

PREPARING
for elections
in 2024
LWVWI Issues Briefing 2023

LWWI Issues Briefing 2023
PREPARING FOR
ELECTIONS IN 2024
Join us to learn what voters face in 2024 and beyond. From redistricting, to protecting election workers, to tearing down barriers that prevent access to vote, our democracy has never been more at risk.

SESSION INFORMATION
There are 3 different sessions, each on different dates. You are welcome to
attend any or all sessions.
Redistricting in Wisconsin
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Historical overview, background, analysis and insight on redistricting in WI
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Legal perspective on the Redistricting Lawsuit (provided by Law Forward)
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Hearing from Petitioners on the Redistricting Lawsuit
Citizen Action at the State Level: Proposed State Constitutional Amendments
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Overview of proposed WI Constitutional Amendments
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Presentation on Separation of Powers
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Non-citizen voting and why it's important
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Using private money for elections: How elections are financed and where those funds come from
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Solutions from another State: How the Ohio State League and partners successfully achieved retaining the 50% threshold for passing Consitutional Amendments
Overcoming Barriers to Voting & Election Administration Challenges
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Election administration and protecting election workers
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What are current barriers to voting and what can be done?
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Overview of LWVUS Moonshot Goal: Abolishing the Electoral College
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Status on achieving the National Popular Vote
SCHEDULE
THURSDAY, NOV. 9
Redistricting in Wisconsin
SATURDAY, NOV. 11
Citizen Action at the State Level: Proposed Wisconsin Constitutional Amendments
TUESDAY, NOV. 14
Overcoming Barriers to Voting & Election Administration Challenges
6:20pm - 6:30pm
Zoom opens and attendees are invited to sign on
6:30pm - 6:40pm
General welcome and land acknowledgement
Dorothy Skye, LWVWI Board President
6:40pm - 7:00pm
Historical overview, background, analysis and insight on redistricting in Wisconsin
Featuring Joan Schwarz, LWVWI Board Secretary and Retired Attorney
7:00pm - 7:20pm
Legal perspective on the redistricting lawsuit in Wisconsin
Featuring Attorney Dan Lenz, Law Forward
7:20pm - 7:40pm
Hearing from a Petitioner on the redistricting lawsuit
Featuring Dee Sweet & Anne McClellan
7:40pm - 7:55pm
Q & A
7:55pm - 8:00pm
Wrap up and Farewell + Closing announcements
9:45 - 10:00am
Zoom opens and attendees are invited to sign on
10:00am - 10:05 am
General welcome
Dorothy Skye, LWVWI Board President
10:05am - 10:25am
Introduction and overview of Wisconsin Constitutional Amendments
Featuring Joan Schwarz, LWVWI Board Secretary and Retired Attorney
10:25am - 10:45am
Wisconsin Constitutional Amendment: Separation of Powers
Featuring Attorney T.R. Edwards, Law Forward
10:45am - 11:05am
Wisconsin Constitutional Amendment: Non-Citizen Voting
Featuring Marguerite Adelman, LWV Vermont Vice President
11:05am - 11:25am
Wisconsin Constitutional Amendment: Private Money for Elections
Featuring Michael Haas, City Attorney for the City of Madison
11:25am - 11:45am
Perspective from Ohio: How was Ohio's Campaign Effective at Raising Awareness?
Featuring Nazek Hapasha, LWV Ohio Policy Affairs Manager
11:45am - 11:55am
Q & A
11:55am - Noon
Wrap up and Farewell + Closing Announcements
6:15pm - 6:30pm
Zoom opens and attendees are invited to sign on
6:30pm - 6:35pm
General welcome
Dorothy Skye, LWVWI Board President
6:35pm - 6:50pm
Election Administration and Protecting Election Workers
Featuring Meagan Wolfe, Wisconsin Elections Commission Administrator
6:50pm - 7:05pm
Current Barriers to Voting and What Can be Done
Earnestine Mosse, Co-Chair, Dane County Voter ID Coalition
7:05pm - 7:20pm
LWVUS Moonshot Goal Overview: Abolishing the Electoral College
Featuring Celina Stewart, LWV United States Chief Counsel, Senior Director of Advocacy and Litigation
7:20pm - 7:35pm
Status on Achieving the National Popular Vote
Featuring Christopher Pearson, Senior Consultant to National Popular Vote
7:35pm - 7:55pm
Q & A
7:55pm - 8:00pm
Wrap up, Final Farewell + Reminder to Complete Feedback Survey
REGISTRATION
There is no fee to attend this virtual event, but registration is required. You will receive a confirmation from Zoom after registering. Please keep that confirmation for your records; it will contain link(s) to access the session(s) you've registered for.
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*If you have issues getting into the program, please contact mcarmichael@lwvwi.org
SPEAKER BIOS

JOAN
SCHWARZ
LWVWI Board Secretary and Retired Attorney
Joan Schwarz is the LWVWI Board Secretary. She also Chairs the state Impartial Justice and Nonpartisan Redistricting Committee which focuses on bias and partisanship in the judiciary, money in judicial races, the need for transparency and recusal, and the Wisconsin Supreme Court election in 2023. Joan is also a M.E.N.T.O.R (Mentoring for Engagement, Nurturing, Training, Opportunity and Resilience) and member of the state Legislative Committee with portfolios on elections and voting laws, gerrymandering, reproductive justice, money in politics and the EqualRights Amendment. She is a a retired attorney and professor and teaches the Civic Education
seminar for LWVWI.

DAN
LENZ
Staff Counsel,
Law Forward
Dan Lenz is Staff Counsel at Law Forward. Dan joined Law Forward in 2021, bringing over a decade of litigation experience, including extensive expertise in election law. He has litigated on behalf of ballot access in Wisconsin, calling for accountability for election sabotage and ensuring the fair administration of our election system.

DEE
SWEET
Petitioner, Wisconsin Redistricting Lawsuit
Dee Sweet is First Nations Organizer for Wisconsin Conservation Voices and manager for WI Native Vote. Dee initiates contact and builds working relationships with tribal communities - both urban and rural - fostering civic engagement through voter registration and participation. In a public information capacity, she builds awareness about the environmental issues that tribal citizens in the state and of the Great Lakes Regions feel most profoundly about; those that not only affect their homelands and their economic livelihood, bu their cultural and spiritual practices.

ANNEMARIE MCCLELLAN
Petitioner, Wisconsin Redistricting Lawsuit
Annemarie McClellan is a member of LWV Greater Chippewa Valley and resides in Menomonie, WI. She works in healthcare administration and is passionate about voting; she's served as a poll worker, voter registration assistant and LWV-GCV Co-President. Between 2020-2021 she served on the People's Maps Commission.
THURS, NOV. 9
Redistricting in Wisconsin
LISTED IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE
SAT, NOV. 11
Citizen Action at the State Level: Proposed State Constitutional Amendments
LISTED IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE

JOAN
SCHWARZ
LWVWI Board Secretary and Retired Attorney
Joan Schwarz is the LWVWI Board Secretary. She also Chairs the state Impartial Justice and Nonpartisan Redistricting Committee which focuses on bias and partisanship in the judiciary, money in judicial races, the need for transparency and recusal, and the Wisconsin Supreme Court election in 2023. Joan is also a M.E.N.T.O.R (Mentoring for Engagement, Nurturing, Training, Opportunity and Resilience) and member of the state Legislative Committee with portfolios on elections and voting laws, gerrymandering, reproductive justice, money in politics and the EqualRights Amendment. She is a a retired attorney and professor and teaches the Civic Educationseminar for LWVWI.

T.R.
EDWARDS
Staff Counsel
Law Forward
Before Law Forward, TR (he/him) spent more than a decade working in labor, community and political organizing. He is a zealous advocate for strong communities, family-supporting jobs, and equity. In addition to his work at Law Forward, he is active in pro bono and currently serves as the Community Outreach Chair for the Wisconsin Association of African American Lawyers. TR is a huge movie buff, and as a former collegiate athlete, he enjoys training and finding new ways to compete. TR is a Milwaukee native, and as Law Forward’s only Marquette lawyer, he makes an effort to wear something blue every day.
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MARGUERITE
ADELMAN
Vice President
LWV Vermont
Marguerite is a retired administrator who has worked in education, government, and nonprofits in IL, NY, and VT. Currently, Maruguerite resides in Winooski, VT. As Vice President of LWV Vermont, Marguerite Chairs the Non-US Citizen Voting Committee. Winooski is a refugee resettlement community and was among the first municipalities in VT to approve non-US citizen voting. Further, Marguerite is an experienced writer, communications director and administrator and has won many state and national awards for the programs she's developed. In addition to League work, Marguerite is an avid reader and loves to paint, travel and garden in her spare time.

MICHAEL
HAAS
City Attorney,
City of Madison
Michael Haas was named City Attorney for the City of Madison in May of 2020. He previously worked for the state elections agency for 12 years, including as the firstInterim Administrator of the WI Elections Commission. Michael served as Elections Division Administrator for the Government Accountability Board as well as Staff Counsel for both the G.A.B and the W.E.C. Prior to joining the G.A.B., he was a partner at Roethe Krohn Pope, LLP, where his practice focused on municipal law as well as general practice matters. Michael received his undergraduate degree from Harvard Univ. and his JD from Univ. of WI Law School.

NAZEK
HAPASHA
LWVOH Policy Affairs Manager
Nazek Hapasah joined LWV Ohio in 2018 after graduating from OH State Univ. School of Public Affairs with a MA in Public Administration. She has more than 20 years of experience working with nonprofits in different capacities and is passionate about community engagement and social justice. Originally from the NY metropolitan area, Nazek completed her undergraduate studies at William Paterson Univ. In NJ with a BA in Political Science and Communication. Currently, she lives in Dublin, OH with her family.
TUES, NOV. 14
Overcoming Barriers to Voting & Election Administration Challenges
LISTED IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE

MEAGAN
WOLFE
Administrator, Wisconsin Elections Commission
Meagan Wolfe is administrator of the Wisconsin Elections Commission, serving as the state’s chief election official. Meagan was appointed by the bi-partisan, six-member Commission in February of 2018 and unanimously confirmed by the WI State Senate in May of 2019 for a four-year term. Serving as an election security advocate and ambassador for the needs of Wisconsin’s clerks and voters are among her highest priorities. A significant part of her job is ensuring that Wisconsin’s 1,922 local election officials (the most of any state) have the resources and technology they need to conduct elections. Meagan previously served as WEC’s Deputy Administrator and IT Director, and joined state service in 2011, starting as the state’s voter outreach coordinator and later as an elections IT project manager.

EARNESTINE
MOSS
Co-Chair, Dane County
Voter ID Coalition
Earnestine Moss, Co-Chair of the Dane County Voter ID Coalition, is the Community Coordination Committee Chair for the NAACP Wisconsin State Conference and is a past president of the League of Women Voters of Dane County. She is a long-time community activist and civil rights advocate and member of the Madison Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, serving on the Social Action Committee. She has received several awards in recognition of her community service, including the Outstanding Dedication Award for civic engagement, the NAACP Madison Branch 2004 Harry and Velma Hamilton Award and the 2004 Rev. James C. Wright Human Rights Award of the City of Madison Equal Opportunity Commission.

CELINA
STEWART
Chief Counsel,
LWVUS
Celina Stewart serves as Chief Cousel and Senior Director of Advocacy and Litigation and joined the League of Women Voters in April 2018. In this role she developed and implemented League political strategies and policy positions around election reform and voting rights issues; oversaw prospective litigation for the national and state leagues; worked closely with Leagues and staff in implementing national agenda; and served as lead lobbyist and liaison with Congress and the Administration for the League. In her current role, she continues the work she started and works to build stronger relationships with legal partners, strengthen relationships and visibility of the League at the Hill, and is the author of the People Powered Fair Maps™ and Moonshot initiatives.

CHRISTOPHER PEARSON
Senior Consultant to National Popular Vote
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Christopher Pearson retired from the Vermont legislature after serving five terms in the House and three in the Senate. Throughout his public service, Pearson gained expertise in election reform, climate policy and health care. He and his spouse have two daughters. Before joining the legislature, Pearson was Director of the Presidential Election Reform program at Fair Vote. He began working in politics in 1998 as a campaign and Congressional aide for then-Congressman Bernard Sanders (I–VT). He is a senior consultant to National Popular Vote. Senator Pearson has visited 29 states on behalf of National Popular Vote.