President’s Message 2024

December 2024
With most of the results of the November 2024 election decided, I know that there is a mixture of feelings out there. Some things may not have turned out as you expected.  Some things did. Some things you helped get on the ballot passed. Some things didn’t.  One thing is sure. The work of the League of Women Voters continues. Following the November 2024 election, I have taken time to reflect on the impact the League made. The League did a great job of registering voters and we were a big part of gathering signatures to repeal LB 1402, the private school voucher bill and getting the Protect Our Rights initiative on the ballot. We helped get the word out on the 6 ballot initiatives that were on the ballot and we contacted candidates in Lancaster County to participate in Vote411.As part of that reflection, I also think about what more we could do and should do going forward.  

  • We must continue to work to diversify our membership to reflect our community.  Our continued credibility as an organization depends on it.
  • We must work to engage our members, particularly our new members.  We all joined the League for a reason.  We need to tap into that energy early on.
  • We must expand our voter education efforts, whether that is ballot initiative presentations, candidate forums, candidate participation in Vote411, or educating on general voting information 
  • We must continue to expand our voter registration events, particularly in underserved communities and that takes more volunteers.  
  • We must continue to expand our partnerships with other organizations that align on League-supported issues.  And that should be on both sides of the aisle.
  • We need to take a leadership role in bringing civil conversations back to the table.  

I am sure there are more areas we need to work on and I hope you will share those with the board and with your fellow League members. We can only make the League more effective when we are all working together to make it happen.   

The upcoming primary election in April and the general election in May 2025 may seem far off, but they are just around the corner. These elections give us the opportunity to have a bigger impact in our community. I hope you will join me in making that happen.  

 

November 2024
As we all await the outcome of the 2024 November Election, both locally and nationally, I want to take the opportunity to thank all our League members who have put their time and energy into work related to the election.Our efforts directly fulfill our mission of:EMPOWERING VOTERS DEFENDING DEMOCRACY

And our Vision:

WE ENVISION A DEMOCRACY WHERE EVERY PERSON HAS THE DESIRE, THE RIGHT, THE KNOWLEDGE AND THE CONFIDENCE TO PARTICIPATE

Thanks to all League members who registered voters throughout the year and leading up to the election.  On National Registration Day alone twenty Lincoln-Lancaster County League of Women Voters Deputy Registrars registered voters at six different locations.  Seventy-seven registrations were completed including three new citizens on that day alone.  Since February, the voter registration team staffed 68 registration events, logging 516 volunteer hours, registering 595 voters.  A special thank you to Mimi Wickless who recruited volunteers all year long for these events.

Thanks to all League volunteers who spent time collecting signatures to get the Support Our Schools referendum and Defend our Rights initiative on the ballot for the voters to decide.

Thanks to all League members who helped educate the voters on the 6 state-wide ballot initiatives whether that was distributing the information at voter registration events, sending the information to family and friends or conducting ballot initiative presentations for various organizations or as Lunch & Learn programs.

Thanks to all League members who helped contact candidates for Vote411.  While not all candidates participated, all competitive race candidates were given the opportunity and many understood the importance of educating voters on the candidate’s priorities and positions.  

Thanks to all League members who advocated to restore voting rights for felons after sentence served.  While the legislature passed the law allowing voting rights to be restored, it took the Nebraska Supreme Court to direct the Secretary of State to enact the law and several League members, working through the Voting Rights Restoration Coalition, spoke up and showed up so that eligible felons could register to vote for the upcoming election.

Thanks to the League members who communicated the League’s election messages through Facebook, on our website, and through our newsletter, The Voter.

Finally, thanks to all the League members who are assisting the Lancaster County Election Commission leading up to election day, on election and day and after election day.

 

October 2024
I am honored to have been appointed the president of the League of Women Voters of Lincoln-Lancaster County following the passing of Cynthia Peterson. Through her leadership, the LWV of Lincoln-Lancaster County has made great strides in fulfilling the mission of the League and I look forward to building on her legacy.I joined the League in 2012 after moving to Estes Park, Colorado following a 30-year career in the corporate world. In Estes, as it is with many of us, I quickly joined the board of the League and served as vice-president, president, program chair and voter-service chair. I moved to the Boulder County area and joined that League in 2018 where I served as the membership chair. I also served on the state board of the LWV of Colorado twice as secretary and then as local League support director and headed the 100th Anniversary Committee for the passage of the 19th Amendment for the state League. I moved back to Nebraska, my home state, in 2022, where I transferred my membership to the Lincoln-Lancaster League. I joined the board in the spring of 2023 and had been serving as vice-president of action.

I have found that the League is one of only a few organizations where everyone who joins can have a role to play.  It is where you can put your skills and passions to work, whether that is registering voters, helping organize voter education events, contacting candidates to be a part of Vote411, engaging new members, organizing speakers, writing and editing communications, or taking a leadership role on the board.  My hope is that all our members can, if able, help in some way to further the work of our League.

I joined the League because I am passionate about voting rights and the need for citizens to be actively engaged in their government.  As voting rights have come under attack in the last several years, my passion has grown.  I believe in the power of the League and look forward to collaborating with all of you as we fulfill the mission of the League in working to protect and expand voting rights, ensure everyone is represented, and defend democracy through advocacy and education.