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October Newsletter

Laurie Teal | Published on 11/15/2021

October 2021 Newsletter
League of Women Voters of Brown County

LWVBC Redistricting Update and Two Calls to Action

By Shari Frank, LWVBC President, and Laurie Teal, LWVBC Co-VP

 

Whew! It has definitely been an uphill battle for transparency in redistricting in the State of Indiana!

 

LWVIN Co-President Linda Hanson wrote a very good overview of the statewide redistricting reform effort (see page 6 of this newsletter for the article). We would like to add our thanks and deep appreciation to our Co-Vice President Sunny Leerkamp and the other members of the Indiana Citizens Redistricting Commission (ICRC) for all their work in the effort to enlist public support for fair maps in Indiana. 

 

To all our League members and others who phoned and emailed legislators, sent post cards, and signed on to the Legislator letter to continue the effort to promote fair maps: THANK YOU!  Legislators reported receiving a huge number of calls, emails, letters and contacts.  They were surprised by the volume!  Your support and appreciation for the League’s work to keep people informed is heartwarming. 

 

Although the efforts did not result in a satisfactory outcome, we are excited by the show of support in our community, and the fact that we as a League did so much outreach to inform our neighbors about redistricting in our state. And importantly, we’ve seen a huge increase in the number of people who understand the complex issues of redistricting, and how important it is in fair voter representation.  Grass roots organizing takes time, and we believe the work will continue to build momentum for redistricting in 2030.  

However, we’re not yet done. Here are two Calls to Action:  

 

1) LOCAL:  Brown County Council District Maps are being redrawn:  seek transparency for fair maps

 

2) NATIONAL:  The Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act will provide fair redistricting of Congressional Districts, Election Security and Voter Rights

 

 

1) Local Call to Action

 

At the local level:  Brown County Council Districts have a 19% population deviation, in violation of the requirement to have close to equal population. The Democrat newspaper indicated County Commissioner Diana Biddle reported the 19% population discrepancy at the October 6 Commissioners meeting, and that districts would be further discussed at a special meeting on October 13. http://www.bcdemocrat.com/2021/10/12/take-note-commissioners-to-award-paving-contracts-this-week/   

 

The 19% appears to be based on the 2010 census, according to this study of Indiana counties: https://www.indianalocalredistricting.com/ We appreciate that the Brown County Commissioners are working on redistricting with the 2020 census data, as the study indicates districts were the same in 2000 and 2010.

 

 

Who’s in Your District?  LWVBC Requests BC County Commissioners be transparent and get public input in new County Council District Maps 

 

The new County Council Maps will be in place until 2031, after the 2030 census.  The League is asking County Commissioners to take time to get public input before approving new maps.

 

The League plans to ask commissioners to take several steps to ensure the public is aware of proposed changes and has the opportunity to voice their concerns about the new County Council Districts.  We will ask the County Commissioners to:

 

  • Provide transparency in criteria used to draw the maps and who was involved

     

  • Post proposed County Council maps online for the public to see detail and to see changes from current maps

     

  • Provide a process for public comment, including at least one evening meeting to enable working folks to attend

     

  • Ensure public comment is listened to and addressed to make maps representative for various neighborhoods, school districts and communities in Brown County

Map criteria for county redistricting in Indiana Code IC 36-2-3-4include that single member County Council districts must:

 

  1. be compact, subject only to natural boundary lines (such as railroads, major highways, rivers, creeks, parks, and major industrial complexes); 

     

  2. not cross precinct boundary lines; 

     

  3. contain, as nearly as possible, equal population; and 

 

(4) include whole townships, except when a division is clearly necessary to accomplish redistricting under this section. 

 

 

Criteria do not include the requirement to keep communities of interest together to protect their right to vote for shared issues and values, such as forests, water, schools, etc.  We think it is important to let the public evaluate how districts affect them and to have a say before maps are approved and put in place for a decade.

 

Brown Countians:  Come Use your Voice

 

The Commissioners plan two meetings to discuss county redistricting: October 20 to provide paper maps of the proposed County Council districts at the County; and November 3 to ask for public input on the maps. Both meetings are scheduled to begin at 2 pm. 

 

What can you do?

  • Take a look at the maps and determine if your district provides a representative voting bloc.  Does it keep your neighborhood together – protecting the community with whom you share interests (forest, water, schools, other)?
  • Write or call the Brown County Commissioners to let them know you want a chance to review and have a sayin new Council District Maps. Here is the contact information for the Commissioners:  

     

Please join us. Let’s keep up the good work to require public input and transparency in all efforts at redistricting. Attend these Brown County Commissioners meetings.  Show your interest and support for a transparent process.  See how new districts affect you and your neighbors. Attend the meetings in the Salmon Room or by zoom:  2 pm October 20 and November 3.

2) National level Call to Action – Freedom to Vote Act and John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act

 

The Freedom to VoteAct(S 2747) is the updated version of the For the People Act.   

It has some pretty good stuff in it if, like the League, you believe helping everyone vote is good for democracy. Itimproves voter access, campaign financing and election security. It provides clear, specific standards to prevent and prohibit gerrymandering maps in favor of one party.

 

For details on this important legislation to strengthen democracy, read on:

 

The John Lewis Voting Rights Act restores crucial protections to prevent voter suppression:

 

So, what can you do to help get this landmark legislation passed? 

 

  • Call the White House.Ask the Administration to use their power to support Pro-Voter Legislation in Congress

    Call 1.888.724.8746 (brief introduction then auto connect to WH Comment Line).

    LWVIN Voter Services provided a sample script of what you could say to the staffer that answers the phone:

     

    “Hello, my name is [YOUR NAME] and I am calling from [YOUR STATE] and I believe that our democracy depends on protecting everyone’s freedom to vote. It is long past time to increase access to voting, ensure all voices are heard, and root out corruption. I am calling on the Biden-Harris Administration to demand that you champion the voting rights reforms that we all know will make our democracy stronger! The filibuster is getting in the way of our rights. Enough sitting on the sidelines--use your power to ensure advancement of voting rights!”

     

LWVBC would love to hear how your contacts go.  Please send us a note:  browncountylwv@gmail.com

 

_________________________________

 


LWVBC Board Activity

 

Notes from the October 11 LWVBC Board meeting:

 

  • President Shari Frank and Co-VP Laurie Teal will be working on enhancing our League’s website to include minutes of monthly board meetings and other member information and benefits.
  • Treasurer Jan Swigert reported the League received a $200 donation from the McDermott Fund. The board expressed its appreciation to the McDermotts for this donation.
  • The board voted to approve a partnership for Third House and candidate forums with the Brown County Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber submitted a form of interest to the League which included its non-partisan policy.
  • The board voted to support the Friends of Lake Monroe by hosting or co-hosting another community forum to provide updates on the work of the FLM.
  • The board congratulated LWVBC Co-VP Sunny Leerkamp for her extraordinary efforts as the Chair of the Indiana Citizens Redistricting Committee.
  • The LWVBC Essay Contest committee will meet soon with teachers and principals at the middle school and high schools to begin planning for the next Essay Contest.
  • DEI Committee co-chair Judy East discussed the current book being read by the committee – Uprooting Racismby Paul Kivel. All members are invited to join the DEI committee and participate in the conversation. The DEI committee meets via Zoom at 7:00 pm the second and fourth Mondays each month.
  • Membership co-chairs Pam Raider and Laurie Teal reported the League gained two new members since the last board meeting. The League welcomes Yvonne Oliger and Cate Hyatt!

_________________________________

 

Redistricting Reform – The Turning Point

Source: Linda Hanson, Co-President, Indiana League of Women Voters  www.lwvin.org

 

“On October 1, 2021, the Indiana Senate passed—and the House concurred on technical amendments—electoral district maps for the next decade, effective for the 2022 primaries.  The Governor signed the legislation on Monday, October 4, 2021.  The maps will maintain the legislative supermajority and produce little competition.  


“Adoption of these maps, despite the efforts of the All IN Coalition, the Indiana Citizens Redistricting Commission, other Fair Maps advocates, and super minority legislators, proceeded exactly on schedule as announced by the supermajority leadership.  Little time was provided for the public to review and respond to proposed maps; alternative maps that would have provided more competition, drawn by mapmakers in the ICRC competition, were proposed as amendments but defeated on party lines.   

“Some members working on this redistricting reform campaign have been advocating for fair maps through two redistricting cycles, with disappointing results each time.  But bright spots provide momentum as public awareness has grown—


• the legislative study committee from which emerged a 2016 bill that would have established a citizens redistricting commission and created transparent redistricting procedures; 


• the formation and continuing expansion of our All IN for Democracy Coalition for Redistricting Reform; 


• the establishment of the Indiana Citizens Redistricting Commission (ICRC) to model the process our legislature should have put in place;  


• the ICRC public mapping competition that produced non-partisan maps put forward as amendments to the partisan maps our legislature adopted on party lines.


• we have, with public pressure, slightly changed the behavior of the legislature and garnered some Republican support for a citizens redistricting commission.  

“Increased public awareness about redistricting and its impact on fair representation is key to our movement forward.  We can’t lose this momentum.  We must engage on the local, state, and national level.


• Local:  redistricting must now be done at the county and city level.  Check with your league’s redistricting committee member for guidance


• State: watch for updates on potential legislation


• National: respond to Voter Services action alerts to support S2747, which includes a redistricting commission for federal elections

“Special thanks to our Redistricting Champions Paulette Vandegriff (at this for two cycles!) and Vickie Dacey who have kept us up to date with LWVUS efforts as well as providing effective leadership at home.  Thanks to Meg Connolly who has reported our People Powered Fair Maps (PPFM) grant data to LWVUS.  Thanks to the LWVIN Redistricting Reform Committee for collaborating, advocating, and engaging local advocates.  And thanks to all of you who sent postcards, emails, and letters; called legislators; offered testimony to the ICRC and/or the legislature; and engaged neighbors in the effort.”

_________________________________



 

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”

 

  • Margaret Mead

 

Compelling Data That Vaccines Keep Us Safe 

 

The CDC data shows people who were unvaccinated were 10 times more likely to be hospitalized with COVID-19, and 11 times more likely to die from it. Read the full reporthere:https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7037e1.htm?s_cid=mm7037e1_w 

 

Fully vaccinated people should still wear a mask in public indoor settings in areas of substantial or high transmission – and Brown County continues to be rated a high transmission area https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#county-view|Indiana|18013|Risk|community_transmission_level

 

COVID-19 Vaccine Indiana:If you are age 12 or older, you can get a vaccine. https://www.coronavirus.in.gov/vaccine/index.htm

 

Flu Season is Coming:Don't forget to get your flu vaccine this season. Vaccinating against different diseases at the same time is not new. COVID-19 vaccine and other vaccines may be administered on the same day:https://www.coronavirus.in.gov/files/21_COVID%20vaccine%20update%209-15.pdf       

 

Additional Resources:  

 

_________________________________

 

Marie Stuart Edwards: Suffragist and Social Reformer

Source:This blog post was written by Indiana State Library Rare Books and Manuscripts Librarian Brittany Kropf and is available on the LWVIN website:  www.lwvin.org

 

“The most recognized of early Hoosier suffragists today are probably May Wright Sewall and Ida Husted Harper. Marie Stuart Edwards of Peru, Ind. was among the next generation of activists to take up the cause. In many ways, Edwards was typical of women’s suffragists from Indiana. Born on Sept. 11, 1880, she was one of two children in an upper middle-class family from Lafayette, IN. Edwards received a first-class education, having graduated from Smith College in 1901, and had a supportive husband, Richard E. Edwards, whom she married in 1904.

“Over six feet in height with brown hair and eyes, Edwards was described as “a woman of brilliant, buoyant personality” in the Carroll County Citizen-Times. Edwards oversaw designing and decorating for her husband’s business, the Peru Chair Company, while raising her only child, Richard Arthur, and taking an interest in social reform. Edwards belonged to various women’s clubs and wanted the right to vote so she might effect social change. Like many Hoosier suffragists, Edwards lent her support to the mainstream suffrage movement, carefully keeping away from the more radical factions, such as Alice Paul’s National Woman’s Party.

“In 1917, Edwards was elected president of the Woman’s Franchise League of Indiana, an organization associated with the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA). That same year, the Indiana General Assembly passed the Maston-McKinley Partial Suffrage Act, granting Hoosier women the right to vote in municipal, school and special elections. Between 30,000 and 40,000 women registered to vote in Indianapolis alone within a few months. However, Indiana suffragists soon suffered a bitter disappointment. On October 26, 1917, the Indiana Supreme Court ruled the law was unconstitutional.

“The court’s decision shocked Edwards, but she declared that Indiana women would continue to fight for equal enfranchisement. Although the women of the state seemed shaken by the setback, they soon recovered, gaining confidence as momentum for a national suffrage amendment mounted.

“While managing her husband’s chair factory during his war service, Edwards also served as the Franchise League’s president until 1919, when she became more heavily involved with NAWSA working for the passage of the 19th Amendment. The Susan B. Anthony Amendment, as it was then called, was ratified on August 18, 1920. 

“In February of 1920, months before the amendment’s passage, Edwards helped found the League of Women Voters, in preparation for helping women exercise their new rights as voting citizens.  Approximately 2 million women joined the League by 1921. Edwards served as the first treasurer of the National League of Women Voters, then as the organization’s first vice president until 1923. As part of her duties as treasurer and manager of the League national speakers bureau, she traveled widely across the United States.

“In Indiana, Edwards remained heavily invested in civic responsibility. She was the first woman to sit on the Peru Board of Education and in 1922, Governor Warren T. McCray appointed her to the Indiana State Board of Education. Later, Edwards led the local Works Progress Administration board in Miami County during the Great Depression. In 1937, she served as vice president of the Indiana Board of Public Welfare, as well as chairman of the drafting committee for the Indiana Civil Service bill. Edwards was also a member of Miami County Board of Public Welfare (late 1940s-1955) and served on state women’s prison parole board during the 1950s. She died in Peru, Indiana on November 17, 1970.”

 

_________________________________

 

Updates from LWVIN

 

• LWVUS Voting Rights & Pro-Democracy Grant awarded to LWVIN

Total Grant Amount: $6,000 to be used through February 2022


“General Principles: This grant is to assist IN and local leagues with promoting democracy reform through federal legislation action and public engagement. LWVIN will use this project to increase the League’s capacity to build and sustain effective social movements; build state capacity to advance the League’s policy goals including voter protection, democracy, and election reform; and build programs that incorporate transformational elements including Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Initiative goals that support long-term sustainability and further the campaign for Making Democracy Work. LWV will enhance data tracking across all levels of the organization to amplify our story of impact.”

• All members of local Indiana leagues are welcome to attend state board meetings.  “The League of Women Voters of Indiana is all of us--together we are strong.  Meetings are by zoom the second Saturday of each month; 10:30-noon Eastern.  Contact lhanson43@gmail.comfor the link if you are interested.”


_________________________________

 

Updates from LWVUS

 

• League of Women Voters of the United States CEO Virginia Kase Solomón issued the following statement on September 14 in response the US Senate’s introduction of the transformative voting rights bill, the Freedom to Vote Act:   

 

“The League of Women Voters supports theFreedom to Vote Act, a bill that protects and expands the right to vote, decreases the influence of money in politics, and curbs partisan gerrymandering. 

 

“TheFreedom to Vote Act protects and expands ballot access for millions of Americans, especially those who are often targeted by anti-voter laws — voters of color, voters with disabilities, formerly incarcerated voters, women voters, young voters, and elderly voters. 

 

“The greatest impediment to voting is not being registered, which is why the League of Women Voters has been a leading advocate for including Same Day Voter Registration in federal voting rights legislation. We are proud to see Same Day Registration in theFreedom to Vote Act, because it protects Americans who fall through the registration cracks and offers an important avenue for more voters to participate. Same Day Registration ensures that the largest number of Americans can exercise their constitutional right to vote. 

 

“As a nationwide organization leading fair redistricting through our program People Powered Fair Maps™, the League is pleased that theFreedom to Vote Act includes proactive measures to curb gerrymandering. States across the country are already drawing district maps that will impact representation for the next ten years, which is why it is crucial that Congress address the anti-democratic practice of partisan gerrymandering now. Ensuring that communities of interest are not diluted best positions voters to choose their representatives — not the other way around. 

 

“Automatic voter registration, online voter registration, and early voting provisions in this bill work together to provide Americans with more options to participate in our democracy. 

 

“TheFreedom to Vote Act is the bill the American people want and need to make the promise of democracy real for us all. The League of Women Voters strongly urges every Senator to support this bill.” 

_________________________________

 

Government and Board Meeting Calendar

 

 

GOVERNMENT AND BOARD MEETINGS

 

PLEASE NOTE:Meetings may be in person and/or virtual.

See links below to check days/times.

 

Brown County Election Board: First Tuesdays of the month, 2 pm

 

•November 2, 2:00 pm(check for possible changes)

•December 7, 2:00 pm(check for possible changes)

 

Brown County Commissioners:

 

•October 20, 2:00 pm(check for possible changes)

•November 3, 2:00 pm (check for possible changes)

•December 1, 2021, 2:00 pm

•December 15, 2:00 pm

 

Brown County Council:Third Monday of the month, 6:30 pm

 

•October 18, 6:30 pm(check for possible changes)

•November 15, 6:30 pm(check for possible changes)

•December 20, 6:30 pm

 

Brown County Health Board:Bi-monthly, third Tuesday, 5 pm

 

•November 16, 5:00 pm (check for possible changes)

•January 18, 5:00 pm(check for possible changes)

 

Nashville Town Council:Third Thursday of the month, 6:30 pm

 

•October 21, 6:30 pm(check for possible changes)

•November 18, 6:30 pm(check for possible changes)

 

 

 

Note: for all government and advisory board meetings

And to verify times, please check the

Brown County government calendar:

http://www.browncounty-in.gov

or the Brown County Democrat:

www.bcdemocrat.com

 



 

LWVBC BOARD MEETING

 

November 8, 6:30 – 8:30 pm

December 13 (time to be determined)

 

During our October board meeting, which held in the evening, we welcomed members and interested others who are not able to participate during the day.

 

The Board voted to hold the November meeting during the evening again to encourage participation of League members. The November meeting will be held via Zoom.

 

To participate in the meeting, contact League President Shari Frank at browncountylwv@gmail.com

 

 

LWVBC Board meetings are held the

second Monday of each month

 

 

League Members, Friends,

and the public are welcome

 

 

 

 

Are You a Member Yet?

 

Join the League of Women Voters of Brown County!

 

100 years working for a more perfect democracy

 

 

Annual Membership Dues*:

 

$50/Individual $85/Couple

$20/Friend of the League (non-voting)

 

*Membership Scholarships available 

Email for more information: browncountylwv@gmail.com

 

To join or to send a donation,

Mail your check payable to LWVBC,

PO Box 74, Nashville IN 47448

Please include your name, address, phone, and email

 

Want to volunteer? Help with voter registration?

Advocate for voter rights? Advocate for natural resources, etc.?

 

We welcome your participation!

 

Email the League at browncountylwv@gmail.com

 

 












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