Volume 77, Number 5 | August 2025 | NEXT MEETING: September 6th!
Join us as we start our fall campaign to be Vote Ready in November! On Saturday Sept 6th, leaders from our Voter Registration and Voter Information teams will be working alongside our panelists from local and state organizations to help us understand what we are voting on and how you can get involved. Representatives from ACLU Kansas, Mainstream Coalition, and The Voter Network will be sharing about their organizations and how you can help your community be ready to vote this November!
We'd love for you to share the League information with a friend! Share this email, our social media posts, or invite them to join you at an upcoming event. We can't wait to see all your faces at our first meeting of the fall.
BE VOTE READY
Saturday, September 6th from 9:30am-11am (Doors open at 9am)
Shawnee Mission Unitarian Universalist Church
9400 Pflumm Road
Lenexa, KS 66215
| LWV National News
The League of Women Voters CEO, Celina Stewart, Esq., issued a statement in response to President Trump's vow to eliminate mail-in ballots and voting machines:
“Free, fair, and accessible elections are the cornerstone of a healthy democracy. President Trump’s call to eliminate vote-by-mail is a direct attack on Americans’ freedom to vote.
“Vote-by-mail is secure, accurate, and trusted by millions of voters — including older adults, military members, rural communities, tribal communities, voters of color, and voters with disabilities. Vote-by-mail has proven to expand voter participation in recent elections..."
| | | | HEAR FROM DIANNA WYNN, PRESIDENT OF THE LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS U.S.
As part of Womens Equality week, the Womens Equlity Network is hosting a presentation with LWV President Dianna Wynn!
Join us on Thursday August 28th for her presentation titled "Women at the Forefront of Advancing Equality and Democracy" starting at 6pm. This will be an awesome opportunity for all members. Please register below to attend in person or on zoom.
Thursday August 28th at 6pm (Doors open at 5:30pm)
Village Presbyterian Church
6641 Mission Road
Prairie Village, KS 66208
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| SUMMER OF ACTION
CYNDI LAUPER TOUR: Our Voter Information team and volunteers spent a hot evening manning our booth at the Cyndi Lauper concert on August 9th for the Girls Just Wanna Have Fun tour! Cyndi has joined forces with the League of Women Voters to help promote voting rights. You can see more about her tour and the impact made HERE.
VOTER REGISTRATION EVENTS: The team with Voter Registration helped more than 75 people get registered to vote and even more to check their registration status this summer!! Help us register even more people this fall! This team has so many great events coming up in September and October! Remember the deadline to register to vote in the November election is October 14th!
We have a new and easier way to see and sign-up for volunteer opportunities with Voter Registration: Click Here to View and Register for Volunteer Opportunities. For questions, please contact voterregistration@lwvjoco.org.
POSTCARD PARTIES: You brought your creative skills and made a big impact! Our Voter Information team and volunteers are working hard this sumemer to create inspiring postcards for people who don't vote. The idea is to regularly encourage them to get out and vote this fall. The next event is coming up on August 26th from 5:30 to 7:30 PM at the Merriam Plaza Library - Register Here.
ADVOCACY: LWV members have shown up at multiple advocacy events and protests throughout the summer. Thank you all so much for making your voice heard throughout Johnson County and the entire metro area! We would love to share more of your photos on our social media. Please send them to communications@lwvjoco.org if we can use them!
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| Postcard Parties with Voter Information
Join Voter Information and bring your creative skills! We will work together to make creative and inspiring postcards for people who don't vote regularly encouraging them to get out and vote this fall. Please be sure to register so the Voter Information team knows how many people to expect!
- August 26th from 5:30 to 7:30 PM, Merriam Plaza Library - Register Here
- September 11th from 9:30 to 11:30AM, Leawood Pioneer Library - Register Here
- September 20th from 9:30 to 11:30AM, Corinth Library - Register Here
Candidate Forum
Join the candidates for the Johnson County Community College Board of Trustees as they respond to questions. Dr. Terri Easley-Giraldo, JCCC Professor of Communication Studies, will moderate the forum. This is a public event co-sponsored by the JCCC Faculty Association and the League of Women Voters of Johnson County. All candidates have been invited to attend.
- September 4th from 6 to 7:30PM at JCCC Polsky Theater - Register Here
Women's Equality Coalition - Women's Equality Week
- Aug. 24, 2 pm. Zoom - Learn about the Kansas Suffrage Movement (Professor Jeanne Klein).
- Aug. 25, 6:00 pm. Black Archives - Stories of the earliest Black Suffragists (Dr. Carmaletta Williams)
- Aug. 26, 6:00 pm. KC Library - “Swiftynomics”: How Women Are Rewriting the American Economic Playbook. (Professor Misty L. Heggeness)
- Aug. 27, 6:00 pm. PlexPod - Women in War Zones (women from Ukraine,Palestine, Iran, and a Global Peace Builder).
- Aug. 28, 6:00pm. Village Presbyterian Church - Women at the Forefront of Advancing Equality & Democracy (Dianna Wynn, President LWVUS).
Check the Events Calendar to see or register for all upcoming events!
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The Observer Corps has open spots for the Board of County Commissioners, JCCC Board of Trustees, Olathe School Board, JOCO Parks & Rec Board, Olathe City Council, and Lenexa City Council. Email observercorps@lwvjoco.org if you can help!
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|  | MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION
We are so excited to have so many new faces joining the league! If you want to learn about the storied history of the League and how to get involved in the varied activities of our local chapter, please join us at the next quarterly league orientation. Identify how your talents align with our mission and support us in defending democracy. New members, current members, and potential members are welcome!
Sunday, September 7, 1:30 p.m.-2:30 p.m.
Johnson County Central Resource Library, 9875 W. 87th Street, Overland Park, KS
Please register below so we know how many to expect.
Reminder about New LWVUS Dues Payment & Updates
The League of Women Voters sends out membership renewal reminders 60 and 30 days prior to your membership’s expiration date, as well as 30 days after that date. If you don’t renew within 30 days of your membership expiration date, you will be considered a new member when you renew your membership. This is inconvenient, but it is how the new national system works.
If you wish to continue with the League (and we sure hope you do), please renew your membership at lwv.org or on our website’s Join Us button that now connects directly to lwv.org.
You may also renew by check but be sure to make the check payable to LWVUS and mail it to League of Women Voters Johnson County, P.O. Box 13491, Overland Park, KS 66282-3491 or bring your check to the welcome table at a Saturday league meeting.
Your $75 dues are divided among the national league, as well as the Kansas league and our local chapter. Please disregard the incorrect link about membership renewal that appeared in July’s The Voter newsletter.
We also greatly appreciate donations made to our chapter. One way to donate is to go to our website, lwvjoco.org and click on the donate button. Or you may mail a check payable to LWV JoCo, P.O. Box 13491, Overland Park, KS 66282-3491 or bring your check to the welcome table at a Saturday league meeting.
We appreciate our Johnson County League members! Please contact membership@lwvjoco.org with any questions about first-time membership, renewals or donations.
| Although our monthly program meetings have been on a “summer break”, they will resume on September 6 (NOTE: This was revised to be the FIRST Saturday in September) featuring the topic of “Local Elections”. Meanwhile, I encourage each of you to stay active and informed. Check our league website “EVENTS” Calendar and also the “GET INVOLVED” opportunities.
For example, the Events Calendar has “POSTCARD PARTIES” on August 26 and September 11 and 20 and 27. If you can write a name and address and a brief message (your own or one provided you) on a postcard, then CONGRATULATIONS – YOU’RE QUALIFIED. Come and enjoy the company of your fellow league members; bring your friends too if you wish. Each postcard helps us reach out to voters who don’t vote regularly and encourage them to vote. The more postcards we create, the more voters will turn out. We have nearly 250 league members and we can use EACH ONE OF YOU to help. It’s truly an enjoyable party event, so have some fun and support Democracy in action. Please log into our website and register for one or more events. If you need a ride to/from the library, please contact President@lwvjoco.org or else VoterInformation@lwvjoco.org with your name and address and which event(s) and we will try to help you.
Just a few examples of “Get Involved”. Contact Communications@lwvjoco.org since they can use assistance with a variety of things. Contact Membership@lwvjoco.org where their Membership Retention Crew or their “Give ‘Em a Buzz” team can use help. See other examples on our website or in THE VOTER.
I am sad to report that the Board of Directors received resignation letters from two of our Board members recently. Connie Hernandez was elected to be Co-Vice President for one year at our March 2025 Annual Meeting and Jane McDowell was elected to be Co-Voter Registration Chair for two years at that same meeting. Both resigned for various personal reasons. We thank them for their service on the Board. If you or someone you know (and they are willing) would like to volunteer to serve out their term as a “Co-…”, please let me know and I will bring the nominee’s name to the Board.
Great news: Dianna Wynn, the new President of the League of Women Voters of the United States, is coming to Kansas City and she is giving a talk “Women at the Forefront of Advancing Equality and Democracy” on the evening of August 28 at the Village Presbyterian Church in Prairie Village, KS, with which LWVJoCo is helping. The plan is to livestream her talk for those who cannot attend in-person. This is part of a 5-day (August 24-28) series of events sponsored by the Women’s Equality Coalition of Greater Kansas City. Be sure to check out all the events; each one is special in itself.
I know there has been grim news lately for Democracy and Voting, but I remind you that the Women Suffragists started a 6-day a week protest (picketing) in January 1917 in front of the White House in all kinds of weather (and against a heavy and sometimes brutal onslaught of opposition) for a full year until President Wilson finally joined their side in January 1918, but it was not until June 1919 before both the House and Senate finally joined their side, and then not until 1920 before the States approved and ratified the 19th Amendment to give women the right to vote, so those women won the battle. We want to protect Democracy, Voting Rights, etc. much quicker and more efficiently, but we also need their determination and willingness to keep going and to communicate our League's mission of "Empowering Voters" and "Defending Democracy”.
Harry Bognich
President@lwvjoco.org | _________________________________
| | Looking to add some LWV merch to your closet? What about a yard sign to show your support?
Previously printed shirts, pins, and yard signs will be available for purchase at our Sept 6th meeting! Please bring cash or check to purchase.
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Our monthly newsletter, The VOTER, provides information on League programs and events. Get it delivered to your inbox. Subscribe for free!
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