June 2024

Last week, LWVUS President Sania Irwin made an important announcement about the League’s new One Person One Vote campaign:

“Five times in our nation’s history, the presidential candidate with the most votes was not elected to office. Our current US election system prioritizes the power of the Electoral College—an outdated racist relic—to disempower voters instead of prioritizing the power of its people. Our president should be elected by the people—not the Electoral College. The League's One Person One Vote campaign is a critical step in our “moonshot” goal of abolishing the Electoral College and pushing towards true representation: a democracy powered by the people, for the people.” 

One Person One Vote will empower voters and defend democracy. This work will take time, but remember that when Susan B. Anthony began her campaign for women’s suffrage, she undertook the challenge even though she did not expect to live to see it accomplished—she just knew it was imperative to get started. 

Join us in spreading the message about One Person One Vote! You can find more information, sign up for email updates, and access the social media toolkit at www.lwv.org/opov.

Becky Simon, president

bsimon@lwvil.org

How to Talk to People Who Disagree With You Politically

Dr. Gina M. Masullo joins us Wednesday, June 19, at 7:00 pm via Zoom to discuss research-backed approaches for navigating digital spaces—and offline spaces—with people who disagree with you politically. 

Their talk will provide tangible takeaways for you to apply in your own life to be more open to other viewpoints without compromising your values.

2024 Legislative Wrap-Up

The Illinois General Assembly (GA) adjourned last month, having missed an opportunity during an election year to address various reforms needed to protect the environment and government ethics. 

But to its credit, lawmakers passed over $1 billion in revenue increases (primarily from businesses in selected industries) to move the needle on creating economic opportunity for families most in need. Notably, the GA passed three large programs that the League lobbied for at its May Lobby Day event: the state Child Tax Credit, funding for immigrant services, and fully meeting the state’s statutory requirement for Evidence-Based School Funding.

Other bills that the League promoted, and which passed, were implementation of a K-12 curriculum in climate education (HB4895) and, with broad bi-partisan support, a criminal justice bill that modified the language under which simple gun possession crimes could be charged (HB4500).

But there were disappointments as well. For a second time, a bill aimed at addressing the safety of victims of domestic abuse by removing firearms from the abuser could not get support in the Senate (Karina’s Bill SB2633). 

Likewise, a bill aimed at protecting the state’s wetlands (HB5386/SB0771) did not pass. We anticipate seeing these again in veto session, along with a few others that remained stuck in committee and did not get a vote during the session. 

Finally, the GA also passed SB2412, which made a mid-election cycle change to the state’s election code denying any candidate affiliated with either the Democrat or Republican parties the opportunity to run for office in the general election if they did not first run in the state’s primary. The League opposed this change to election law but did not have an opportunity to address it with lawmakers due to how quickly the bill was pushed through the legislature. For more information on LWVIL’s position on SB2412, see the Chicago Sun-Times op-ed by LWVIL President Becky Simon.

Help Us Get Out the Vote

Illinois Voter Guide Is Available Year-Round!

IllinoisVoterGuide.org is LWVIL’s statewide voter resource. No matter where in the state voters live, Illinois Voter Guide is available to:

• Make a plan to vote 
• Register to vote
• Get to know the candidates (coming in September for the General Election): IVG features comprehensive candidate info—bios, photos, positions, ratings for judicial candidates, and, for all candidates who choose to participate, a Q&A section unique to the League
• Watch recordings of League candidate forums
• Find early voting locations, mail ballot dropboxes and election-day polling places 
• Learn about becoming an election judge (aka poll worker)

Illinois Voter Guide is a key way we carry out the League’s mission of “Empowering Voters. Defending Democracy.” Please share it widely.

National Voter Registration Day: Tuesday, September 17

National Voter Registration Day is a nonpartisan civic holiday celebrating democracy. Every September, NVRD has volunteers and organizations hitting the streets nationwide in a single day of coordinated voter registration efforts. 

The League of Women Voters has been a top partner of NVRD since its 2012 inception. Local Leagues enjoy spikes in registration numbers when they hold events on NVRD. Consider planning registration drives at your local community and senior centers, shopping centers, and high schools. 

High schools are typically the top spot for NVRD registration drives. And now that Illinois allows pre-registration of 16- and 17-year-olds, Leagues can expect to register more voters than ever on NVRD. Visit the NVRD website to sign up and get helpful tips and free merchandise. It’s not too early to start planning! 

Time to Plan Your GOTV Efforts

The League of Women Voters is a known leader in voter registration, and we encourage local Leagues and LWV partners to invest similar energy in get out the vote (GOTV) efforts. Multiple studies find that simply helping individuals register to vote is not enough; critical follow-up is needed to help new registrants become active, well-equipped voters. In fact, direct outreach from political candidates, parties and nonpartisan groups like the League has proven to have a direct increase in voter turnout, especially among young people.

Investing in GOTV helps leverage your volunteer hours and hard-earned investments in voter registration. Voters who receive direct outreach on how to go about getting their ballots cast are more likely to do so. Voters who are directed to a voter guide are more confident that they have sufficient information about the candidates and are more likely to vote in more of the races on their ballot.

Some ways to incorporate GOTV:

• Engaging community partners who have direct access to voters, particularly in lower-turnout areas. Ask them to place the Illinois Voter Guide link or QR code on their websites and materials. Possible partners may include your local news source, village or town government, library, community center, and high schools. Most of these are happy to partner … and grateful to have the work done for them!
• Using social media to communicate any important or new information leading up to elections and in real time. Keep in mind the audience you are intending to reach and what platform would be best suited for engagement. 
• Handing out an “I pledge to vote” card at your registration drives or online.
• Phone banking, either as a group with your local League, or with a nonpartisan partner who might already be planning phone banking around election time.
• Mailings, postcards, and door hangers can be an effective GOTV method. Keep in mind that the League is nonpartisan and neither endorses nor opposes candidates or political parties.
• Designating a point person or small team to devise and carry out a GOTV plan. 

Report Online Disinformation

To address the troubling rise of misinformation and disinformation—and its impact on our elections—we formed our Mis/Disinformation Task Force in January 2024 with the goal of educating the general public on mis/disinformation. Check out resources and register for upcoming webinars at lwvil.org/misdis-info.

Have you seen disinformation online? If so, report it to us. You can also report most social media posts to the platforms themselves. Questions, or want to contribute to our efforts? Email misdisinfotaskforce@lwvil.org.

Support Our Get Out the Vote Efforts in 2024

The goal of LWVIL's Campaign to Safeguard Democracy is to raise $75,000 for our statewide online voter guide, candidate forums, and efforts to fight misinformation and disinformation.

We're 58% of the way there! Thank you to our growing list of generous donors who have given over $44,000 so far.