Presidents’ Notes

It is my pleasure and honor to be the new president of the League of Women Voters Northern Lower Michigan. This is a dedicated, talented, and fun group! I am proud to have joined the League in its first year. Thank you to the membership committee for recognizing the 25 initial members with nifty LWV pins during our annual meeting in June.

I have been a government nerd for most of my life. I learned the names of senators while my sister, who many of you know, was learning the names of football players. During college, I was a Congressional intern in Washington D.C. for Phil Ruppe, who represented what is now the MI 1st district—the district where I grew up on the sunrise side of the state. I earned a Masters degree in Public Administration from the Maxwell School at Syracuse University and worked in city government before moving to Petoskey in 1987.

Robin Jordan, who passionately served the League as our founding President, has been preparing me for months to take on the president’s role. She is such an organized, well-informed teacher. Fortunately, Robin will remain very active with our League attending Executive Committee meetings as past-president, preparing our newsletters, and serving on the Equal Rights Advocacy committee. Thank you again, Robin, for your outstanding work these past years.

I have been excited to see new memberships rolling in almost weekly. People are inspired by our work and want to participate. Don’t hesitate to invite your friends and neighbors to join us in Empowering Voters and Defending Democracy. That is the mission of the League. I have actually been quoting the mission when people ask me “What have you been doing this summer?” “I’m empowering voters and defending democracy!” Try it! It’s awesome when the response is “How can I help?”

Our primary focus for the rest of 2024 will be the upcoming August and November elections. Along with our Voter Services Committee, ably chaired by Dibby Smith, we will do all we can to mobilize our membership to help get out the vote and inform those who do vote. At the same time, let’s never lose sight of our need to protect our League legacy of being a nonpartisan and reliable source of information.

My email address is lisa.g.blanchard@gmail.com. I encourage you to reach out if you have any questions or concerns or, better yet, if you see opportunities to contribute to our goals. It will be all hands on deck in this critical election cycle. I look forward to working with you.

Take care and take action, Lisa B.

August 1st Thursday: Health Care Committee Meeting - 10 am at the Petoskey Public Library. All are welcome! Bring your ideas on topics we should cover!

August 5th  Monday: BOD meeting 9 -10:30am 

August 6th Tuesday: Primary Election Day

September 9th Friday: BOD meeting 9 -10:30am 

September 25th Wednesday: Public Forum: The Problem of Mis/dis-information

The Voter Services Committee is gearing up for a very busy few months! Much of the activity has already begun and will continue through the election cycle. After the August 6 primary, we will begin preparing for the general election on November 5. We will be gathering the names of candidates, both primary winners and non-party-affiliated candidates who filed in July, as well as school board and municipal candidates. We will be contacting all candidates to invite them to participate in VOTE411. We hope to be invited to moderate candidate forums as we have in recent years.

We will be providing Voter Registration opportunities around the area. We will provide non-biased information to community members on candidate and ballot issues with our local insert for the LWVMI printed Voter Guides. We need help distributing copies of the Guides around all three counties! We will be providing observers for the Boards of Canvassing. We will be sending out 1800 Get Out the Vote postcards. Find that one thing that YOU can do to support the LWV mission of empowering voters and defending democracy!

If you have a VOTE411 yard sign, please take it down after the Primary on August 6th. Let’s all put them out again on TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 24. Remember to please not put them near partisan signs.

To get a sign, or to find out how you can help in all of this work, please contact Dibby Smith at dibbys@aol.com or 231-881-3804.

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Join the Team!

Michigan needs more election inspectors (ie, poll workers) for the expanded early voting period and for election day. Click here to learn about the various roles (observer, election inspector) and what they entail.

If you are interested in volunteering in our 3 county area, please email Carolyn Penniman at cjpenniman@gmail.com  for more information.

Election inspectors/Poll Workers: If you volunteer at the polls for the Primary and/or the General elections, please be sure to add your name to Poll Worker & Board of Canvasser Recruitment document in our Google drive. Simply click here and add your name.

Board of Canvassers: Each election requires certification of the results by a Board of Canvassers to account for every ballot cast. With the recent heightened scrutiny of election results, the League of Women Voters of Michigan is asking for members from each county to act as observers for the Canvass which is held on the Thursday following the election. This year’s Canvass will take place on Thursday, August 8 for the Primary, and Thursday, November 7 for the General Election. A training video is available for first time observers.  You can sign up to volunteer for the Primary Canvass by clicking here and scrolling to find Charlevoix, Cheboygan and Emmet Counties.  You only need to sign up for Thursday. 

If you volunteer as a Board of Canvass observer, please add your name to Poll Worker & Board of Canvasser Recruitment document in our Google drive. Simply click here and add your name.

UP NORTH LIBRARIES UNDER ATTACK

Alpena County Commissioners are working to fire all library staff over books on adolescent sexuality that are available in the library. The move comes with a campaign to defund the library millage in the upcoming August election. Read more here.

Libraries across the country are facing challenges such as book banning and defunding. The LWV Grosse Point presented a workshop at the LWVUS Annual Conference in Washington DC this past June on book banning. LWV Gross Point adopted their public library and school libraries advocacy positions in 2022, and their position was unanimously approved as a state-wide League position at the 2023 LWVMI convention. To learn more about the scope of the problem and what Leagues can do, view their presentation here (as a PDF).

Update on New Membership Model

A centralized membership platform for all Leagues called Chapterspot launches in January 2025, and will unify the League membership and dues process. Key Points:

• When individuals join the League with the new membership system, they will be asked for only a few personal identifiers. Once they log into the system the first time more questions will be posed to learn more about these new members. Local Leagues will be able to expand on the survey questions as they wish.

• New members will be able to sign up for Auto-Renew. They will be notified when their membership date comes up for renewal. All memberships will be on a rolling basis which is the reason that having membership expiration dates for all members in the roster is so important.

• An increase in membership is expected to come with this new membership system because of the Auto-Renew feature, the fact that members can join from any site (local, state or national), the membership drives that national will run, and the pay-what-you-can model.

• Be advised that there will be one final PMP payment due in August 2025 based on the local League membership as of January 31, 2025. It will be important to account for this upcoming payment so the funds will be available.

For more specific information about the dues process under the new system and answers to many excellent questions raised at this meeting, check out the recording here.

Welcome New Members!

Carolyn Belknap, Sue Bissell, Amelie Dawson, Cindy & David Galloway, Ali Hill, Patti Jackson, Nancy Koehler, Carol Madison, Julie Pater, Liv Rollinger, Shanna Robinson, JoEllen Rudolph, Kassidie Spencer, Connie & Steve Vorencamp, Elizabeth (Betsy) White.

WE ARE 142 MEMBERS STRONG!

As a member, you have access to the “members page” on our website. Email info@lwvnlm.org for the passcode. All members receive our LWVNLM newsletters and the quarterly LWVNLM Northern Voter by email. If you have not been getting these, please email info@lwvnlm.org for assistance.

The Membership Committee will be looking for new members this fall.  If you like to party, we'd love to have you join us!  We have lots of one-time tasks in addition to longer-term planning for events such as the annual December Holiday Party, ongoing New Member Orientation and our June Annual Meeting.  Celebration, recruitment, support, recognition - we have something for everyone! Contact Mary Netzky at 847-513-2200 or mary.netzky@gmail.com

We all feel the conundrum as League members of remaining non-partisan yet having positions that lean to one side of today’s political spectrum. Some members have heard accusations of the League being a partisan organization. How do you respond? The League defines itself as a “non-partisan organization dedicated to providing voter education and services and advocating for issues.” The following op-ed, written by the LWV Bucks Co (PA), helps to clarify the situation and formulate a response.

“In general, non-partisan refers to a person or organization that takes a position on a particular issue based on what they see as the merits of the issue, after rational analysis. In contrast, a partisan person or organization takes a position on a particular issue because that is the position their political party takes.

For 103 years, the League has worked to educate voters and defend democracy. We do this work by wearing two hats: a voter services hat, and an advocacy hat.

Voter Services. The League of Women Voters is recognized for providing unbiased information for voters prior to every election. Our Voters Guides as well as our online guide — www.Vote411.org — are scrupulously unbiased; all candidates are given an equal opportunity to present their own positions in their own words, so that voters can compare candidates side by side. When the League gives the pros and cons of a ballot question, it is careful to give a clear description of what a “yes” or a “no” vote would mean. The League does not endorse parties or candidates for office, does not fund candidates, and does not ask their members about their political affiliation, if any. We register voters no matter which party they affiliate with. We disperse legislative guides and election information without regard for party. This is not partisan.

Advocacy. While the League wants all citizens to vote, we do not want them to vote blindly or based only along party lines. We believe voters should understand the issues — and where they stand on each issue — in order to know how to cast their votes. To this end, League members across the state and nation, study many issues from all sides and attempt to reach a consensus. The resulting consensus (and we sometimes fail to reach a consensus) becomes the League’s position on that issue. Once the League has reached a position on an issue, it lobbies for that position. This is our advocacy hat. We have positions on a wide range of topics, including women’s rights, gun safety, climate change/energy, fair funding for education, digital equity, and criminal justice. Our positions do not take into consideration those of any party’s platform. If either party happens to agree with one or another of our positions, that is purely coincidental. Our state and national positions, based on what we believe is best for all citizens, can be found at https://www.palwv.org/issues and https://www.lwv.org/impact-issues. This is not partisan.”

From now until the November election, LWVUS is seeking out mis/dis/mal-information on social media. In collaboration with the Algorithmic Transparency Institute, LWVUS will be hosting weekly “election rumors briefings” to address trends of mis/dis/mal-information at 3:30-4:15 ET on Mondays. If you’re interested in combatting mis/dis/mal-information, contact LWVMI co-president Paula Bowman for the meeting information.

Observer Corp Chair: Penny Crim, paigecrim@charter.net. Meet as needed.

Health Care Committee Chairs: Eileen Mikus, eileen.mikus@gmail.com. Meet 1st Thursday of the month, 10:00am. Next meeting 8/1/24.

Environment & Natural Resources Committee Chairs: Marcia Meyer, marciakmeyer@gmail.com and Ann Scott, alscott2050@gmail.com. Meet 2nd Tuesday of the month, 2:00pm.

Equal Rights Advocacy Chair: Jessica Shaw-Nolff, jnolff6@gmail.com. Meet 3rd Thursday of the month, time varies. Check events page.

Membership Committee Lead: Mary Netzky, mary.netzky@gmail.com. Meet 2nd Monday of the month, 3:30pm

Voter Services Committee Chair: Dibby Smith, dibbys@aol.com. Meet 2nd Wednesday of the month, 10:00am

LWVNLM Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Statement

The League of Women Voters Northern Lower Michigan is an organization fully committed to diversity, equity and inclusion in principle and in practice.  There shall be no barriers to full participation in this organization.  Diversity, equity and inclusion are central to the organization’s current and future success in engaging all individuals, households, communities, and policy makers in creating a more perfect democracy.