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The Census count ended on October 15. How many households were enumerated, when it was all said and done? This blog post, from US Census Director Dr. Steven Dillingham, shows that nearly all the households were counted - more than 99% in all states. That's good! There's a link in Dr. Dillingham's post that leads to the page that lists results for individual states with links to break down results as far as by Census Tract. It's a very rich source of information about the count. Of course, the findings of the Census are not out yet - that will come in February.  Looking at Anoka County, we see that we had an initial self-response rate of 84%, meaning that only 16% of our households needed an follow-up visit from a Census enumerator. That's really good - we were tied for fifth in the US with Washington County (MN)! The enumerators finished up the work, bringing us up to 99.9% counted. LWV ABC did a program on Census back when it all started in September of 2019 - you can watch the video on our webpage at this link. (What a different time that was - people were physically present in the audience and sitting next to one another!) So, enough self-congratulating... now it's time to get down to work. One BIG use of the Census data is to redraw the lines for our electoral districts, from Congress to State to County to City. LWV at all levels will be advocating for Fair Maps that objectively represent the electorate and don't favor one party over another. Would you like to be part of this work? Email us at lwvabc@gmail.com and we'll get you hooked up with others to get this job done!
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We all joined League of Women Voters to make a difference on issues that we care about, right? Here are some excellent ways to be active and involved! LWV Minnesota is looking for volunteers to serve on a team working toward a Minnesota constitutional amendment to ensure that fair, not partisan, election district lines are redrawn after the census. Look below the "Read More" link below for more information on this important work. This will be a two-year commitment, with lots of support from LWV MN. Locally, LWV ABC is looking for members to help us develop informational programs on community policing and school diversity. This is a short-term commitment - just for a couple Zoom meetings in October and November to help us shape our programs for Jan-May 2021. Contact LWV ABC at lwvabc@gmail.com to raise your hand!  Community policing in Columbia Heights, LWV demonstration in favor of Fair Maps, school diversity in Columbia Heights  LWV ABC has been helping with election support, too. Not only did we do a 750 piece postcard mailing (read about that here) sending registration and voting information to unregistered voters in Anoka County, but we helped Anoka County Elections staff by separating "I voted" stickers - they come on rolls of 250 and had to be cut or pulled apart so county staff could send one out in each absentee ballot envelope. LWV ABC member Shirley Andreason wins the golden sticker award for her work here - she made this a priority and did thousands while enjoying life at her lake home!
 Monday, October 12 - LWV ABC will host a Zoom discussion where we talk about election security. We'll focus on absentee voting and the many ways voters can cast their ballots this year. Anoka County Elections Supervisor Paul Linnell will join us, and we'll also talk some about how the US Postal Service is planning to handle the expected crush of ballots. The session will be recorded by QCTV for cablecast and will be available on LWV ABC's website and YouTube channel. We’ll start the evening with Friend of League award presentations to Northtown Library, Rum River Library, and Columbia Heights Library – for providing generous spaces for the traveling League of Women Voters exhibit, hospitality, and many related civic engagement activities.
The Zoom link and telephone option for our October 12 program will be sent to members; non-members can request the link by emailing lwvabc@gmail.com . Note: The Zoom room will open at 6:00 pm for socializing. Have you been keeping up with all the good work of our LWV ABC volunteers as they conduct candidate forums for local legislators, city council members, mayors, county commissioners, and conservation district?  Our thanks to Linda Rodgers, Bruce Pomerantz, and Geri Nelson, along with the forum moderators for providing voters with these side-by-side opportunities to Meet the Candidates. We thank the LWV members who chaired the forums – making room reservations, arranging cable television coverage, sending candidate invitations and more – and the timekeepers who kept candidates on task. Special thanks to Pat Kennedy for her work posting and sharing - this is how voters will access our forums this year! You can view all our forums - more than 40 electoral races - on our website at this link. We also have them posted on our YouTube channel at this link. LWV Minnesota is also uploading the videos to the Vote411 website, so our forums will get very good coverage!
Be sure to let your friends and neighbors know about the forums! This is how voters can become educated about their options this election season! Now that our forum videos are on YouTube, you can easily add the video to a Facebook post to encourage friends and family to watch. Closed captions are available on YouTube, too! Many of our LWV voter registration activities have been idled with the need for social distancing. However, you can’t keep League members down for long!
President Gretchen Sabel and Membership Chair Pat Kennedy designed an eye-catching postcard to be sent to persons on lists of unregistered voters providing clear, helpful steps for voter registration – including helpful phone numbers, outreach for those without computers, and of course, why to register to vote. The images above are what was sent.
Arlene Gillett recruited 10 LWV volunteers to address postcards to unregistered voters. LWV ABC's Youth Civic Engagement Fellow, Hailey Shaiger, led a group of Coon Rapids High School National Honor Society students in this project. All together, the volunteers mailed 750 postcards to unregistered voters in Anoka County! We are looking for more projects like this that provide effective outreach and can be done from home - join our Voter Service team to help identify these projects and get them done. Email us at lwvabc@gmail.com to volunteer. |
LWV ABC serves most of Anoka County and the city of Champlin in northern Hennepin Couny, Minnesota.Archives
January 2021
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