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Our League has had an active start in this 2024 election year. On Saturday, January 20, League members had great conversations with Kansas legislators from Douglas County at Afternoon with Our Legislators. Rep. Mike Amyx, Sen. marci francisco, and Rep. Christina Haswood gave updates on the 2024 legislative session. There are photos from the event in this issue of The Voter.
At our Voter Girl event on January 27, Douglas County Girl Scouts had the opportunity to earn their Democracy Badge. To learn about democracy and government, the girls talked to Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, Rep. Christina Haswood, Sen. marci francisco, City Commissioner Amber Sellers, and practiced voting with County Clerk Jamie Shew. Julie Clover from the Dole Institute for Politics and League members Ruthe Goff, Sara Abeita and I led democracy activities. There are photos from the event in this issue of The Voter. Thanks to League members Martha Silks, Dru Sampson, and Sonja Czarnecki for volunteering to make the morning successful. Our League used funds from our Education Fund to purchase Democracy Badges for the Daisy, Brownie, and Junior Girl Scouts who attended the event.
On February 5, Cille King, Kay Johnson, Sonja Czarnecki (and her students) and I participated in WEALTH Day at the Kansas Capitol, an opportunity to promote our positions on Water, Energy, Agriculture, Land, Transportation, and Health issues.
At the February 13 General Membership meeting of LWV of Lawrence-Douglas County, members agreed to a concurrence with LWVK on the Position Statement on Election Methods. Feedback from our League and other local leagues goes LWVK which will finalize the position statement for approval at the LWVK Council in April.
I attended a rally in support of Medicaid Expansion at the Kansas Capitol on Feb. 14. During the rally I delivered a postcard from the League stating our support of Medicaid Expansion to each of the 11 representatives and senators to represent Douglas County and a copy of the LWVK Legislative Priorities.
Up next: On February 20 at 9:00 am, the Kansas Supreme Court will hear the LWVK case against the State of Kansas. The hearing will be livestreamed on the court’s YouTube channel. This case claims state law restricts LWVK and local Leagues and others named in the suit from helping Kansas citizens register to vote, and makes it a felony for LWV members to be perceived as election officials.
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Report of the Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Study Group
The study group met on January 30, and approved the following as a general statement of support for renewable energy and energy conservation to use on our draft positions:
The League of Women Voters of Lawrence-Douglas County encourages and supports renewable energy and energy conservation in Douglas County to help reduce the emission of greenhouse gasses from the burning of fossil fuels to generate electricity. Our League is conducting a multi-year study to develop League policies and to partner with other entities in Douglas County to promote renewable energy and energy conservation.
Chair, Kay Johnson, reported at the January 30 meeting that the Douglas County Commission will consider the Kansas Sky Energy utility-scale proposal, which our League supports, but it will require a unanimous vote of the Commission to approve the proposal. This proposal is not yet scheduled on the Commission agenda.
Study group members Sonja Czrnecki, Kay Johnson, Cille King, and Carol Williamson attended WEALTH Day at the Capitol on Feb. 6. WEALTH stands Water, Energy, Agriculture, Land, Transportation, and Health - all variables in the climate crisis.
Next meetings
Tuesday, February 20: Instead of meeting as a study group on Feb. 20, study group members are encouraged to attend one or both community events on climate change report back to the study group at our March 26 meeting:
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All We Can Save: The Power of Ancestral Wisdom, The Commons, KU, Virtual event, Feb. 20, 3:30-4:30. Register required at the following link to participate Feb. 20 Zoom. https://bit.ly/DungyKU Another virtual event in the Commons’ “All We Can Save: Truth, Courage, and Solutions for the Climate Crisis” series will be on March 28: The Power of Local Advocacy.
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Hot Times in the Heartland, Osher event and reception, 6:30-8:30, Feb., 20, Osher Center, 1515 St. Andrews Drive, Presented by Rex Buchanan and Dave Kendall. Cost to you (not paid by League): $25 for Osher fees + $30 for event. Pre–registration required.
Tuesday, March 26, Study Group Meeting, 6:00-7:30 pm on Zoom. Contact study group chair, Kay Johnson, kjohnson@prosoco.com, to join the study group and get the Zoom link.
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You may have heard that there are changes coming for how League membership is handled. Joining the League of Women Voters will be done through LWVUS starting in 2025. Renewing your membership at the end of our fiscal year 3-31-2024 will remain the same. Club Express will send out notices to the email you have on record in Club Express at 30 days and 7 days before 3-31-2024 and another reminder 7 days after 3-31-2024. There is no benefit in renewing early as all memberships expire on 3-31-24.
In the past you may have paid more than your chosen dues level and indicated that overpayment as a donation. When the LWVUS takes over the membership duties in 2025, there will not be an option to designate the overage as a donation. It will be split among LWVUS; 33%, LWVK; 47%, and LWVL-DC; 20%. To get ready for this change we would encourage members to renew membership at the level they choose and then to make a separate donation that will go entirely to LWVL-DC. I encourage you to renew and donate in separate transactions whether you pay by check or renew via Club Express. I will continue to update you as we go through this membership transition. If you have questions, please contact me.
Denise Pettengill (dpettengill@lawrenceleague.com)
Interim Membership Director
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This coming presidential election could be the most consequential election of our lifetime. It will be extremely important that we help as many voters as possible register to vote or check their registration to make sure it is up-to-date, especially if they have moved recently. This year we have added several additional dates to our voter services registration efforts, sometimes two tabling events on the same day. To do this we will need lots of league members helping us at our voter services tables. We will schedule a couple of training sessions at the library for those that haven’t joined us at our voter services in the past.
Our voter services activities are a great opportunity for league members to spend time together and see some of your friends and neighbors. Our shifts are just a couple of hours (usually) and we have an awning to shade sunlight. There are always a lot of people and activities going on, so it is a good time to get out and enjoy the day.
If you would like to be a part of our voter services activities please contact one of our co-chairs and let us know when and where you would like to join us. A list of our voter services dates and times will be on our website (lawrenceleague.com) and you can also sign up for a shift right there on our website.
We encourage you to join us, get some fresh air, see people, kids and dogs and have a good time. You will enjoy doing your part to participate in this year’s very important election. See you there.
Charley
Sonja Czarnecki 785-409-9664 sonja.czarnecki@gmail.com
Martha Silks 816-853-9474 martha.silks@lrewater.com
Charley Crabtree 785-312-2468 charleytree04@gmail.som
|  | | | | Walk or ride with our League entry in the Lawrence St. Patrick’s Day Parade, Sunday, March 17, 11:00 am -1:30 pm.
Meet in the parking lot at 12th and Rhode Island. Text LWV parade coordinator for our location at the time of your arrival
(before 11:15 AM)
(816)853-9474 | | |  | |
This information was compiled with information from the
Douglas County Clerk’s Office and the Kansas Secretary of State’s Office by the
League of Women Voters of Lawrence/Douglas County
P.O. Box 1072, Lawrence, KS 66044 http:/ lawrenceleague.com
2024 Election Calendar
· Tue. Feb. 20 – Last day to register to vote in Presidential Preference Primary Election
· Wed. Feb. 28 – Advance Voting Begins for Presidential
Preference Primary; First day to send out mail ballots.
· Mon. Mar. 18 – Noon. In-person advance voting ends
· Tue. Mar. 19 - PRESIDENTIAL PREFERENCE PRIMARY
For more information visit https://sos.ks.gov/elections/presidential-preference-primary.html
· Tue. July 16 – Last day to register to vote in Primary Election
· Wed. July 17 – Advance Voting Begins for Primary Election;
First day to send out mail ballots.
· Mon. Aug. 5 – Noon. In-person advance voting ends
· Tue. Aug 6 - PRIMARY ELECTION
· Tue. Oct. 15 -Last day to register to vote in General Election
· Wed. Oct 16 – Advance Voting Begins for General Election;
First day to send out mail ballots.
· Mon. Nov 4 – Noon. In-person advance voting ends
· Tue. Nov 5 - GENERAL ELECTION
Polling places are open 7am–7pm on Election Day.
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Register to vote online or check your registration at ksvotes.org or elections@douglascountyks.org
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Find your candidates and their positions at VOTE411.org
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Kansas will hold a Presidential Preference Primary Election on March 19, 2024 instead of the party-run Presidential Caucuses that you have experienced in recent presidential election years. To vote in the Presidential Preference Primary Election, you need to be a registered voter by February 20. If you are already registered, you are all set. Vote on election day, March 19 at your usual polling place. Early voting at the Election Office, 711 W. 23rd Street, Suite 1, will begin February 28. Mail ballots will be available upon request unless you have a permanent mail ballot request on file with the County Election Office. Mail ballots must be received in the Election Office by March 19 - there is no 3 day grace period for mail ballots to be received in this election.
Like in the August Primary Election, when you vote in the Presidential Preference Primary, you will be given a ballot for your party affiliation. If you are registered as an unaffiliated voter you will be asked to sign a party affiliation to receive a ballot. If you do so, you can re-register as “unaffiliated” after election day.
For more information visit https://www.douglascountyks.org/county-clerk/voting-and-elections/presidential-preference-primary
or https://sos.ks.gov/elections/presidential-preference-primary.html
Submitted by Carol Williamson |  | |
Remembering LWVUS President Dr. Deborah Turner | League of Women Voters Lawrence Douglas County
PO Box 1072
Lawrence, KS 66044 | | You have received this message from the mailing list of League of Women Voters of Lawrence-Douglas County. If you would prefer not to receive these emails in the future, go to website lawrenceleague.com and update your communication preferences. You can also request to be removed from our database completely. | |