Missed the Workshop? Don't Stress! Contact us: lwvct [at] lwvct.org

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New Challenges and Opportunities for Digital Advocacy in the Civic Space

Registration ends at 5PM, Wednesday January 13, 2021.

Interested in Early In-Person Voting, No-Excuse Absentee Ballots, Campaign Finance Reform, Fair and Transparent Redistricting, or just learning the basics of advocacy?

A silver lining of the COVID-19 shutdown is that there are new ways for people to participate in the legislative process from wherever they are, with whatever free time they have. You don't have to be an expert OR have loads of free time to make a difference.

Register for the 2021 LWVCT Advocacy 101 Workshop. This year, it will be more accessible than ever, from the comfort of your home via Zoom.

You will hear from:

• Secretary of the State, Denise Merrill, on the status of early voting and no excuse absentee voting proposed legislation
• LWVCT Legislative Lobbyist and Monitor, John M. Bailey II
• Representative Vincent Candelora (R) Minority Leader of the House, 86th District
  
• Representative Stephanie Thomas (D) Vice-Chair, GAE Committee, 143rd District
• Milagros Acosta - Legislative Aide to 5 House members
• LWVCT Issue Specialists: Pam Klem  (Campaign Finance/Citizens’ Election Program) Yvonne Senturia (Election Laws) Patricia Rossi and Pua Ford (Redistricting and Open Government)

We will introduce Action Steps for the 2021 General Assembly Session and tools (such as OutreachCircle), to organize effectively for digital advocacy in 2021 and beyond.

LWVCT’s Legislative Priorities for 2021:

• Early In-Person Voting
• No-Excuse Absentee Ballots
• Citizens/Clean Election Program and Campaign Finance Reform
• A Fair and Transparent Redistricting Process
• Open & Transparent Government: Protecting the public's right to know and access to the legislative processes by adequately funding CT-N.com and Community Access TV
• Environment & Climate

Special Focus: 2020 Census Advocacy transitions to Promoting Fair and Transparent Redistricting Process in 2021

As part of LWVUS People Powered Fair Maps Campaign, LWVCT is focused on the redistricting process in 2021.

The State’s Constitution gives it the power to appoint a bipartisan commission to draw district maps for the US Congress and the State Senate and House. Based on 2020 Census data, these districts will remain in effect for ten years.

Did you know? In 2020, four of 36 senators and 26 of 151 legislators in Connecticut ran unopposed. If those districts had been competitively drawn, voters would have had a choice.

We want districts to be drawn fairly - in a way that allow the voters to choose their representatives. Not the other way around.

Ideally, drawing fair maps in Connecticut would mean:

• An end to redistricting BY representatives FOR representatives
• A nonpartisan commission in charge of redistricting
• Connecticut voters providing oversight and input throughout the entire process