League of Women Voters of St. Paul

LWVSP Election Activities: Candidate Forums

16 Sep 2013 12:01 PM | Deleted user

The St. Paul LWV will be conducting forums for the city-wide Mayor’s and School Board races. In addition to the city-wide ballot races, we are partnering with District Councils 7 and 8 in Frogtown to sponsor a candidate forum for Ward 1 candidates. There are seven candidates, and thus lots of competition.

Mayoral Forum

When: Thursday, October 24, 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Where: School District Central office, Rooms A and B, 360 Colborne St.

Candidates: Sharon Anderson, Chris Coleman, Tim Holden, Kurt Dornfeld

School Board Debate:

When: Thursday, October 17, 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Place: Hallie Q. Brown Community Center, 270 N. Kent St.

Candidates: Jean O’Connor, John Broderick, Chue Vue, Terrance Bushard, Greg Copeland

City Council Ward 1 Candidate Forum:

When: Tuesday, October 15, 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Where: Hubbs Center, 1030 University Avenue

Candidates: Dai Thao, Paul Holmgren, Mark Voerding, Noel Nix, Johnny Howard, Kazoua Kong Thao, Debbie Montgomery

Humphrey Course on "Topics in American Election Administration: Policy and Practice"

31 Aug 2013 2:37 PM | Deleted user

The Center for the Study of Politics and Governance at the Humphrey School asked LWVSP to share the following information about a course that may be of interest to our members:

The engine room of American democracy is the fair and impartial conduct of elections. Lately however, headlines trumpet the breakdown and challenges to fairly administering elections -- a national fight over voter ID laws, the uncertain future with a narrowed Voting Rights Act, and long Election Day lines. President Obama’s observation of the nation’s election system-- “we need to fix that--” expresses a view that is shared across the political spectrum.

For a great introduction to the world of election administration, register for Humphrey's PA 5980: Topics in American Election Administration, taught by national elections expert Doug Chapin.

PA 5980 Topics in American Election Administration: Policy and Practice

Alternate Fridays (6 sessions)

9:05 am – 12:05 pm

September 20, 2013 - December 6, 2013

2 – 3 credits

If you are a Minnesota resident 62 years of age or older, you qualify for a reduced fee of only $10 per credit. Please see below for more information:

http://onestop.umn.edu/registration/special_for/senior_citizen_education_program.html

The course is open to all grade levels and the general public. For a permission code or more information, please contact Doug Chapin at dchapin@umn.edu. We are happy to answer any questions you may have.

Free People's Party event on Thursday- via Planned Parenthood

17 Jun 2013 7:16 PM | Deleted user

Planned Parenthood is hosting the People's Party" tomorrow 6/18/13 at the Harriet Island Pavilion from 4:00pm - 8:00 pm.

The free event will celebrate all the amazing grassroots accomplishments that have been fueled by community efforts in the past year!

Please RSVP here!

May - June Issue of The Voter Available

11 Jun 2013 7:34 PM | Deleted user

Please click here to read the May - June issue of The Voter from LWVSP!

LWVSP's event "A Presentation On Mn's Health Insurance Exchange" airing on SPNN

25 May 2013 4:51 PM | Deleted user

LWVSP hosted an event featuring April Todd-Malmlov (Executive Director at MNsure) titled "A Presentation On Mn's Health Insurance Exchange."

Ms. Todd-Malmlov gave a presentation on MNsure, Minnesota's new health insurance exchange, beginning in October 2013.

This event will be aired at the following times on SPNN/Channel 19:

05/26/13, 2:00 pm CH19
05/26/13, 10:00 pm CH19
05/27/13, 1:00 pm CH19
05/28/13, 9:00 pm CH19
05/29/13, 3:00 pm CH19
05/31/13, 9:00 pm CH19
06/02/13, 6:00 pm CH19
06/03/13, 8:00 pm CH19
06/05/13, 3:00 pm CH19
06/07/13, 2:00 pm CH19
06/08/13, 3:00 pm CH19
06/08/13, 8:00 pm CH19

LWV MN State Convention

21 May 2013 10:51 AM | Deleted user

Several LWVSP members and board members attended the LWV MN state convention last weekend.

LWVSP members enjoying convention

We attended sessions on Program (which is the LWV's term for our non-partisan version of a platform) and social media.
We also voted on changes to the bylaws, two topics for concurrence and two policy topics updates. More information on Program for 2013 can be found here.

Voting Rights Restoration for Felons Living in the Community: LWV MN Vote

16 May 2013 3:04 PM | Deleted user

LWV Minnesota is asking members at the May 18-19 to adopt a concurrence to a LWV Michigan position on that issue. Please see the attached document for additional information on this issue. The LWV MN vote will be on Sunday afternoon at the state convention.

Please review the document here:
Program proposed concurrence-Felon 2013.docx

Below is an excerpt from the attached document:

CONCURRENCE WITH

LWV MICHIGAN’S RESTORATION POSITION

LWV Michigan Policy (updated 2010): The LWVMI supports. . . [p]reservation of an incarcerated person’s right to . . . [a]ccess . . . the vote following incarceration.

Current Minnesota Law: Individuals who are convicted of a felony in Minnesota are not able to vote when they are incarcerated, on supervised release (parole) or probation. Current law “creates significant confusion among the public, election judges, election administrators and the individual convicted of a felony.“[i]

Recommendation: That LWV Minnesota concur with the LWV Michigan policy, hereinafter called the “Incarcerated/Nonincarcerated Model.”

THE INCARCERATED/NONINCARCERATED MODEL WILL:

· Clarify Minnesota law by allowing a convicted, nonincarcerated felon the right to vote when under community supervision (probation or supervised release).
· Simplify the process of determining whether a person who has been convicted of a felony is eligible to vote, creating fewer challenges for election administrators in making the determination.
· Save money for local units of government by
o streamlining eligibility determinations for election administrators
o avoiding expenses in proposed 2013 legislation which would require mailed notification to felons in the community of their restricted voting rights
o avoiding the expense of prosecuting those who mistakenly register or vote.

[i] First Interim Report and Initial Recommendation of Task Force on Election Integrity, Jan. 30, 2012, accessible on the MN Secretary of State’s website at www.sos.state.mn.us/

Locked up Locked Out Event

16 May 2013 2:54 PM | Deleted user

Via TakeAction MN:

Justice 4 All in collaboration with Neighborhoods Organizing for Change present Locked up Locked out, a community forum to examine MN's racial jobs gap and what communities can do to close it for good.

The forum will include story telling from community members impacted by the justice system and locked out of the workforce; a discussion on racial jobs gap and the impact of the justice system on communities of color; and a presentation on the complaint process for victims of employment discrimination based on race and criminal background.

When

Saturday, May 18, 2013
through
Saturday, May 18, 2013
11 AM - 2 PM
Register here.

Where

MN Neighborhoods Organizing For Change
911 W. Broadway Ave.
Minneapolis, MN 55411

Volunteers needed to register new voters at Citizenship Ceremonies

18 Jan 2013 9:38 AM | Deleted user

In 2012, League members registered over 9,000 new citizens to vote. In addition, after the deadline for early registration, we helped an additional over 800 to fill out their forms to take with them to their polling place on Election Day (and sign and date it in front of an Election Judge). One of the reasons we are able to do this activity is because we are there, as volunteers, even when it is not a big election year. So, make plans to join us on any of the dates below:

Thursday, Jan. 24, 11 a.m. (10 a.m.) Minneapolis Convention Center (1,500 expected)
Tuesday, Feb. 19, 11 a.m. (10 a.m.) Macalester College, John B. Davis Lecture Hall
Thursday, Feb. 28th 10 a.m. (9 a.m.) and 2 p.m. (1 p.m.) Fitzgerald Theater

The official schedule has not been finalized, but more ceremonies will be added when it is! At a recent small ceremony at St. Paul Academy, the guest speaker was a student's parent who had become a new citizen in September. She told us that she and her husband, both of whom were from Brazil, knew they wanted to vote in the November election. “As we were going to the ceremony, I was thinking that the next thing I needed to do was register to vote. I wasn't sure where to go...but there YOU were (that's us, LWV members!) and we registered and were able to vote. We were very happy.” Our efforts are worth it!

Please let us know when you might be able to help. The large ceremony on January 24 will call for quite a few volunteers. Click here to contact the League of Women Voters of St. Paul to volunteer.

Recruiting New Board Members

17 Jan 2013 2:17 AM | Deleted user

It's that time of year again! The Nominations Committee, headed by Vicki Gee-Treft, is now recruiting talented and dedicated board members. If you are interested in joining, contact Vicki at: vgee-treft@smm.org.

Check out our Get Involved > Volunteer page for more information about specific opportunities.