January 7, 2025 News Update
Empower Voters, Defend Democracy | January Lunch & Learn
January 8, 2025 11:30 am - 1:00 pm |  | Emily Lau, staff attorney with the State Democracy Research Initiative at the UW-Madison law school, will speak on efforts to amend both the U.S. and WI state constitutions.
Our US Constitution is a founding document of our democracy and yet the process for changing it is in danger of becoming politicized. From the Congressional Research report cited below “Article V of the U.S. Constitution provides two ways to amend the nation’s fundamental charter. Congress, by a two-thirds vote of both houses, may propose amendments to the states for ratification, a procedure that has been used for all 27 current amendments. Alternatively, on the application of the legislatures of two-thirds of the states, 34 at present, Article V directs that Congress “shall call a Convention for proposing Amendments…””. This alternative has never been implemented. Yet on January 25, 2022, the Wisconsin legislature voted to support the “Convention of States”, making the current total 19 states in support of this effort. The League of Women Voters (National) is “concerned that there are many unresolved questions about the powers and processes of an Article V Constitutional Convention." The League believes that such a Convention should be called only if 6 specific conditions are in place which would safeguard this process.
Our Wisconsin Constitution is also under fire. In 2024, there have been 5 state Constitutional Amendments on the ballet. Unlike the regular bills passed by the legislature, the governor cannot veto a proposed constitutional amendment. This indicates that the WI legislature is using the constitutional amendment process to bypass the governor’s veto authority. Legislating through constitutional amendments politicizes our democratic process and corrupts our Constitution. The League of Women Voters of Wisconsin advocated a “NO” vote to all of the 2024 proposed Constitutional Amendments on the ballot.
| January Book Club
January 25, 2025 |  | Boys and men are struggling. Profound economic and social changes of recent decades have many losing ground in the classroom, the workplace, and in the family. While the lives of women have changed, the lives of many men have remained the same or even worsened. Our attitudes, our institutions, and our laws have failed to keep up. Conservative and progressive politicians, mired in their own ideological warfare, fail to provide thoughtful solutions. The father of three sons, a journalist, and a Brookings Institution scholar, Richard V. Reeves has spent twenty-five years worrying about boys both at home and work. His new book, Of Boys and Men, tackles the complex and urgent crisis of boyhood and manhood. Reeves looks at the structural challenges that face boys and men and offers fresh and innovative solutions that turn the page on the corrosive narrative that plagues this issue. Of Boys and Men argues that helping the other half of society does not mean giving up on the ideal of gender equality.
~ Goodreads
| Carrie Chapman Catt
January 9, 1859
Ripon, WI | | A skilled political strategist, Carrie Clinton Lane Chapman Catt was a suffragist and peace activist who helped secure for American women the right to vote. She founded the League of Women Voters in 1920, four years before our local league was formed. | New Year - New Habits!
Resolve to Vote in 2025! | 🎉 New Year, New Habits! 🎉
Let’s kick off 2025 with a resolution: Vote in every election this year! It takes time to build good habits, and one way to make voting second nature is by requesting your mail-in ballots for the entire year. 🗳️
Take two minutes today to set yourself up for success by requesting your absentee ballots for every election in 2025. While you're there, double-check your voter registration at myvote.wi.gov 👇
#ResolveToVote
Don’t wait—Wisconsin’s first elections of 2025 are just around the corner! Voters will head to the polls for the Primary Election on February 18 and the General Spring Election on April 1.
🎉Let’s make voting a party. 🎉
Together, let’s celebrate the New Year and the power of voting in 2025. 🎊 Cheers to another year! | Primary Feb 18, 2025
Election Day April 1, 2025 |
Find out what your county is doing by signing up for the La Crosse County newsletter.
Find out more about Pathways Home by clicking the link below.
| State Webinar Series - Virtual
January 28, 2025 - 6 to 7:30 PM | Join the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin for a virtual webinar at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, January 28. The program "Wisconsin Supreme Court Election: Ethics and Money," will provide voters with all the information they need for the next Wisconsin Supreme Court Election this spring.
Speakers include: Jay Heck from Common Cause; former Supreme Court Justice Janine Geske; Attorney Doug Keith from the Brennan Center; and Attorney Rob Yablon from the State Democracy Research Initiative.
| New Membership System
Coming Soon | YES, THIS AFFECTS YOU!
Starting February 1, 2025, all members will join and renew using a membership system managed by LWVUS. Don't worry! You can still join and renew with your local League, the process will just be a little different.
Keep an eye out for a letter with information from your local League about the new process for joining/renewing your membership. | February 12, 2025
Improving Civic Health | Civic health is the manner in which communities come together to define and address public problems. Whether the issue is affordable housing, decreased funding for schools, an aging population, failing infrastructure, or racial inequities, the problems are big, complicated and not easily solved. Further, individuals within communities may have different views on, and be affected differently, by the issues. Is the civic health where we live strong enough to help our community do the hard work that needs to be done?
Asking and considering this question has never been more important as it is in 2025, when we see record levels of public distrust in key institutions, polarization among our community members, decline in local media, and serious questions about the strength of democracy worldwide.
Speaker Information: Mary Beth Collins (JD, MA) is the Executive Director of the UW-Madison Center for Community and Nonprofit Studies.
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