Help People Register & Vote

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How Does the League Help People Register and Vote? 

The League is involved in a variety of voter registration events and volunteers are often needed to help citizens fill out a paper or online form.  A number of  activitities are coordinated by the Voter Ready team, one of the most active groups in LWVCC.  They hold registration and education events throughout the year but particularly in the months leading up to elections. They also help with general voter education and awareness by participating in community events and coordinating presentations on voting-related topics.  

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How Can You Help? 

If you've helped people register before - Let the Voter Ready team know that you're interested  in being contacted for upcoming events.  You'll be asked to sign up for a specific time and place. Materials are provided. 

If you've not helped people register before, but want to learn, get on the waiting list for the next  Voter Registration 101 training. This training is periodically offered to prepare volunteers to register people.  The 60-90 minute training sessions are held in person or online. They focus on using the paper registration form for voting in Illinois and  provide a summary of current Illinois election law, voter registration requirements, other ways to register, and ways to vote.  Want a preview? The slides and a video presentation of the most recent training are available on the Election Resources page (scroll down to find it.) 

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Recent Voter Ready Events

Below are some of the recent events that the Voter Ready team participated in. For more details and other events, see the description on the League Events page.

• Your State & Local Elections Count -  LWVCC is a collaborating partner in a series of  voter education events addressing changes to the election laws and information about important issues, races, candidates, and voting options.  Series partner is Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc, Epsilon Epsilon Omega Chapter (AKA). Some recent sessions: 

• April 20,   Lemond Peppers, City of Urbana, and Tracy Parsons, City of Champaign, discused gun violence, including prevention initiatives, root causes and resources being applied.
• March 16, Dr. Christopher Span, UIUC, discussed voter suppression and voting rights. April 20, the session on Educate Yourself About Community Concerns.
•  June 15, a session on conversation with Elected Officials included recently elected city council members.

• ​​​​Parkland College Fine Arts Scholarship Fund Raiser -September 19.   For several years the local band Candy Foster and the Shades of Blue, plus other local bands, have hosted concerts to raise money for fine arts/music scholarships at Parkland College. At this year's fund raiser, League members Rhonda Kirts, Lynda Minor, Karen Fresco (all pictured), and Ann Prisland provided voter and League information plus registration opportunities at this year's benefit concert. Over 100 attended the fundraiser at Alto Vineyards, Champaign.​

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• Welcoming Week September 10-19. Sponsored by the University YMCA and multiple community organizations, Welcoming Week is an annual event.
  • ​September 17, 4:00 pm - 6:00 pm, Citizenship 101 + Trivia.  Voter Ready team provided voter registration  information at this virtual event. Join on Zoom: www.tinyurl.com/ImmigrationTrivia ​

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• City of Champaign Lovin’ U CampaignTour September 1, 6:00 pm -8:00 pm, Bristol Place Residences—Sponsored by the Neighborhood Services Department, features food, music, fun, information/resources, and fellowship.  League volunteers Carol Baxter (pictured) and Ann Prlsland joined in at Bristol Place on September 1 to provide voter registration and information.   
  
  ​​This proved to be a great opportunity to "plant seeds" for future voters (see photo), as well as make face-to-face contact with neighborhood leaders for future voter registration opportunities. 

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• Forest Preserve District Summer Concert Music Series - July 18 - August 29, 2021. This summer the League of Women Voters of Champaign County (LWVCC) sponsored the Champaign County Forest Preserve District Summer Concert Series. 
  
  ​The LWVCC Voter Ready team set up a LWVCC with League information and help with voter registration. These were opportunities to enjoy local music while sharing information about the League and providing voting information and registration opportunities. There were  5 events at local forest preserves. (For details on these five events, see the description on the League Events page.) ​

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 Voter Awareness/Community Events

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• Protect Our Vote Series - The LWVCC Voter Ready team worked with  community organizations Bend the Arc: CU,  Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., CU Alumnae Chapter, and the NAACP Champaign County joined together to provide information in 3 community webinars.  Videos of these presentations are on the LWVCC YouTube site at Protect Our Vote playlist​

1. Voting Rights: Bringing History Up to Date with a Focus on Illinois,  July 14, 2021.  Ami Gandhi, Senior Counsel at Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights covered our voting rights—how we got to where we are today, and how we in Illinois can take action to secure our right to vote. ​
2. Jim Crow and the Nuremberg Laws,  June 9, 2021.  Panel discussion on the history of Jim Crow & Nuremberg Laws featuring speakers Dr. Christopher Span and Brian B. Kahn, Ed.D.
3. Learn How To Take Action for Voting Rights, May 3, 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm. This presentation was about the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2021 and taking action by contacting members of Congress.  This Act would restore the full protections of the original, bipartisan Voting Rights Act of 1965, which was gutted by the Supreme Court in 2013. ​

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• Local Day of Action, May 8, 2021.  A coalition of community groups—League of Women Voters of Champaign County, Bend the Arc: CU, NAACP of Champaign-Urbana, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., CU Alumnae Chapter, and Moms Demand Action—came together to participate in a CU-wide Votercade as as part of the May 8 nationwide John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act Day of Action.  The John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act is the legislation that will restore the guardrails from the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that were struck down by the Supreme Court in 2013. Participants gathered at County Fair parking lot and roled through Champaign and Urbana neighborhoods, ending at Lincoln Square for speakers and entertainment. More information on the national event at https://bit.ly/32qFi2V.  Thanks to the LWVCC volunteers who set up LWVCC's participation in this community event: Ann Prisland, Karen Fresco and Carol Baxter. ​

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Contact Us to Offer To Help

For information about the Voter Ready team or activities, send an email to VoterReady.LWVCC@gmail.com. 
(If you're particularly interested in working with youth, see LWVCC's  Youth Outreach and Civic Engagement team and their program for  Student Voting Ambassadors.)