come stories, science, and strategies to address one of the central controversies of our time
With a perspective that is at once scientific, investigative, and informed by personal experience, Dr. Jennifer Eberhardt offers us the language and courage we need to face one of the biggest and most troubling issues of our time.(notes from Amazon)
We will decide on the next two books and dates. I know Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson has been suggested a number of times and has gotten good reviews. Hope to virtually see you then!
Maureen Kinney
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The League of Women Voters of the L aCrosse Area
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