Empowering Voters/ Defending Democracy
The Voter
November 2019 Newsletter
League of Women Voters of the Ann Arbor Area
Serving All of Washtenaw County
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PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE FOR NOVEMBER
Joan Sampieri, President
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Robin Scully, photographer
The sign you see here was printed in 1920 in Grand Rapids and was meant to be displayed in the window of newly registered women voters. Almost 100 years later, that sign reminds us of the long fight to ensure voting rights for women, and the obligation those rights demand of us to be informed about ballot positions, and to exercise the right to vote each time we have the opportunity.
Last year, voters in Michigan approved sweeping changes to our voter registration, voting, and absentee ballot laws by passing an amendment to the state constitution. The intent of the initiative was to make registering and voting more accessible, secure and fair. These far-reaching changes protected our right to a secret ballot; ensured that military service members and overseas voters would get their ballots in time for their votes to count; provided for straight party voting; automatically registered citizens to vote at the Secretary of State’s office unless the citizen declined, and allowed absentee voting for any reason.
This Tuesday, November 5
th
, you can use these changes as you go to the polls in your area. Not every community has something on the ballot but here are those that do:
Ann Arbor
Proposal for up to $1 billion in new bonds for school improvements;
Scio Township
Proposal to increase millage for fire equipment and a road maintenance renewal;
Chelsea, Milan, and Saline
will elect council members;
Milan
will elect a mayor and library board members;
Northfield Township
will have a proposal banning recreational marijuana;
Manchester Township
Proposal for fire equipment and road maintenance millage;
Chelsea
will also have a bond proposal for up to $81 million for school improvements;
Napoleon, Pinckney, and Van Buren
Proposals for school millage increases.
Even if your community doesn’t have anything on its ballot, now is a good time to make sure you’re registered and to try out Vote411 (
vote411.org
) which will let you check registration, polling place, and show you your ballot. Our next election is the Presidential primary on March 10, 2020.
This year, and every year, honor the hard work of women and men who made sure you have a voice in our democracy, and the efforts of those who have made our voting more accessible – VOTE!
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Celebration Dinner
and look ahead at 2020
with the
Ann Arbor Area League of Women Voters
Please join the Ann Arbor Area League of Women Voters as we celebrate our 2019 accomplishments and look ahead to our year-long celebration of the first major victory for women's suffrage 100 years ago. That victory in 1920 was the start of the League's work to assure that all women in the United States could vote. And we're still at it, preparing for a big election year, educating voters, and ensuring fair and equal access to the polls.
To make reservations please visit our website at
www.lwvannarbor.org
.
We look forward to seeing you there!!
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The Observer Corps
Several months ago, at a Lunch & Learn, we launched an initiative called the Observer Corps. We’re gearing up for a busy year next year and invite you to consider becoming an Observer. You can help us understand local issues and the many challenges our communities face as we deepen your knowledge of what we need to do to educate voters. For more information, please email
Donna Crudder.
As
Defenders of Democracy, observers are local (and sometimes national) League members who attend the meetings of their area’s governments: city and township boards of trustees or council meetings, county commission meetings, library board and park board or zoning and planning meetings, and perhaps the water/sewer authority board or roads commission.
Observers take notes, listen to the discussions, especially as they relate to League positions, and watch that open meeting laws are being followed. Observers are asked to fill out a report on how the meeting was run, what the issues were, and if there are matters that the League should address. They don’t comment during these meetings unless the sponsoring League has authorized comments on a specific issue.
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Spotlight on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
The Membership Committee invites you to learn more about the Diversity/Equity/Inclusion efforts of the LWV US by listening to the webinars at
https://www.lwv.org We also invite members who want to work on increasing diversity in our local League to join the Membership Committee. Contact Barb Brown, Chair, at
speckle.bb@gmail.com.
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From our Brighton/Howell Area Unit
We held a successful Brighton City Council candidate forum on Thursday, October 24
th with all five candidates for the four open seats participating. The streaming to our Facebook page shared over 230 views that will assist the City of Brighton residents in their voting choices on November 5
th. The candidate forum can be viewed at:
https://www.facebook.com/LWVBrightonHowellArea/videos/576648693080178/
Six members of our league volunteered to cook and serve breakfast at Bountiful Harvest, Brighton’s only food pantry on Saturday, October 26
th. We were pleased to not only have served over 100 meals that morning, but were able to secure a future location for voter registration and an information setting for the 2020 Census. It was fun to roll up our sleeves, help our neighbors and get to know one another in a casual space.
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Applications now being accepted for the Citizens' Redistricting Commission!
October 24, 2019, Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson announced at a press conference (attended by LWVMI Past President Judy Karandjeff) that the application process is now open for Michigan's Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission.
The League of Women Voters of Michigan is pleased the Citizens Redistricting Commission is moving forward for the 2022 election. We have worked hard for fair districts and we are excited that the end of Michigan's severely gerrymandered districts is now in sight.
According to the Secretary of State "all applications must be printed and notarized before being returned to the Michigan Department of State by June 1, 2020. To find free notary public services near you, please visit
Michigan.gov/FreeNotary
. Your
local Secretary of State branch office
will also offer free notary services for this application beginning in December."
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Lunch and Learn for November
"Is it time to replace the Electoral College and, if so, with what?"
John R. Chamberlin is professor emeritus of political science and public policy at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at UM. His research has included evaluating the performance of various election methods, including those covered in this edition of Lunch & Learn.
The League of Women Voters of the United States is on record saying that the Electoral College should be abolished and should be replaced by the direct-popular-vote method for electing the President and Vice-President. It supports the use of the National Popular Vote Compact as one acceptable way to achieve the goal of the direct popular vote for election of the President until the abolition of the Electoral College is accomplished.
November’s Lunch & Learn will focus on the pros and cons of these two alternatives as well as the downside they both share, their dependence on plurality voting. Research shows that plurality voting does not perform well when there are more than two candidates, which is currently the case and is more likely to be the case if the Compact replaces the Electoral College.
Is there a better system out there? Maybe, but it would require a Constitutional amendment and the prospects for that seem dim. We will cover the pros and cons of these systems and then turn to a discussion of the topic, "Where does that leave us?"
To sign up for this Lunch and Learn program as well as all other upcoming League events, please visit our website at
www.lwvannarbor.org.
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League of Women Voters of Ann Arbor and Advocacy
A study concerning the Structure and Process of the Michigan Legislature Limited to Lame Duck Session was approved by the delegates at the 2019 LWVMI convention. A committee of twelve League members from all over the State (Donna Crudder is representing our local League and our geographical units of Tecumseh and Brighton-Howell.) has started working on the study and we are currently waiting for board approval of the scope. The committee will work throughout the winter and hopes to present consensus questions to the membership next summer. League members will have plenty of time to study the issue and arrive at consensus, since the responses won’t be due until March of 2021.”
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There's an election November 5th.
Do you know what's on your ballot?
VOTE 411 is ready to answer all of your question!
Find out what will be on your ballot
Read the proposals.
Chelsea, Milan and Saline have local candidates to elect.
Make your decision and then VOTE
Help spread the word. Share this information with your friends and neighbors. They will be glad you did.
Launched by the League of Women Voters Education Fund (LWVEF) in October of 2006,
VOTE411
.org is a "one-stop-shop" for election related information. ... Election dates. Factual data on candidates in various federal, state and local races. Ballot proposals.
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Interested in making a difference?
Join the Washtenaw County Board of Health! Applications due Tues, Nov 5.They can be found at:
The Washtenaw County Board of Health works to identify public health problems and concerns in the community, establish health priorities and advise the Board of Commissioners and Health Department on issues and possible solutions.
The Board of Health is comprised of ten appointed members who serve as advocates and educators for public health services and policies.
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High School Voter Registration is continuing
Team Leader Roddy Wares Reports:
LWVAAA members will be going to high schools this October and early November to register students using presentations revised to reflect changes in the voting laws due to Prop 3. All of the schools that we visited in the spring of 2018 and 2019 are eager to have us return. We are going this fall (rather than in the spring) so that students will be eligible to vote in the Primaries on March 10 and we will make short visits back to the schools in April and May to register students who are too young this fall to register.
We’ll also be returning to WCC this coming February and March to register students to vote.
In addition to registering the young people, we also educate them about how, when, and where to vote; how to vote early and away from home, and where to find information about elections, candidates, and proposals. We encourage them to sign up for
Turbovote.org
.
, which
not only provides most of the information that we share with the students, but also reminds them by text or email of when and where to vote and when absentee ballots and early voting are available. Last year 43% of University of Michigan undergraduates joined Turbovote.
We’re helping to make a difference
. D
ata from the Michigan Bureau of Elections compares the
turnout of 18-21 year-olds in Washtenaw County between 2014 and 2018
Number of young people voting:
2014= 2,898
2018= 20,640
% of registered young voters who voted:
2014= 21%
2018= 60%*
Young voters' % of the total vote:
2014= 2%
2018= 6%
*A
t 60%, Washtenaw County had the highest percentage turnout among this age group.
You probably know that the Presidential election in Michigan was determined by 10,704 votes. The University of Michigan, LWVAAA and WCC all played a part in this.
Acknowledgements:
Our wonderful committee of experienced volunteers includes Lynne Kochmanski, Lois Kramer, Trudy Hughes, Jeff Bieszki and Julie Roth. Trish Reilly and Edwin Pearl from the Washtenaw County Clerk’s office have been invaluable as they visit many of our schools with us to provide expertise and registration forms. At WCC Peter Leshkevich, Director of Student Development and Activities and intern Matea Pejic helped set us up for four weeks in Sept. and October 2018. During that time 48 LWV volunteers filled 96 two-hour assignments and registered 399 students.
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A Reminder that the League of Women Voters of Michigan Supports SHUTTING Down LINE 5
LWV MI has studied the issue of Line 5 extensively and supports shutting it down to protect our Great Lakes from a spill.
Despite campaign promises to decommission Line 5, Governor Whitmer has not yet done so. Please call the Governor at (517) 373-3400 or email her at
whitmer@michigan.gov
to clearly say that we expect her to protect our Great Lakes and to
“support revoking Enbridge’s easement and decommissioning the Line 5 pipeline immediately”
. Please also call Attorney General Dana Nessel’s offices at (517)-335-7622 to tell her you have made your position clear to the governor.
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Going the extra mile!
While on vacation at the Grand Canyon this summer, I saw a news article that goes one step farther in securing voting than we’ve had to do here in Michigan. According to the Grand Canyon News of August 6
th, election officials in Coconino County, which includes the Canyon, were considering using a drone to get vote tallies from the Havasupai tribal land at the base of the Canyon! The article indicated that the area is only accessible via an 8-mile dirt trail or by helicopter. While the tribe’s 130 registered voters have access to electronic voting machines, getting the tallies to the County has proved to be a challenge. This plan certainly goes the extra mile in making sure every vote counts! Joan
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We are sad to report that LWVAAA Life Member (50+ years) Mary Hathaway has died. Mary was the first guest on our WEMU interview series “
In the Public Interest” where she related how she came to join and why – it will make you smile. We’ll long remember her cheery smile, enthusiastic engagement and generous spirit.
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Not a member? Wish to join?
It's membership renewal time!
Message from your LWVAAA Treasurer
It is again the time of the year to renew or become a member of the League of Woman Voters Ann Arbor Area. When you join the Ann Arbor Area league, you become a member of the Michigan league and the League of Woman Voters US (our national league.)
Local dues are $70 for an individual, $100 for a household and $10 for a student. Dues are designated as follows:
Individual dues:
LWVAAA retains $15, LWVMI receives $23 and LWVUS receives $32.
Household memberships:
LWVAAA retains $22.50, LWVMI receives 32.50 and we send $45 to LWVUS.
Our local league is the front line of non-partisan support for our mission of
Empowering Voters / Defending Democracy
Your dues support: voter education and registration campaigns, our website, email, newsletter, and meeting and program expenses.
It is important to join by December 31 so that we can meet the LWVUS January deadline.
You can pay via
PayPal
or by
printing out the
dues renewal form
and mailing it with a check to LWV-AAA, P.O. Box 3832, Ann Arbor, MI 48106-3832.
*NOTE: If you joined or paid dues since July 1, 2019 you are paid through December 31, 2020.
Thanks – Betty Bishop, Treasurer
Thanks – Betty Bishop, Treasurer
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LWVAAA LEADERSHIP TEAM
OFFICERS
President: Joan Sampieri
Vice President: Donna Crudder
Treasurer: Betty Bishop
Secretary: Sue Smereck
DIRECTORS
Roxane Chan, Program
Diana Neering, Development
Geoff Smereck, Voter Service
Barbara Brown, Membership
Carolyn Madden, Advocacy
Susan Wooley, Communications
Jan Salsberry, Representative, Tecumseh Area
Ellen Lafferty, Representative, Brighton/Howell Area
NOMINATING COMMITTEE
Dee Dishon
Paige Silence
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Mission Statement
The League of Women Voters, a nonpartisan political organization,
encourages the informed and active participation of citizens in government,
works to increase understanding of major public policy issues,
and influences public policy through education and advocacy.
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