LWVABC Meetings
and Special Public Events
We Sponsor
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Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI
At the Vaughn Library temporary location on Beaser Avenue and Sixth Street (and via Zoom) Join us if you read the book a while back or haven’t read it yet. All welcome!
For more information email Anne at achartiercoates@gmail.com
Zoom link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/4856665400?omn=82981779844
The League of Women Voters of Ashland and Bayfield Counties is a nonpartisan political organization whose main objective is to promote political responsibility through the informed and active participation of all citizens in government at all levels, especially locally. Making Democracy Work!
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In 2024, crucial national, state and local races are happening throughout Wisconsin, and election administrators need poll workers committed to empowering voters. SIGN UP!
Urgent ACTION!
We urge LWV/ABC members and friends to sign on as private citizens to the letter.
This must be completed by the evening of April 22 in order for the letter to be delivered to the Canadian Ministers on April 24, the 70th Anniversary of Enbridge Line 5’s operation. Simply go to:
https://communitiesunitedbywater.org/communities-united-by-water/tell-canadian-ministers-no
Further details are also presented at this link. Note copies being sent to US officials.
Join us! The Wisconsin Conservation Congress (WCC) and Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will host an open house in each county the week of April 3 to connect with the public, answer questions about resource management, and discuss local issues of importance. The WCC will also hold elections for two of the five delegate seats in each county. April 3rd: Bayfield and Sawyer counties. April 5th: Ashland and Iron counties. Consider standing for delegate!
THURSDAY, MARCH 16, 6:00 TO 7:30 PM, Candidates: Joe Oskvarek & Tara Tervort
Click image or title to view video…
Ashland School Board Forum, March 7th, 2023 held at the School Board District office in Ashland. Host: Kate Miller, Moderator: Allison Lutterman. Click Read more to view the video…
This program, aired on January 10, 2023, was based on a recent publication of Wisconsin Green Fire, a non-partisan organization whose mission is to advance science-informed analysis and policy solutions to address Wisconsin's greatest conservation challenges. Click Read More to view the video.
Read about the experience of Mary Wichita of Mason, WI, canvassing with Native Vote. You can have a similar great experience.
Today is Poll Worker Recruitment Day, a day of action in honor of the people who make our democracy run smoothly.
In 2022, we're already seeing the need for more poll workers. We're proud to partner with Power the Polls, because our democracy depends on ordinary people who make sure every person's vote is counted.
August 9 is Fall Primary Election Day and voters will cast their ballots to narrow the candidates for the November General Election. Click for the information you need…
LWVABC encourages you to attend if you can!
Demonstrate your rage and pain in protest of the supreme court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade at the federal level!
We will have about an hour of protesting at the Ashland Menard Park (Corner of Chapple Ave and Main St) then march to the County Courthouse!
Bring sunscreen, water and your rage!
We will have some pre-made signs, please bring your own or show up with your passionate voices!
Meet, organize, inform, sing, dance, play, eat, pray, live music, lacrosse game, community pot luck and Indigenous feast. LWVABC will be there! Click image for more information and to see poster with schedule of events, etc.
UPDATE FOR APRIL 5 SPRING ELECTION: Due to new rules, plan to return your absentee ballot by mail or by delivering it to your clerk's office rather than a dropbox. Additionally, if possible, voters should plan on returning their own absentee ballot. Voters with disabilities may ask for accommodations to return their ballot. If you have questions about these changes, contact your municipal clerk.
Click image to see spring elections timeline and to learn what’s on your ballot.
On Friday January 21, 2022, LWVABC members & others braved the cold In front of the Ashland courthouse to stand for fair maps and our voting rights. We had approximately 35 people participate, despite the cold and wind! Anne Chartier and Diane Koosed did an outstanding job organizing this event. Yay Voter Services! Click Read More to see pictures! To learn more about the rally visit the event on our calendar.
As we embark on a new year, the LWV-ABC board will be holding a strategic planning session next week. Prior to that meeting, we'd like to have you complete a short survey to help us in our prioritization of our critical work on or before Sunday, January 9th, 2022. Please click on the link below to complete the survey. The survey is anonymous. Only a compiled report from the answers will be made available to us.
Survey Link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/FJPJZL5
Wisconsin is still in need of people like you to serve as paid poll workers for the 2022 elections! Being a poll works means you help people practice their freedom to vote and ensure as many people as possible can cast their ballot. You are making sure the voices of your community are heard!
Be a poll worker—sign up through December.
Please call your senators repeatedly and urge them to support the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. Senator Ron Johnson (202) 224-5323, Senator Tammy Baldwin (202) 224-5653.
And go to myvote.wi.gov to make sure you are registered to vote, or to update your registration.
Be sure to read this post for additional information about our efforts!
For more information see Wisconsin’s first Civic Health report. Civic Health Month is a nationwide initiative, learn more about how you can get involved here.
Benjamin DePasquale, junior at Lawrence University has created a new podcast:
The Gerrymandered State
• Episode 1: The History of Gerrymandering in Wisconsin features Matt Rothschild, Exec Director at the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign.
• Episode 2: The Ramifications of Gerrymandering in Wisconsin - Ben talks with Outagamie County Board Supervisor Jerry Iverson, and Board Chair Jeff Nooyan.
• Episode 3: What Citizens Can Do Penny Bernard Schaber, 8th CD Fair Maps Team Leader and retired State Legislator, and Carlene Bechen, Organizing Director for the Fair Maps Coalition.
The People's Maps Commission Portal is still open to submit maps through July 31st. Make sure your community of interest is represented.
You’re Invited: Wisconsin Mapmaking Week of Action July 11-17, The Wisconsin Fair Maps Coalition is hosting a Map Making Week of Action next week, from July 11 to 17. July marks your last chance to submit maps and written comments to the People’s Maps Commission (PMC) before the portal closes. Right now, there is no better way to have your voice heard in the redistricting process than to submit a community map of your own!
Memorial Medical Center and the Ashland, Bayfield, and Iron county health departments are working together to conduct each organization’s community health-needs assessment. Every three years, hospitals are required to conduct a needs assessment and every five years counties are required to complete one. The survey completion deadline is July 12.
The survey is available online at: https://survey.alchemer.com/s3/6398420/Community-Health-Survey
Paper copies of the survey may be requested by contacting Abby Miller at 715-685-5182 or ammiller@ashlandmmc.com We encourage all to participate in this survey and provide valuable feedback on the health needs in our community!
Biennial Budget Testimonies. Budget Comments will be accepted until Noon on April 30th.
What do you want the Joint Finance Committee to know about how money is being spent in Wisconsin? Do you feel we need more help with our roads and internet access? It's not too late to write personal testimonies and submit by the deadline of noon 4/30. It is not too late to put together a single issue short online comment or email.
Submit your comments online on the Joint Finance Committee Budget Public Comment Website
The general JFC email is : Budget.Comments@legis.wisconsin.gov
This article also has letters sent on behalf of the LWV-ABC which were crafted by our Economic Inequality Committee Co-Chairs, Linda Jorgenson and Jan Penn.
Beginning today, advocates of nonpartisan redistricting, including members of the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin, the Fair Maps Coalition Grassroots Team, and others, will begin a campaign of email messages to state legislators demanding a nonpartisan, non-gerrymandered mapping process in 2021. Please join us so that legislators hear from their constituents from all over the state!
Contact your legislators today by customizing this email template to express your concerns about the impacts of partisan gerrymandering.
As our latest newsletter shows, LWVABC has been doing lots of good work, and we need your help!
Several committee chair positions are open, and we need your input and help on a number of important initiatives.
Please become a member! Then make a call and get involved!
UW-Madison Division of Extension Bayfield County has an Information Session for residents interested in Running for Local Office this election cycle (Town Supervisors, City Council Members, School Board Members). Scott Fibert, Bayfield County Clerk will be on hand to provide accurate info, and we’ll have ample time for folks to ask questions.
The short zoom will happen next Monday, December 14th at 7pm.
Participants need to be registered to attend: https://uwmadison.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJAtde-tqjMpG9DaslhJ2r442XV6sqTvKxgg
Below you will find a call to action on fair redistricting. We need you to contact the Wisconsin Supreme Court to share your opinion about the proposed rule that would allow the Wisconsin Supreme Court to claim jurisdiction on any future redistricting legislation, effectively limiting the review of fair maps and rushing the process altogether. Please take a moment to submit your public comments before November 22 at 5 pm! Submit a written comment.
73rd Assembly District Democratic Primary Candidate Forum held October 9, 2024 in Ashland WI. Candidates Frank Kostka and Angela Stroud. Sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Ashland & Bayfield Counties, the League of Women Voters of Douglas County, and the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin.
Forum Video link - https://youtu.be/gyL5E7tl6Tg
The 73rd Assembly District Candidate Forum held October 9, 2024 in Ashland Wisconsin. Candidates Frank Kostka and Angela Stroud. Sponsored by the LWV of Ashland and Bayfield Counties and LWV of Douglas County.
73rd Assembly District Democratic Primary Candidate Forum held June 26, 2024 in Superior WI. Candidates Angela Stroud and John Adams. Sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Ashland & Bayfield Counties, the League of Women Voters of Douglas County, and the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin.
For those who could not attend click video link: https://youtu.be/PCtnQbbdBh8
Enbridge Line 5 is a 645-mile-long pipeline between Superior, WI and Sarnia, Ontario. It crosses over 400 ecologically sensitive wetlands and waterways in the Great Lakes watershed, which supplies the drinking water for 48 million people. Enbridge has promoted its pipeline as a reliable, safe, and affordable method of delivering energy.
These pipelines impact an incredibly large swath of Wisconsin waterways and drinking water supply. With that in mind, what is Enbridge not sharing with you?
A compilation of Enbridge's environmental transgressions summarized by P.K. Hammel, Attorney from Antigo, WI.
For those of you who couldn’t attend Click Here to view the video of the annual meeting.
With the upcoming spring election, voters are confused by two constitutional amendments presented by the legislature. These are constitutional amendments and voters need to know the consequences if these amendments are passed. In this post you will find information on these amendments and where the League stands on these amendments. Simply put, we are encouraging voters to vote no! Click Read more to learn why!
This spring, all eyes are on Wisconsin as voters decide who will fill an empty seat on our state Supreme Court. The stakes could not be higher as we can expect the justices to hear cases about voting rights, abortion access and the purity of our water within the next term.
But dark money, or campaign funding from undisclosed donors, complicates this role. Leading up to the primary, big-dollar, out-of-state interest groups are already working overtime to politicize our judges and purchase influence, attempting to block out the voice of Wisconsin voters…
Jennifer Dorow, Dan Kelly, Everett Mitchell and Janet Protasiewicz are facing each other in the Feb. 21 primary to run in the 2023 spring general election for state Supreme Court justice.
Read the article in PBS Wisconsin online By ZAC SCHULTZ, January 4, 2023
Read more from Ballotpedia: https://ballotpedia.org/Wisconsin_Supreme_Court_elections,_2023
In June of 2022, the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case Moore v. Harper, which considers the "independent state legislature” theory or ISLT. Adoption of the independent state legislature theory by the US Supreme Court would be detrimental to all Americans. It would prevent state courts from ruling on actions of the state legislature that govern federal elections, essentially giving state legislatures unchecked authority to set the rules for federal elections, including redistricting maps…
Thank you to everyone who joined us for LWVWI’s 2022 virtual Issues Briefing! The feedback you shared about our three “Justice Matters'' programs indicates the series was relevant, highly engaging and extremely informative. Click for links to YouTube recordings of the programs.
In December 2021, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources released their draft Environmental Impact Statement on Enbridge’s proposed reroute and expansion of the Line 5 pipeline around the Bad River Reservation. During the public comment period following the posting of the dEIS, over 30,000 comments were submitted to the WDNR, indicating a high level of interest among citizens.
The Sierra Club Wisconsin and 350 Wisconsin conducted an analysis of the comments, categorizing them by topic. This analysis, conducted by volunteers, was overseen by Greg Mikkelson, Ecological Economist at the Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy. Click to view the document…
Click to view the two videos of the programs, with short descriptions, plus some useful links from the first program.
The Army Corps of Engineers (Detroit District) is accepting scoping comments on the proposed tunnel project under the Straits of Mackinac prior to preparing a full Environmental Impact Statement. This is our opportunity to weigh in on the issues and topics we think should be addressed in an EIS. Our LWV-ABC natural resources committee drafted scoping comments and once again our State League (LWVWI) supported us and submitted the comments. (Click Read More…)
We hope individuals will also submit comments by October 14 at the following website: https://www.line5tunneleis.com/comment-here/
In March 2022 our Natural Resources Committee worked with the Wisconsin LWV on a letter submitted to the Army Corps of Engineers requesting a full Environmental Impact Statement be conducted for the proposed rerouting of Enbridge Line 5 around the Bad River Reservation. We also requested a public hearing and public comment period.
At the end of August 2022, Midwest Environmental Advocates reiterated these requests. The LWVWI was a signatory to the letter, along with several other organizations.
Read both letters here.
Candidates Tina Sopiwnik, John Thomas, Mike Wright, Edward Gruhl. Mr. Gruhl was traveling and unable to attend the forum. We had over 120 people attend! Click Read More to view the video of the forum.
