The next League Lunch & Learn is November 4. 

“Lincoln’s Vision for a Climate-Smart Future” Miki Esposito, J.D., Senior Policy Advisor to Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird, City of Lincoln, Nebraska

REGISTER NOW : email lwvlunchandlearn@gmail.com . Include L&L Registration in the subject line of your email.

Each year the Lincoln – Lancaster League presents a series of programs featuring local, state and national speakers who address timely issues important to informed citizens. These FREE presentations take place on the First Thursday of each month from 12:00-1:00 p.m., September – May. Presentations will be streamed via Zoom. All you need to do is register to receive the link. You do not need to be a League member to participate, but we bet you might want to join soon!

The League of Women Voters of Nebraska encourages its members to DECLINE TO SIGN the voter restriction (voter ID) petition now circulating in the state and to SPREAD THE WORD on the real-world costs, complications and consequences of the proposed amendment on our right to vote.

• The voter restriction amendment would cost Nebraska taxpayers millions of dollars.
  • The most recent official government estimate places the cost of voter restrictions at nearly $3 million to implement and nearly $1 million yearly to maintain.
• Elections in Nebraska are already conducted efficiently, securely and with integrity. 
  • We can and should work to make our elections better, but this voter restriction amendment does not improve our elections. 
• If passed the voter restriction amendment will make voting more complicated. 
• This amendment affects all ballots, including absentee voting and overseas military members. Eligible Nebraska voters:
  • would endure longer waits to cast their ballots;
  • would encounter new repetitive hurdles when voting absentee — including needing to print out a copy of their ID to send in with their Vote By Mail request or ballot, creating a hassle for anyone without a printer at home, scanner, etc.; and
  • face the real possibility of being turned away from their polling places. 
• This amendment creates more questions than it answers and will cause confusion for voters and election officials. The well-funded special interests behind this initiative are asking Nebraskans to vote without answers to essential questions.
  • We have no way of knowing what type of identification will count, but we do know that Social Security cards and birth certificateswould not qualify and military, tribal and student IDs would likely be useless as well.
  • The amendment’s broad language could result in a different voting process in each of Nebraska’s 93 counties.
  • This amendment does not provide any training requirements for poll workers to receive in order to judge someone’s identity based on a photo ID.
• The petition’s language is a vague and dangerous voter restriction proposal that would have real consequences.
  • This voter restriction amendment makes it harder for eligible Nebraskans to cast a ballot freely and fairly. This is especially true for young, low-income, rural, black and brown, and senior Nebraskans.
  • For many rural Nebraskans, the travel required to acquire a photo ID is often a major burden. This includes Nebraskans with disabilities, the elderly, or those in areas without access to reliable broadband or reliable transportation.
  • This voter restriction amendment deprives many Nebraskans of their right to vote, reduces participation, and is in direct opposition to our country’s promise of including more Americans in the democratic process.

The LWVNE is part of a coalition opposing restrictions on Nebraska voters. The coalition will be conducting training on opposing the petition drive in the following locations and dates:

• Wednesday, Aug. 18, 5:30-6:30 p.m. in Lincoln (location TBD)
• Monday, Aug. 23, 5:30-6:30 p.m. in Omaha (location TBD)
• Saturday, Aug. 28, 2-3 p.m. online at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83848495058?pwd=WVRGcUFYOHM1dEhiL284SmhTM3Y4QT09
• Tuesday, Aug. 31, 1-2: p.m. online at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82474282594?pwd=cnVQMDBsZHJXN2doUlJJQ0trL25wdz09

We will be posting more information on the coalition and how to get involved soon on lwvnebraska.org
 
Again, please DECLINE TO SIGN this petition and help us SPREAD THE WORD in your networks about the costs, complications and consequences of the proposed amendment on our right to vote.
 
Thank you!
 
Toni Monette & MaryLee Moulton
Co-Presidents, LWVNE

Your local League completed voter education sessions with several groups and delivered registration and education materials to all groups requesting them. We worked with local organizations and individuals to implement a social media Get Out the Vote program. The Directory of Elected Officials was updated in 2019 by Paula Eurek. lt is available in printed version and on our website. Most notably we did organize volunteers to serve as couriers for the 10 new ballot drop boxes approved by the Election Commissioner. We helped to develop and review a brochure called “Know your Voting Rights” led by the State League Voter Services Committee.

Join us in supporting EVERYONE’S voting rights!

Redistricting is coming. Be informed now.