 |  | It’s Fall! Time for pumpkin spice everything, the resumption of LWV Unit meetings, and election season. We kicked off the season with a program by Allie Uttley from the ACLU, talking about their initiatives in Sedgwick County and findings on voting trends in Kansas.
For those who are interested, the Kansas voting report “All Democracy is (Still) Local,” which Allie referenced can be accessed at https://www.aclukansas.org/en/publications/all-democracy-still-local. It is an interesting and somewhat alarming read.
Make sure you mark your calendars for the fourth Monday each month, 6:00 PM, Conference Room B/C at the Advanced Learning Center. Our program team has a great line-up of meetings planned!
And election season is in full swing. There are so many forums and debates scheduled, that there’s no excuse for not knowing who says what. Be sure to check the event calendar and watch your emails and Facebook feeds for upcoming events. Our job, as League members, is to spread the word about these events to everyone we know. An informed electorate is an effective electorate, and it’s what we’re all about.
DATES TO REMEMBER:
Last day to register to vote is October 17.
Early voting begins October 18, ends November 6.
Last day to request an absentee/mail-in ballot is October 31.
ELECTION DAY is November 7.
Spread the word!!
Jessica Maldonado and Nancy Brown,
Co-Presidents, LWW Wichita-Metro. | ONE STOP SHOP ABOUT WICHITA'S LOCAL ELECTIONS!
The League of Women Voters of Wichita-Metro has a new webpage with many resources about our local upcoming elections, including links to past and upcoming mayoral and school board elections.
| | Wichita Journalism Collaborative: Mayoral Forum on Housing
Wednesday, October 11, 2023
5:45 PM - 7:00 PM
Advanced Learning Library
711 W 2nd St N | | | Issues related to affordable housing will take center stage in a mayoral forum co-organized by the Wichita Journalism Collaborative and Wichita Habitat for Humanity.
Mayoral candidate finalists Brandon Whipple and Lily Wu will answer questions on the topic of affordable housing. Candidates and community members alike will have a chance to have an in depth discussion on issues around housing.
If you're unable to attend in person, KSN TV will live stream the forum.
If you have a question you would like the mayoral candidates to answer submit them here: http://www.wichitajournalism.org/housing-forum
| | GENERAL ELECTION USD 259 SCHOOL BOARD AT-LARGE CANDIDATES
BRENT E. DAVIS AND MELODY MCCRAY-MILLER
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 18
6:00 pm
Advanced Learning Library
711 W. Second Street
- Bring your questions
- Confirm Your Voter Registration
- Confirm your polling place | | | At the Voter Registration Day event on Sept. 19, members of the Shockers Vote Coalition and the League of Women Voters teamed up to inform students on how to get registered to vote in the Wichita area.
Carole Neal, co-chair of Voter Services for the LWV and Wichita State alum, stressed the importance of Shockers filling out their ballots, including in local elections.
“You’re the future–not just the future, you’re now too–and when you look at what the world, what the United States is going to look like, it’s you,” Neal said. “That’s why it’s so important that your voices be heard, because you are what we’ll look like in ten, twenty years.”
For students who missed the registration event on campus and want to register to vote, or those who just want to inform themselves about local election candidates, Neal recommends Vote411.org |  |
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Wichita Beacon
We’re just a little under a month away from the Wichita General Election on Nov. 7. To help you prepare, we are hosting two candidate forums with our partners from the League of Women Voters, Wichita State University’s student engagement office and Loud Light, a civic engagement advocacy organization.
First up is the mayoral candidate forum from 12-1 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 18 at the Wichita State University CAC Theater. Candidates will answer a series of questions about how they make decisions, ensure transparency with citizens and how they might work to strengthen our communities.
The second forum will be held from 6-7 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 25, at Wichita State University, Hubbard Hall, Room 211. This forum will host candidates from the Wichita School Board. Each candidate will answer a series of questions about improving students’ education, transparency with teachers, students and parents and how they might work to ensure safe and healthy schools.
Both of these events will be a structured opportunity for school board candidates to address young voters, students and Wichita community members. We hope to see you there!
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| | Next Naturalization Ceremony
Friday Oct. 20, 2023 11 am
Come help new citizens become registered voters! We would love for you to join us for the next ceremony.
The ceremony is from 11am to noon at WSU Hughes Metropolitan Complex- Lowe Auditorium 5015 E. 29th Street North, Wichita, Kansas.
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Tuesday Topics
Mayoral Debate Watch Party
Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2023,
6:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Advanced Learning Library
711 W 2nd St N
Wichita, KS
Doors will open at 5:30 | | | On November 7th, eligible voters in the city of Wichita will hit the polls to select a mayor. Lily Wu and Brandon Whipple came through the primary and will be on the November ballot. What experience do they bring to the table, and what is their vision for the future of Wichita. KAKE News is hosting a debate on October 24th, so for this edition of Tuesday Topics, we will show the debate on the screens in the Conference Center.
| Voices and Votes: Democracy in America
Winfield Public Library
605 College Winfield, KS 67156
October 7th - November 19th
The Smithsonian is in Kansas! Humanities Kansas is pleased to announce a special Kansas tour of Voices and Votes: Democracy in America, the new Smithsonian Institution traveling exhibition from Museum on Main Street. The exhibit traces the bold American experiment of a government run by and for the people. The exhibit examines the influences that shaped the early days of American democracy and the changes that have occurred in the nearly 250 years since. More information about the project is HERE
As part of our kick-off event on Sunday, October 15, the League of Women Voter's of Wichita Metro will make a short non-partisan presentation about the continued importance of voting, how to make informed decisions at the polls.
Voices and Votes: Democracy in America has been made possible in Kansas by Humanities Kansas.
| | Every year, Root the Power and members of the community come together for Vote Mob! We throw a party to get young people engaged, energized and excited about voting with free food, music, performers and speakers! You don’t want to miss out! This year we will be outside of Urban League of Kansas on Saturday November 4th, from 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm
| | |  | Members may still renew and have choices of payment method. Student dues and life member dues are $0 but we still want you to confirm you want to renew your membership. Individual dues are $65 a year, a sustaining membership is $100, and household membership dues for a member plus an additional household member is $97.50.
If you want to renew by check, please mail your check to:
Treasurer
LWV Wichita-Metro
P.O. Box 2411
Wichita, KS 67201
You can also pay your dues at lwvwichita.org. If you choose this method you will see what the opportunities are to participate in the work of our LWV Wichita-Metro this year and we hope you check where you are interested and available. And, once logged in you can see our membership directory. We hope you check our League calendar for up to date information on our activities. Both our September Unit meeting and our September Tuesday Topics were highly informative and very interesting.
As a League we make a difference in protecting the right to vote in our communities, our states and our nation.
LWV Wichita-Metro Membership Committee
| | The ACLU of Kansas is recruiting Beehive Leaders in counties across the state. Beehive Leaders will receive a call to action and a list of 25 ACLU supports in your area to reach out to each month. Be a part of growing your community of civil liberties advocates and multiplying the ACLU impact 🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝
Join some of your fellow League members and Sign up here | | | Check us out on Instagram
Check our Events page here.
Keep current on developments through our Facebook
Find out more about what the League of Women Voters of Kansas is doing.
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Our previous issues of our newsletter are here.
Our new phone number is (316) 835-0001 | |