Opinion piece by Co-Presidents Julie Steiger and Jill Smull encourages support of For the People Act (U.S. Senate Bill 1) In office just about one month, League co-presidents Julie Steiger and Jill Smull wasted no time explaining why the League supports the For the People Act (U.S. Senate Bill 1) in an op-ed for the Springfield News-Leader. The guest editorial …
League fundraiser canceled
A fundraiser for the League of Women Voters of Southwest Missouri scheduled for Saturday, July 31 at IBEW Hall, 2902 E Division St., Springfield, has been canceled. Stay tuned for future fundraising events.
Map your community
Be part of SWMO public input to end gerrymandering of Missouri’s new district lines Join folks from across southwest Missouri on July 21 via Zoom to learn how mapping your community ahead of redistricting this year will end gerrymandering as we know it. Too often, Missouri’s new legislative district map lines have been drawn by lobbyists and politicians without real …
In the news: June 29 map meeting with Community Partnership
Listen to Voter Services chair Joan Gentry talk about our redistricting mapping project in an interview with League member Maggie Castrey on our KSMU radio program Making Democracy Work. Read the Springfield News-Leader’s story on our redistricting mapping program, written by the News-Leader’s new Missouri politics and government reporter Galen Bacharier.
Citizen input needed for redistricting map project
League joins Community Partnership of the Ozarks to sponsor June 29 map meeting Once each decade, maps based on U.S. Census results determine how many people represent us in Washington D.C. and how many Electoral College votes Missouri gets. The census also impacts voting districts for state representative and state senate seats, and how many federal dollars come to our …
League leader addresses Board of Education
Voter Services chair affirms diversity and equity in message to Springfield Public Schools’ Board of Education June 22, 2021 To: Members of the Board of Education of the Springfield (Mo.) Public School District I am here to speak in support of our school district’s focus area on equity and diversity. I am a retired middle school teacher, having taught 7th …
Day of Action for voter rights
The League of Women Voters of Southwest Missouri is asking citizens to take action on Saturday, May 8, to mark a National Day of Action for the John Lewis Voter Rights Advancement Act, known in Congress as Hour Resolution 4 (HR4). Passage of the John Lewis Voter Rights Advancement Act coupled with the For the People Act (Hour Resolution 1 …
Making Democracy Work celebrates 40 Years on KSMU
How it all began “We need help covering topics relating to local government, civic engagement, and public services. Would the League be able to help us with this weekly program?” asked Arlen Diamond, general manager of KSMU, Springfield’s fledgling public radio station, in 1981. So began a now 40-year partnership between the NPR station and the LWV of SWMO. In …
League statement regarding Senate Bill 937
The League of Women Voters of Southwest Missouri condemns the actions of Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley for his vote against U.S. Senate Bill 937, the COVID-19 Hate Crime Bill. His was the lone dissenting vote, ignoring both the safety and the civil rights of his Asian-American and Pacific Islander constituents.
League joins Missouri’s Community Mapping project
League’s participation launches April 29 with nationwide LWV Day of Action for People Powered Fair Maps The League of Southwest Missouri is part of a statewide nonpartisan effort to increase public input into re-drawing Missouri’s legislative districts. In the coming year these districts will be reviewed and possibly redrawn based on 2020 census data. On April 29, the League of Women …