Recap of Webinars
This year, the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin (LWVWI) Issues Briefing was held online with four Zoom webinars broken up by topic.
The first briefing, Advocacy for Natural Resources Policy, was a discussion on environmental issues and how LWVWI can continue to advocate for access to clean water, protection of public health, preservation of the ecosystem and regulation of pollution sources. Four presenters shared environmental concerns the League should be aware of, including continued opposition of the Enbridge Pipeline 5, PFAS and lead contamination in our infrastructure. These issues have detrimental effects on Wisconsin’s water, energy, land, air and people. The presenters discussed ways League members can further involve themselves to take a stand against these issues.
The Advocacy for Social Policy briefing was centered around diversity, but more specifically the deliberative efforts the League must take to evolve as an inclusive organization. Over the past year, changes were made to make membership and involvement more accessible. LWVWI has adopted a diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) approach to identify barriers that may deter specific groups or perspectives. Additionally, the Community Alliances Committee has been educating members on racial and ethnic issues and partnering with other organizations. Despite these successes, there is still work that needs to be done to mitigate barriers that prevent the League from becoming wholly inclusive and equitable. This involves finding ways to reduce fees to make membership viable for more groups of people and continuing to expand resources available in Spanish and Hmong. There is also work that must be done among members — especially white women— to educate themselves and deal with implicit and explicit biases. DEI principles need to be implemented from the smallest to the biggest aspects of the League.
The Advocacy for Government Policy webinar centered around legislation that will advance voter rights, access to the ballot and turnout and guarantee fair election processes. Senator Tammy Baldwin discussed the goals of the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and explained how the legislation seeks to make voting more accessible, especially for disenfranchised communities. There was a presentation on the work the League had done to advocate for fair maps and an end to gerrymandering in Wisconsin. The session concluded with a review of the state League’s voter service activities throughout the year. After a rocky start and uncertainty during the April election with the onset of COVID-19, the League advocated for the delivery of absentee ballot applications to eligible voters. The League, with its partners in Election Protection and the Wisconsin Voting Rights Coalition, trained and received reports from 134 election observers at polling places and central count facilities in 200 municipalities.
The Concluding Issues Briefing Meeting: Unequal Impacts of COVID-19 on Wisconsin's Communities was a discussion of the effects COVID-19 has had on pre-existing social inequalities. Stresses faced by the education system fall disproportionately on groups such as students of color, students from low-income families, students who speak English as their second language and students with special needs who may require additional support. Additionally, the disparities in Wisconsin’s healthcare system have intensified during the pandemic. These disparities, of which Wisconsin has some of the worse, impact communities of color disproportionately. The discussion also addressed how the pandemic has caused many to lose their jobs or be subjected to unsafe work conditions, disproportionately affecting people, especially women, in the service industry, who already suffer from low wages and inadequate benefits. The meeting concluded with a tribute to the League’s over 90 Lifetime members.
