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Newsletter - September 17, 2020

LWVIN | Published on 9/17/2020

LWVIN Newsletter - September 17, 2020

 
IMPORTANT LEGAL VICTORY FOR INDIANA VOTERS!

As many of you know, theLeague of Women Voters of Indiana and the NAACP have been plaintiffs in a suit that preventselection officials from cancelling the registrations ofvoters identified by the flawed Interstate VoterRegistration Crosscheck system as having registered in another state – withoutproviding notice and awaiting period, as mandated by federal law.

The use of Crosscheck was part of a bill SEA 442 that the Indiana General Assembly passed in 2017.Attorneys from the Brennan Center for Justice have moved this through thecourts for us. They got an injunction that prevented theuse of Crosscheck through the November 2019election (http://tinyurl.com/yxhkj4j2) but thelegislature then passed SEA 344 replacing Crosscheck with a similar Indiana-yet-to-be-developed program.
The Court agreed with us that SEA 344 violatesthe National Voter Registration Act in the same way as SEA 442 because it permits removal of registered voters from the rolls without direct contact with the voter and without the Notice-and-Waiting period.

As a result, the Court issued a permanent injunction prohibiting Indiana election officials from implementing SEA 334 §§ 5.5(d)–(f) and prohibiting them from otherwise removing any Indiana registrant from the list of eligible voters because of a change in residence without: (1) a request or confirmation in writing directly from the voter that the voter is ineligible or does not wish to be registered; or (2) the NVRA-prescribed process of (a) notifying the voter, (b) giving the voter an opportunity to respond, and (c) then waiting two inactive federal election cycles.The permanent injunction against implementation of SEA 344 is avictory for Hoosier voters.

Celebrate!
Linda Hanson and Barb Schilling, Indiana League co-Presidents

Thank you to Oscar Anderson, Patsy Hoyer and the Board of Directors at that time for their courage and foresight to decide to enter into the lawsuit with the Brennan Center and the NAACP!
VIRTUAL WORKSHOPS AND PRESENTATIONS
DIVERSITY/EQUITY/INCLUSION, led by Tracy Heaton de Martinez, LWVIN Board member and Chair of the DEI/Racial Justice Committee.Meet Melissa Currence, our state’s National Liaison and Director of the LWVUS Board. She was instrumental in developing the National DEI program.
When:Monday, September 21, 7:30 PM (East)
Register in advance for this meeting.
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEsde6rrDsrEtVCYMMQ0tUaV8GEseV4xHqq

JAN FLAPAN'S LIVE PRESENTATION ON WOMEN'S ACTIVISM: The Fight for the Right to Vote and Equal Rightswill be hosted by theFort Wayne League, in celebration of the 100th anniversary of women's right to vote and the first day of early voting for the 2020 General Election.Jan is from Illinois and has been active in LWV for 50 years at the local, state & national levels.
When:Tuesday, October 6at 7:30 PM (East)
Reserve your spot by contactingfwlwvacct@gmail.com.You will receive a link to join the presentation..


LWVINDevelopment and Fundraising CommitteePlanned Giving Workshop.
When:Tuesday, October 20, 2020,7PM(East)
Register in advance for this meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMlduGpqTorHtQyvkUjwwAKa2VVaFI_VmiD
VOTING INFORMATION ON THE THE INDIANA LEAGUE WEBSITE
https://www.lwvin.org/

Download and view a pdf copy of ourAbsentee Ballot Flowchart

Check ourVoter Services resources..

Read all about the Indiana Congressional 5th DistrictHale Spartz Town Hall on WFYIon September22!This will be the first in the nation to use crowd-sourced questions from local voters.

LWVIN SUPPORTS IMPLEMENTATION OF ClubExpress

We are in the process of helpinglocal leagues with their implementation of ClubExpress which provides management software including website, forums, blast emails, blogs, interest groups, document storage and back office functions like membership processing and donations .Best of all, the monthly fees and implementation are paid by the LWV Indiana for all locals leagues wishing to participate.

We have four local leagues and the state league currently live on ClubExpress.If your local league is interested, please contact me.

If you wish further information, please contactTom Gardiner, LWVIN Treasurer, attkga@comcast.net.

 
Here are the dates for the U.S. Presidential, Vice-Presidential, and Indiana Gubernatorial debates: .

Sept. 29 Presidential Debate
October 7Vice Presidential Debate
October 15Presidential Debate
October 22Presidential Debate

October. 20 IN Gov. Debate
October. 27 IN Gov. Debate

Check your local stations (including PBS) for times.
Please try to schedule your candidate forums and debates around these important debates!

Congratulations to the recipients of the Preserving Women’s Legacy Grants.The one-time grants are a legacy project of the Indiana Women's Suffrage Centennial, presented by the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs. The winners were announced on August 26.
  • Rediscover Downtown Peru, to create the Miami County Woman’s Suffrage Trail
  • Downtown Angola Coalition, to commission a life-size sculpture of abolitionist Sojourner Truth
  • Michigan City Mainstreet Association, to construct either a sculpture, mosaic or mural (based on community and artist input) in Charles R. Westcott Park to honor Naomi Bowman Talbert Anderson
Learn more about the contributions of Indiana women that these projects celebrate!

Also on August. 26, the Indiana Women’s Suffrage Centennial Commission unveiledtwo original works of art that will remain a part of the State of Indiana’s permanent public art collection. The works of art commemorate the ratification of the 19th Amendment.

The art works include a quilt titled “Together” by Indianapolis artist Kassie Woodworth and a painting titled “nINeteeth" by Decatur artist Shelby Nower.

Meet the artists andtake a peekat the artworks!

LWV CARRIES ON THE WORK OF THE EARLY SUFFRAGISTS

An article byIN League VPSue Websterpublished in the La Porte County Herald-Dispatchon Aug28, 2020
MICHIGAN CITY – My love of politics began when John F. Kennedy was president. It has been a part of my life ever since.

When I was a senior in high school, I worked on Bobby Kennedy’s campaign. I walked to headquarters every day from Elston High School to volunteer.

I then worked on U.S. Sen. Birch Bayh’s re-election campaign with K.C. Harvey. He was Bayh’s statewide campaign coordinator and I learned so much working directly for him. My interest in government and politics continues to this day.

Anita Bowser, shown with State RepresentativeMichael Phillips, was born on August 18, 1920, the same day as ratication of the 19th Amendment . She went on to become the first woman to act as House Speaker in Indiana and later served in the State Senate until her death in 2007.
WHITE FRAGILITY: WHY IT’S SO HARD FOR WHITE PEOPLE TO TALK ABOUT RACISM by Robin DiAngelo
Reviewed by Tracy Heaton de Martinez,
LWVIN board member and LWV Indianapolis member

The author goes after the many excuses white people give for why they are not racists, such as having an adopted black child in their family, or black school friends, or having once lived in diverse neighborhoods. Many readers may also claim that they were raised to not see or consider race, that they treat everyone the same and they judge others on their actions not race. White readers may feel uncomfortable when the author peels away these defenses to illustrate that seeing the whole world in one’s own white framework is not helping the issue. The author points out that treating everyone “the same” ignores their unique experience as a person of color or ethnicity.

Why is this book relevant to members of the League of Women Voters? As we work to ensure fair, equitable voting access for all Americans, our local Leagues would benefit from looking more like the voting public. At minimum, our Leagues need to hear and listen to other voices. We are admittedly a rather white organization, rooted in the culture of our founding mothers. Actions such as reading this book will enable us to build a League enriched by voters of all backgrounds, religions, sexual identity, ethnicity and race.

TO READ THE ENTIRE REVIEWCLICK HERE!
SEPTEMBER 12 INDIANA LEAGUE BOARD MEETING NOTES
from Secretary Sandra Grant

LWVIN Workshops

Links to video recordings will be made available on the LWVIN website,LWVIN.org.

1) Amy Smith reported Vote411/GovTV on Sept. 9 had 56 registered and 39 in attendance. Others might see it on the video recording.
2) Redistricting is coming up on Monday, Sept 14. 43 are registered, Linda Hanson and Debbie Asberry.
3) Treasurer/Club express will be held on Sept. 15 at 7:30/6:30 pm, Tom Gardiner.
4) Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion (DEI) will be held on Sept. 21 at 7:30. 40 are registered, Tracy Heaton deMartinez and Amy Smith.

Grants awarded to locals:

Bloomington-Monroe Co. was awarded $300 forVoter Information Flyers.

Hancock Co.was awarded $300 for“Pass It On – Community Books Read –DEI”. This is a major project with the county public libraries to obtain 100 copies of the book “Just Mercy” and later the movie “Just Mercy”, and forums for spring 2021