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.

 LWVUS has provided some talking points you can use to counter attacks on voting by mail:

With the increased popularity of vote-by-mail in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, use the following messages to counter attacks on vote-by-mail and pivot the conversation to solutions. (Avoid saying the words “voter fraud” when interacting with voters, the general public, or media. Even the mention of potential fraud has a negative impact on voters’ confidence in our elections.)

The League of Women Voters of Roseville Area stands in solidarity with our fellow Minnesotans who grieve the loss of George Floyd and condemn the horrendous circumstances of his death. We join with the Leagues of Women Voters of Minnesota and the United States in calling on law enforcement officials to provide transparency during this investigation and to seek justice for George Floyd, his family and our community. We stand ready to work with our government officials in Falcon Heights, Lauderdale Little Canada, Maplewood and Roseville to pass meaningful reforms that will address systemic racism, the heart of these tragic killings that disproportionately target Black people. Our League studied policing in our communities in 2016 (see full study here) and called for police training and data collection in order to avoid racial profiling. Now would be a good time for community education on our progress in those areas and more. We must all advocate for anti-racist policies at every level of government.

You can read the statements on this topic released by LWVMN and LWVUS.

The May/June Voter contained tips when writing advocacy letters. League members are reminded that when writing letters, sending emails or texts, or making phone calls, they are speaking as individuals, not for the League (they should not mention that they are League members in their communication).  Only the president speaks in the name of the League.  

If you would like to participate in advocacy at the national or state level as a League member, consider adding your name to "action alerts" that will come to your inbox and identify prioritized pending legislative issues that need your support.   www.lwv.org/take-action     https://www.lwvmn.org/take-action 

The Civic Caucus is known for its in-person interviews.  In this time of Safe At Home, they have transitioned to Zoom interviews.  In their latest, the April 24,2020 interview of Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon addresses the issues of assuring that Minnesotans could vote safely in both the August primary election and the November election.