Issues and Action

League of Women Voters^®
of the Ann Arbor Area

Recent activities of National, State and Local LWV

Washtenaw County Jail - Critical Issues. Memorabilia Request for Upcoming Exhibit on Women's Suffrage. MICHIGAN VOTER POWER CAMPAIGN - taking action to make voting easier and elections more transparent. Health Care Education Task Force Papers Now Online. A Fair and Impartial Michigan Supreme Court.

Washtenaw County Jail - Critical Issues

On November 12, 2009, a panel discussion followed by Q & A was held at the Ann Arbor District Library. Panel members were Sheriff Jerry Clayton, Prosecuting Attorney Brian Mackie, County Commissioner Barbara Bergman and psychiatrist Christine Negendank.
Video of the event has been broadcast on CTN Channel 18. A copy of the video is available in the Ann Arbor District library "Video on Demand" collection.
The event was co-sponsored by LWV Ann Arbor and the Ann Arbor District Library.

Memorabilia Request for Upcoming Exhibit on Women's Suffrage

The Ann Arbor Area League of Women Voters requests your help in locating and loaning women's suffrage memorabilia for our upcoming "Winning the Women's Vote in Washtenaw" Exhibit.
In January 2011, the League of Women Voters is planning to celebrate the legacy of the women's voting movement, also known as suffrage, in Washtenaw County.
Please help make this exhibit the most inclusive and broad-based ever! Brave the cobwebs of your attics, basements, photo albums and other family memorabilia to look for any artifacts and mementos related to the women's suffrage movement + either pro or con. Dresses, hats, banners, buttons, programs, photos and letters are most welcome.
So over the summer, please go through your stashes and find those Votes for Women sashes!
And when you do find something, please leave a message at "SpecialEvents" under the Contact Us button on this website.
Thank you for contributing your own family's story to this amazing, unique and worthwhile project. And please join us in telling the complete story about how women got the vote in Washtenaw!

MICHIGAN VOTER POWER CAMPAIGN - taking action to make voting easier and elections more transparent

The League of Women Voters has long supported allowing all voters to apply for an absentee ballot without giving a reason, to promote easy and accessible voting. Recently, the issue has gained bi-partisan support in the House and has some interest in the Senate.
On April 30th, the MI House of Representatives passed HB 4367, which allows any registered voter to request an absentee ballot. The bill enables voters to apply for and deliver the absentee ballot to their clerk in person, by mail, fax or email. Current law requires voters to check one of six reasons when applying for an absentee ballot, which disqualifies most voters.
For more information, check the Michigan Voter Power Campaign eLetter

Health Care Education Task Force Papers Now Online

Click here to read two papers from the League's Health Care Education Task Force: "From SCHIP to CHIPRA" by Robin Lane and "A Short History of Major Changes in the U.S. Health Care System since 1994: Costs, Coverage and Quality" by Doris Isolini Nelson

A Fair and Impartial Michigan Supreme Court

Justice Sandra Day O'Connor has said "Judicial elections are becoming political prizefights where partisans and special interests seek to install judges who will answer to them instead of the law and the constitution."
On October 29th, five members of the Ann Arbor Area LWV attended a forum on removing the influence of money and politics from Michigan's Supreme Court elections. The forum, held at Schoolcraft College, was sponsored by the LWV of Michigan, along with local leagues from Oakland County, Ann Arbor, Dearborn, Detroit, Grosse Pointe, Northwest Wayne County, and Troy. Among the additional sponsors were the Washtenaw County Bar Association, the AAUW of Michigan and the Michigan Impartial Courts Coalition. Representative Paul Condino, Chair of the Michigan House Judiciary Committee, served as moderator of a panel comprised of Judge Edward Thomas, Wayne County Circuit Court (retired); Brian Dickerson, a columnist for the Detroit Free Press; and Rich Robinson, executive director of the Michigan Campaign Finance Network. The three panelists discussed the problem of political interference in Michigan courts. The main problem is that the cost of judicial campaigns is out of control--$23.5 million has been spent on Michigan Supreme Court campaigns since 2000. In order to raise the huge amount of money necessary to run a campaign, candidates look to special interests for donations and the sources of these donations are often hidden from public view. Contributors often expect special treatment when cases involving their particular interests appear before the Court. Public trust and confidence in the courts is at risk as a large majority of Michigan voters believe that the courts are influenced by campaign contributions. To remain fair and impartial, the Michigan Campaign Finance Network makes the following recommendations:

Full and timely disclosure of all contributions to judicial campaigns, including TV issue ads paid for by 527"organizations,
Objective standards for justices to disqualify themselves from cases in which they have a campaign finance relationship
Voluntary public financing for Michigan Supreme Court campaigns

from LWV-AAA Nov-Dec 2008 newsletter

Comments, suggestions, questions? Contact our webmaster. Last revised: July 15, 2010 14:27 PDT.