Tartan Seniors Register to Vote

The Voter Services Committee offered area high schools voter registrations when seniors picked up graduation caps and gowns. Schools were also provided eligibility requirements for students registering and information on how to register online. Tartan High School accepted the offer and Marcia Cheney, Gladys Jones, Karen Lake, and Florence Sprague volunteered May 13-14, with 111 students taking advantage of the opportunity.

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Equitable Representation Consensus Meeting - May 24, 2021

The study team for “Equitable Representation in City Commissions and Boards” invites all League members to provide feedback to arrive at consensus as the next step in the study process. This year-long study includes research on the composition, recruitment, orientation, and role of City Council-appointed commissioners and a report. The goal of this study was to identify current practices and suggestions/best practices in equitable representation for Boards and Commissions appointed by the City Councils of Falcon Heights, Lauderdale, Little Canada, Maplewood, and Roseville. Here is the attached letter and report. (A print copy has been sent to members who traditionally receive print materials.) After hearing a summary presentation and participating in discussion, members will have the opportunity to vote on the following question: "Should LWVRA recommend that our cities’ boards and commissions broadly reflect the diversity of their population, including race, ethnicity, gender, income, age, and other aspects of diversity?"

Please participate via Zoom on Monday, May 24, 7:00 p.m. at this link: https://lwvmn-org.zoom.us/j/93171333608?pwd=Yi9mSHRCSGtlbEdXQU5qNzkrRm1hZz09.

Annual Report and 68th Annual Meeting May 4, 2021

Greetings, Fellow Leaguers!

Once again this year's Annual Meeting will be held on the Zoom platform.  In anticipation of the meeting we have prepared our Annual Report  This year has been a full year of Zoom meetings and no in-person contact with our colleagues.  While we miss seeing your faces, we have been able to advance the programs and issues important to all of us.  The report details all the activities we have participated in. 

The Annual Report can be viewed here. The action items for this year's meeting consist of:

CMAL Annual Meeting and Program - May 8, 2021

The Council of Metropolitan Area Leagues of Women Voters (CMAL) 2021 Annual Meeting and Program will be held on May 8, 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Program guest speakers: Anoka County Commissioner Mandy Meisner and Ramsey County Commissioner Victoria Reinhardt. Topic: County Government Visibility and Accountability. The business meeting will follow immediately after the program.

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LWV Minnesota Firearms Committee - Domestic Terrorism/Firearms Issues

LWVMN Firearms Update Study Committee presents speaker Joshua Horwitz, J.D., Executive Director of The Coalition to Stop Gun Violence in Washington D.C and co-author of Guns, Democracy and the Insurrectionist Idea. Horwitz speaks, via Zoom, on the topic: Domestic Terrorism in the U.S. and Minnesota. Also speaking is John Choi, Ramsey County Attorney who provides local perspective on firearm issues and how they’re dealt with. Presented April 27, 2021.  View on our YouTube channel.

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April 2021 Voter

There is so much information in the April Voter. Here are some highlights...

  • President Barb Barany’s article on a membership approved amendment to our Bylaws, and our Board's proposed amendments to, and adding a procedure to, our Policies and Procedures
  • Just what goes into doing a League Study? See the Equitable Representation in City Commissions article
  • Donna Peterson and Barb Luck’s article on How to be Kind to the World
  • The proposed LWVRA 2021-2022 Budget

Discrimination in Housing Opportunities - Redlining March 23, 2021

Ramsey County Library has provided us with a link to the recording of this program.  This was a not-to-miss informative program.  Here is the link to view it. 

Join us on Tuesday, March 23 7:00 -8:30 PM for a discussion on Discrimination in Housing Opportunities:Redlining and Racial Covenants Then and Now. Co-hosted with Ramsey County Library Roseville, Kirsten Delegard, co-founder of Mapping Prejudice and Kari Collins, Ramsey County Community and Economic Development Director will help us understand how racial covenants were used in the past to discriminate, how the impacts of this discrimination still manifest today and what current barriers to equitable home ownership may be.

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March 2021 Voter

In this issue of The Voter, you will find information about:

  • The upcoming March event to help us understand how racial covenants were used in the past to discriminate, and the impacts today
  • Just what is the Minnesota Greenstep program
  • Canceling a racist history article by Jim DeBenedet
  • A recap of Paul Huffman’s Census, Redistricting, and Reform presentation providing answers to questions he was unable to answer at the event
  • New member Kathy Macomber

The 2020 Census, Redistricting and Reform, February 16, 2021

Paul Huffman, our presenter, made a pdf of his PowerPoint presentation available to us.  You will find it here.  If you were unable to attend the event life, you can view a recording of the event made by Ramsey County Library.  Click on this link.

Join us for this presentation where Paul Huffman, LWVMN Redistricting Coordinator, will give an overview of the legal requirements for redistricting, how it has historically been done in Minnesota, the potential for political manipulation and how Minnesotans can be involved in ensuring that the new maps are fair. This Zoom presentation on Tuesday, February 16, 7 - 8:30 pm is co-hosted by LWVRA and Ramsey County Library Roseville, Register at https://rclreads.bibliocommons.com/events/5fc672b41d94912f00a8ebb6

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A Statement from the League of Women Voters of Minnesota

LWVMN Statement in Defense of Democracy

On January 14, LWV Minnesota sent a letter to our MN Legislative leaders, seeking truth related to our 2020 elections and consequences for the baseless claims of voter fraud continuing to be reiterated by various people within our legislature. We were especially concerned about the growing evidence of possible violence being directed at elected and government officials prior to inauguration, and about the ongoing use of the baseless claims of voter fraud as a reason for this insurrection behavior.

Was this a partisan act? Being nonpartisan means we don't support any specific party or candidate. Equally, it means that we don't abandon our well-studied positions based on a legislator's party. We will continue to work with all legislators, regardless of party, to advance free and fair elections. And we will continue to hold accountable all legislators, regardless of party, who undermine democracy.

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