Membership Renewal Time is Currently Underway
by Beth Porter, Membership Chair
Your League membership renewal can be done now. The deadline to renew is December 31, 2024. We are asking all members to renew before the end of 2024. Please use https://lwvmclean.org to log in and renew your member account. Be sure to fill out the interest survey and make any needed updates to your League profile. The answers you provide will greatly help the League leadership understand your interests and plan informative programs.
Questions? Send an email to membership@lwvmclean.org | | | | Student Voting Energy at a Peak
by Kyle Ciani
Imagine being cheered when you cast your ballot for the first time. That’s exactly what happened during early voting hours at Illinois State University’s Bone Student Center on November 5. Regular cheers from McLean County poll workers signaled a ballot cast from first-time voters, many of whom were students and same-day registrants.
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Pictured: League member and Professor of History Kyle Ciani (center) connected with ISU students involved in Teacher Advocacy Week, including Anabella Chlada (left) and Alayna Nance (right) with the Illinois Education Association Aspiring Educators. | | | Election Day Poll Watching
by Laurie Wollrab
Our League partnered with Common Cause to train and deploy poll watchers on Election Day. A giant THANK YOU to Georgene Chissell for helping organize our folks and getting them the required credentials.
Our League deployed seven poll watchers who took shifts at nine polling locations throughout the day. Thank you to Alexis Kalish, Georgene Chissell, Camille Taylor, Faith Russell, Julie Hile and Laurie Bergner for your dedication. They overwhelmingly reported that polling locations were adequately staffed with knowledgeable and helpful workers, polling locations were generally set up correctly and that voting ran smoothly.
| | Get Out the Vote Postcards
by Chad Kahl, Voter Services
LWVIL used Get Out the Vote donations to send over 15,000 postcards to active voters in the state.
McLean County was one of nearly 30 chapters in Illinois to participate. We sent 500 postcards to voters in McLean County and Chicago. Our postcards featured information about VOTE411 and encouraged voters to make a plan to vote.
I worked on the state-level Smart Voter Data Team that received training on using the smart voter database, piloted different approaches to accessing and using the data, and coordinated the postcard campaign.
This is the state’s first widespread effort to send postcards using smart voter data and we’ll see bigger and better efforts in the future!
Thanks to everyone who wrote out postcards and donated postage! | | | VOTE411 Recap
by Chad Kahl, Voter Services
Thanks to the work of Kay Moss, Mary O’Brian, Faith Russell, and the Voter Services Committee, our chapter provides access to non-partisan information in the VOTE411 voter guide.
This year, we prepared the guide for both the Primary and General Elections. We also offered it in both English and Spanish for the first time.
There are a lot of steps to ensure we are providing non-partisan information to voters. We develop survey questions, enter GIS information for election boundaries, determine the races across McLean County, find contact information for candidates, reach and re-reach and re-re-reach out to candidates for their survey responses, and troubleshooting.
In doing so, we provide the ability for any voter to enter their address and quickly determine if they are registered to vote, where they can vote, and the items on their ballot. If the candidate has responded to our survey, voters get the candidate responses.
From January 1 to November 5, we reached almost 3,000 users in McLean County. | New Members Orientation
by Beth Porter
A new member orientation meeting will be offered every other month in 2025. Orientation meetings are focused on informing new and prospective League members about the League's history, structure, and ways to get involved; however, all members are welcome to attend and can invite a friend. The sessions will be one hour or less.
Thursday, January 23, 2025 at 5:30 p.m.
Bloomington Public Library, 205 E. Olive St., Bloomington, IL 61701
Conference Room, 2nd Floor
Upcoming Dates/Times
● Saturday, March 29, 2025 at 9:30 a.m.
● Thursday, May 22, 2025 at 5:30 p.m. | Other League Events
LWVIL Virtual Lunch and Learn Lobby Corps
Tuesday, Nov. 19, noon - 1:00
The LWV of Illinois is offering a virtual Lunch and Learn to discuss LWVIL’s exciting Lobby Corps initiative and its importance to our mission. You can register here:
From Funding to Equal Access: The State of Illinois’ Colleges
Virtual Event Thursday, Dec. 5, 6:30PM
Let’s talk about the state of Illinois’ colleges. Join us to hear from Ralph Martire, Professor of Public Policy at Roosevelt University and Executive Director of the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability.
This virtual event is part of our Democracy and Equity Education Series, brought to you by LWVIL's Issues & Advocacy Committee.
|  | | Above: Drinks and Dialogue coordinator Camille Taylor, right, introduced guest Lane Crothers, professor of political science at Ill. State University, who joined our group Nov. 13 to discuss "The Election's Over: Now What?" Those gathered were all smiles despite concerns about a president who has vowed to use the Justice Dept. to go after political enemies. Crothers provided some historical perspective for today's happenings. | League of Women Voters of McLean County
P.O. Box 932, Normal, IL 61761
Email: info@lwvmclean.org
Web: lwvmclean.org | |