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Date: 11/1/2021
Subject: The VOTER Newsletter - November 2021
From: LWV of Johnson County






 
The Pivotal Role of Water

Unfortunately, many of us take water for granted. We turn on the tap and the water flows. Have you ever wondered where the water used in our county comes from? Or how water is funded and managed throughout the state of Kansas? Would you be surprised to learn that the Kansas state budget includes more funding for roads than for water?

Join us to learn more about the important issues related to protecting and managing this precious resource.

Moderator:

Kansas Rep. Lindsay Vaughn, Ranking Minority Leader of the House Committee on Water

Panelists:

  • Dawn Buehler, Riverkeeper and Executive Director of Friends of the Kaw and Chair of the Kansas Water Authority

  • Kansas Rep. Ron Highland, Chair of the Kansas House Committee on Water and member of the House since 2012

  • Connie Owen, Director of the Kansas Water Office

Free and open to the public. Register Now.
 

Kansas League Day
 
Saturday, December 4, 2021
9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
 
Join us for League Day where the LWV chapters of Kansas will update members on activities, exchange ideas and coordinate future activities and planning. See the agenda.
 
 
 

Shaping History One Voter at a Time

Several League members recently attended a fundraiser and celebration for The Voter Network, a nonprofit affiliate of the Mainstream Coalition. It was the first large social event I had attended in months, and it was wonderful to spend time safely with others who feel passionately about voting rights.

The evening was filled with many inspiring stories and tributes and culminated in a powerful keynote address by Kevin Willmott, a KU film professor and Academy Award-winning screenwriter. 

It made me realize just how important it is to celebrate our victories, large and small. 

A large victory: For the past several years, dozens of League members have participated in The Voter Network’s relational get-out-the-vote program, Voter to Voter, first under the leadership of Jill Quigley and now Spencer Smith. In 2020, the program’s network of volunteers achieved a 91% voter turnout rate among the 20,822 unique voters they reached — and nearly half of those voters were low-propensity voters, meaning they were less likely to vote or had never voted. For context, the statewide voter turnout rate was 71%. 

A smaller victory: Since July 1, Leagues throughout the state suspended in-person voter registration events because of a newly enacted Kansas law that threatens felony prosecution for any activities that could be mistaken as the work of an election official. (See LWVK's Voter Notes for lawsuit updates.) Although thwarted, we weren’t stopped. Our outreach focus shifted to voter information rather than voter registration. At what  normally would be voter registration events, Leaguers throughout the state distributed flyers with QR codes to ksvotes.org that allow people to register to vote, update their registration information and request advance ballots. 

League members know all too well that the campaign to engage voters that started more than 100 years ago is nowhere close to being finished, as the voter turnout statistics for the non-presidential year election just a few days from now most likely will show. But we have to remember why our work is important. When we fight to make our democracy more inclusive, to enfranchise and engage voters, we can shape history — and we need every single one of you in the fight.

Amber Stenger

President

913-620-5172 | jocoleague@gmail.com

 


Cider Social
 
Three nights before Halloween, fifty-plus Leaguers and friends donned warm attire, huddled around the fire pit at Meadowbrook Pavilion, rekindled friendships and met new faces, all while sipping cider and munching goodies!  After 18 months emailing, phoning and Zooming, it was a joy to meet in-person and hear the voices and laughter!
 A huge round of applause to our Special Events Guru Ellen Porter, Membership Co-chairs Eileen Manza and Victoria Smith, the Membership Team and especially our loyal, undaunted, incredible members! What a hardy bunch!
 
 
Thanks also to Victoria Smith and Cherish Cho for taking photos!
 
 

A LWVJoCo record: 16 candidate forums!
 
A huge thanks to our Voter Information team, Marie Hernandez and Debbie Kitchin, who spearheaded 16 candidate forums during this election season. From school boards to city councils to public utility boards, candidate forums of races in Johnson and Wyandotte counties provided voters the opportunity to learn firsthand about people running for local offices. 
Not only did Marie and Debbie further our mission to educate voters, they also strengthened our partnerships with several area organizations by inviting them to submit questions.
Be sure to watch any of the forums you missed on our YouTube channel.   
LWVJoCo is grateful to Marie and Debbie for their outstanding work on behalf of our community.

Charter Commission 101

What is the Home Rule Charter?

Kansas is a “home rule” state. County Commissioners govern their counties as they see fit, unless their decisions conflict with the Constitution (Kansas or federal) or a Kansas statute. Home rule applies to all counties, but the State Legislature has declared that two, Johnson and Sedgwick, are “urban areas” that may choose to have a written Charter with certain authorities and limits (KSA 19-2654 and KSA 19-2680).  A Home Rule Charter is a legislative document that defines the structure, powers, purpose, and functions of a county government. The Johnson County Home Rule Charter was enacted by public vote during the November 2000 general election.

What is the Charter Commission?

The Johnson County Home Rule Charter requires that a group of 25 Johnson County citizens, called the Charter Commission, review the charter every 10 years. The members are appointed by various authorities specified in the Home Rule Charter. The 2000 Charter was not amended in 2011.  

What are the powers of the Charter Commission?

The Charter Commission does not have any independent authority to make changes to the Charter. It can only make administrative recommendations approved by a majority vote of its members and amendment proposals approved by a vote of four-fifths of its members (Charter Article 5 and Article 6, Sections 6.01 and 6.04), in the form of a final report presented to the Johnson County Board of County Commissioners.

What is the process for changing the Charter?

The Board must consider whether any of the Charter Commission’s administrative recommendations should be implemented. The Board has authority to decide whether it will make the recommended changes (Charter Article 7, Section 7.07). But the Board must send each lawful amendment proposal to the voters at the next available general election for a decision on whether to accept it or reject it.  

Who decides whether local positions are appointed or elected?

The general election statute is KSA 25-101. Subsections (10) and (11) require election of certain county officials: at each election when an incumbent commissioner’s term has expired; and at alternate elections, a county clerk, a county treasurer, a register of deeds, a county or district attorney, and a sheriff in each county. 

County governmental bodies do not have the power to change state statutes. Any statutory changes would have to be made by the state legislature. Counties are not permitted to opt out of statutes that apply uniformly to all counties (KSA 19-101a). However, the state legislature’s declaration of the two “Charter Counties” eliminated the uniformity of KSA 25-101(10) and (11). That allowed Johnson County voters in 2000 to “charter out” of electing the clerk, treasurer, and register of deeds and provide for their appointments by the County Commissioners (Charter Article 5, Section 5.05). The district attorney of Johnson County is specifically required by statute to be an elected judicial district officer, not a county officer (KSA 22a-101). 

Who decides whether local races are partisan or nonpartisan?

Elections for county office are partisan, except for voting on judicial retention. Johnson County has opted for nonpartisan election of County Commissioners.   

Submitted by Alleen VanBebber

A profile of Ruby Bridges, civil rights activist, during the exhibit opening of "We the Peoples: Norman Rockwell's United Nations", presented by the Norman Rockwell Museum in partnership with the United Nations Foundation and the UN Department of Public Information.

Behind her is a 1964 painting entitled "The Problem We All Live With" by Norman Rockwell. 

UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe

29 June 2015 - United Nations, New York - Photo # 636504


Extraordinary Profile in Courage:  Ruby Bridges

Can you imagine being a six-year-old child who suffered the threat of bodily harm each day that she arrived at school? Can you imagine being a six-year-old child who each day suffered a barrage of racial slurs and derogatory epithets being hurled at you each day you tried to enter school? Can you imagine that as a six-year-old child for your safety having to be escorted by four federal marshals—two walking in front of you and two marshals behind you? These were just a few of the indignities that Ruby Bridges endured as the lone black child who integrated William Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Ruby had been chosen to take a test to see if she could attend William Frantz Elementary. Ruby was one of six children who passed the test. Like all parents, Ruby’s parents wanted her to receive a good education. The other parents whose children were selected were too fearful to send their children. Ruby was the only student in her class since the white parents pulled their children out of Barbara Henry’s class, the only teacher who agreed to teach Ruby. Ruby was forced to eat alone and to have recess by herself. She had to be escorted to the restroom by a federal marshal.

Ruby Bridges was immortalized by Norman Rockwell in the painting above, “The Problem we Must all Live With.”  Ruby Bridges is truly a profile of Courage.

Submitted by:  Elizabeth Ann Sanders, PhD. 

Source:  www.hilbert.edu



Advocacy and Awareness Group: Johnson County

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Annual Report Editor
Start: January 2022
End: March 2022
 
Each year, we create an annual report to highlight our League's activities and accomplishments for members. The editor collects and proofs the reports from committee chairs and compiles the information for publication in March.
 
Interested? Please contact Amber Stenger .(amberstenger@gmail.com)


Beth Hall

Lori Hill


Member Spotlight: Robyn Hart
 
Our voter information and position statements brought us the contributions of this League member.
Learn more about Robyn.

Observer Corps Reports

 Catch up on the actions, decisions and proposals of our local public officials. 

 
Public comments get raucous, mental health gets more support, affordable housing gets attention, and we have a NEW OBSERVER covering Water One!
  
Read the latest summaries by League members who attend several public meetings in our area.

Board and Committee Briefs

🚨 LWVJoCo meetings will remain virtual indefinitely. For the safety of members and the community, the board has decided to continue meeting virtually through the end of the year. We will not have an in-person holiday event. We are discussing having a virtual holiday event. Stay tuned for more details.

✔️ Critical race theory program: Thank you to the nearly 80 people who attended our October program about what critical race theory is and isn’t. If you missed it, you can watch it here. A special thank you goes to Janet Milkovich, our outstanding moderator, and our panelists, Mara Rose Williams of the Kansas City Star and Tyler Curtis of United Methodist Foundation. We also appreciate the redistricting update provided by Connie Taylor and the DEI Moment by Jeannine Linnane. And as always, we couldn't do this without the behind-the-scenes help of Marsha Ratzel and Mitchell Krasnopoler. 

🙌 Souls to the Polls: We’d like to recognize and thank Amber Adams for stepping into a leadership role with Souls to the Polls (STP), our get-out-the-vote initiative in Wyandotte County. Along with Dr. Elizabeth Ann Sanders and the STP team, Amber will continue to build on the partnerships created in 2020. For the November election, STP turned to Elizabeth Johnston again to create colorful informational flyers about voter registration and voter information to distribute to churches and organizations in Wyandotte County.

💵 Budget Committee: Planning for next year’s budget can begin with the appointment of the 2021-2022 Budget Committee: Lisa Kuhnke, chair; Mary Estrada, member; and Jan Brunks, member. As our treasurer, Jerry Gilson will also sit on the committee. We sincerely appreciate these members stepping up to oversee this important process.

♦️ Charter Commission: Amber Stenger testified virtually at the Johnson County Charter Commission public forum on Oct. 11 to voice LWVJoCo’s support of keeping county commissioner races nonpartisan. Read Eileen Marshall and Alleen VanBebber’s article about the next steps in the charter review process.

🗺️ Redistricting update: Kudos to Ellen Miller for conducting two gerrymandering/redistricting workshops for 44 residents of Lakeview Village in October. If your group or community would like a short presentation on redistricting, please contact Connie Taylor. Also, if you missed the latest workshop on how to advocate for fair maps in Kansas, you can watch it here.

👀 DEI resources: Check out our new DEI section on our website. Thank you to the DEI team for pulling this information together for our members. The committee includes Kay Heley, Jeannine Linnane, Ellen Miller, Mary Lou Jaramillo, Amanda Vega-Mavec, Amber Stenger, Ann Sanders, Marie Hernandez, Jodie Dietz, Debbie Schott and Angela Thornton Millard.

✨Sponsored memberships: In an effort to make our organization more inclusive, the board voted to sponsor four regular memberships during this fiscal year. Students can now join for free as well. For more information, contact us.

💡 LWVUS 55th Annual Convention: LWV’s next national convention will be a hybrid event in Denver, Colo. from June 23-26, 2022. Several LWVJoCo members typically serve as delegates. Start thinking about whether this is something you’d like to attend and watch for information here

⚖️ Lawsuits update: House Bill 2183: A Shawnee County judge allowed Kansas to continue enforcing a controversial election law, rejecting arguments that it will inhibit voter registration and education efforts. Read the article here and also a Sept. 14 article about voting rights attorneys battling in Shawnee County District Court over the merits of the law here. Watson rejected this argument, emphasizing that the law requires the individual to “knowingly” misrepresent themselves as an election officer to violate the law. League in-person voter registration events continue to be suspended. 

Last week a federal court ruled in League of Women Voters v. Harrington that a former U.S. Election Assistance Commission official violated federal law in 2016 when he allowed three states – Alabama, Georgia, and Kansas – to require documentary proof of citizenship on the federal voter registration form, which already requires applicants to swear that they are U.S. citizens under penalty of perjury. The League of Women Voters of the United States brought the lawsuit with its Alabama, Georgia, and Kansas state leagues, along with other plaintiffs. 

📰 Stay Current: Read about latest work of Leagues throughout the state in the latest issue of LWVK’s VOTER Notes newsletter.



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