2022 at a Glance
Get Ready for Another League-Packed Year
The League’s work never stops. Members will find many ways to be inspired and engaged by one of the many incredible initiatives teed up for the year ahead. Here’s a quick preview:
Organizational direction
You may have heard the phrase, “A goal without a plan is just a dream.” Well, at LWVJoCo, we dream big. So we’ve started planning. We’ll start the year by creating our road map for the next several years. During the Annual Member Planning Meeting, we’ll share a draft of our strategic plan and invite members to help us identify ways to achieve our goals. We need your perspective and input to make this happen. Register now.
Voter Information
Our phenomenal Voter Information leaders, Marie Hernandez and Debbie Kitchin, did an amazing job providing opportunities for voters to learn about the people running for local office in 2021, setting an LWVJoCo all-time record of 16 candidate forums. In 2022, they’ll turn their attention to the next generation of voters. LWVJoCo will host The Voter Girl Project with the Girl Scouts of NE Kansas and NW Missouri on Jan. 29. in Olathe. League members will help elementary-age Girl Scouts experience democracy firsthand and earn citizenship badges.
In addition, LWVJoCo will host four virtual Legislative Coffees with Johnson County Library in February and March to provide voters an opportunity to hear from their state legislators. Plans are also underway to create similar gatherings for Wyandotte County voters.
Voter Registration
Leagues throughout the state continue to refrain from in-person voter registration events because of a newly enacted Kansas law that threatens felony prosecution for any activities that could be mistaken as the work of an election official. (See LWVK's Voter Notes for lawsuit updates.)
As we await a resolution from the courts, our outreach will focus on providing information to show people how they can register themselves. At our coming voter registration events, we will distribute business cards with QR codes to ksvotes.org that allow people to register to vote, update their registration information and request advance ballots.
Advocacy
Redistricting: Fair legislative maps will remain a focus for Leagues throughout the state during the 2022 legislative session, which starts Jan. 11. Given that the legislative redistricting committee has yet to publish the guidelines it plans to follow while creating new maps, the process probably will brush up against the June 1 deadline. LWVJoCo’s Redistricting Champion Connie Taylor and the People Powered Fair Maps team will continue to lead our efforts to advocate for districts that ensure every voter’s voice counts. Check out our resource page to stay up to date and find out how you can advocate for fair maps.
Reproductive rights: Protecting women’s right to abortions in Kansas will be another priority. The League has joined the coalition Kansans for Constitutional Freedom to urge voters to vote no on the misnamed “Value Them Both” proposed amendment to the Kansas Constitution. (See our resource page for more information.) The Kansas Supreme Court spurred the proposed amendment after it rejected a ban on a second-trimester abortion procedure in a 2019 decision, citing the Kansas Constitution’s right to personal autonomy, which includes a woman’s decision to end a pregnancy. With the U.S. Supreme Court apparently poised to overturn Roe v. Wade, individual states can expect to have more power to deny women reproductive freedoms, making this ballot measure pivotal for women in Kansas. To take an active role in defeating this attack on Kansans’ reproductive rights, sign up for updates from Kansans for Constitutional Freedom and/or email us.
Programs
Thanks to the outstanding leadership of Vice President Janet Milkovich, we were able to host nearly a dozen exceptional panel discussions and workshops last year. The board has decided to keep our programs virtual through March. Janet is hard at work putting together an engaging February program called “Segregated History” and one about the August ballot measure and reproductive rights for April.
In addition, members will have the opportunity to review and discuss proposed changes to the state League’s juvenile justice position. Watch for details of this meeting, expected to take place virtually in late January.
Another highlight of 2022 will be a community discussion using the case study method led by two Olathe high school teachers whom LWVJoCo nominated to attend Harvard University’s Case Method Project. The workshop will allow members of the community to experience how this case study approach is being used to teach high school students about democracy.
As you can see, we are an extremely active organization fueled by the passion and dedication of people who believe that together, we can make a real difference.
Amber Stenger
President
913-620-5172 | jocoleague@gmail.com