Be an Informed Voter

 
One of the easiest ways to become an informed voter is to go to the Secretary of State's website (https://www.sos.state.mn.us/elections-voting/whats-on-my-ballot) to see who will be on your ballot. (While you are there, you can also register to vote and find out the many ways Minnesota provides access to voting.) Many of the names of candidates will be highlighted and take you to the candidates' websites where you can see what issues are important to them.

The deluge of TV and radio advertisements that we are beginning to see are not the best sources  to find out information about candidates. Some ads are done by Political Action Committees (PACs) who may have unstated interests. Many ads may have an element of truth but it may be distorted. For example, many ads refer to yes or no votes that incumbent candidates have made on issues. These yes or no votes may refer to the name of a bill but do not give you the reasons a candidate voted or did not vote on an issue.The bill may not do what it says, or may have provisions in it that a candidate opposes.

An even better way to get information is to attend candidate forums or debates that are being put on by many different groups. Rural residents are often at a disadvantage in having access to many of these debates. Watch candidate's websites or Facebook pages for information when they might be in your area. Then often you have a chance to ask your own questions, too.

For local candidates, the Park Rapids League of Women Voters (PRLWV) hosts candidate forums for contested local elections as well as for MN State House and Senate. These forums will be held in September through October. You can find notices for them in the Park Rapids Enterprise, The Chamber calendar, Volunteer Park Rapids Area Calendar  and the PRLWV website. You are encouraged to submit questions. Questions are sorted by PRLWV members for relevance to the position, politeness, addressed to all candidates and then selected according to interest expressed by the most people. Some questions that are on similar topics are combined. It is rare that there is enough time for all questions. If your question isn't answered, stay afterwards to ask your question. Most candidates remain to talk to potential constituents.

Four forums have already been confirmed. The forum for State House Districts 2A and 2B will be on October 2nd at 6 p.m. at Northwoods Bank. On October 4th at 6 p.m., the County Commissioners (Districts 1 and 3) forum will be held at CHI St. Joseph's.Two forums for Hubbard County Sheriff will be on September 27th at 7 p.m. at Guthrie Town Hall and on October 18th at 6 p.m. at Northwoods Bank.  More details on local forums can be found at http://lwvparkrapidsarea.blogspot.com/p/blog-page_98.html

This is the second in a series of informational articles that League of Women Park Rapids Area is writing to help the voters navigate this election cycle.  I hope your paper can use it within the next couple of weeks. Our intend is to increase the awareness of candidates for all race but especially for local races 

LWVPRA: Announces the first Candidate Forums for 2018

Get Information on Your Local Elections.
Plan to attend League of Women Voters
2018 Candidate Forums.

Save these dates on your calendar and plan to attend: 

Hear from the candidates themselves.  You can submit questions to be asked of the candidates by sending your questions to lwvparkrapids@lwvmn.org.  
All questions will be collated and edited so that as many topics as possible will be covered

We are planning on video taping these forums and posting them on our YouTube channel which will be linked to a blog post about each forum.

Please share this information with your friends and neighbors.

Primaries: The Forgotten Elections

from https://www.mprnews.org/story/2010/08/04/primary-turnout

Primaries are the forgotten elections. It’s summer. There are a million things to do in the north county: swimming, fishing, boating, skiing, tubing, gardening, bike rides and seeing our friends/ family.  So why should we take time to vote now?  What does it matter? The REAL election is in November!

But Primaries are so important to all of us.  A primary election determines which candidates will be on the ballot in the November general election. This is the time that people can have a voice in choosing. 

Overall 294,797 Minnesotans cast ballots in the 2016 primary, which featured no statewide races other than a low-profile, nonpartisan judicial election. That’s 9.42 percent of registered voters, but just 7.43 percent of eligible Minnesota voters.

The question we all have to ask ourselves is do we want to have only 7% of eligible voters deciding who will be on the ballot in November?  Or do we take the time to be an informed voter and make our own decisions?  Think of this in terms of the lottery. If you play only for the big jackpot and a million others play also, you have only 1 in a million chance to win.  But if you play when only 70,000 others play, you have a one in 70,000th chance of winning.  For voting that means you have a much stronger voice. 

To be an informed voter during the primary you have to do some work on your own. There are not as many ads or campaign flyers. There are likely many small campaign stops by candidates but you have to take time to go to that location.  So the first step is to go to the Secretary of State’s website. (https://myballotmn.sos.state.mn.us/)  A good place to start your search is to fill in your address to get your sample ballot. This will have live links to the candidates’ websites. Read the issues and background of each candidate. You can go on to search for other sources of information about them.  Ask your friends, or check out Facebook or Twitter.  If you like a candidate, go to one of their events. It is important that you decide based on what you think is best for your family, county, state etc. 

The next step is to vote. In Minnesota you can cast your ballot now until August 13th by going to your county courthouse.  (If you are not registered, you can register at the same time.  If you are new to the county or have moved, bring along an electric bill or similar item with your new address or bring another registered voter to vouch for you) .  Once you are registered you can cast your ballot or get an absentee ballot. When you vote absentee you can vote at home, which means you can research a candidate, decide and mark your ballot. You can vote in one race at a time.   Remember that mailed ballots must be returned by election day: August 14th.  Also remember that you vote only in one party’s primary.  Do not mix parties. On August 14th all the polling places will be open, you can go that day to vote.  Remember that mailed ballots must be returned by election day: August 14th. On Election Day polling places will be open and you can go that day to vote. If you live in a township with mailed ballots, be sure to mail your ballot so it arrives by August 14th. You could deliver it in person by 8 pm on Election Day or ask someone to deliver it for you.

The last step is to spread the word. Remind your friends, family, neighbors and especially people have not voted before.  This is the time to step up.  Expanding the number of people voting expands our democracy as well as civic engagement. This helps our community improve the quality of life here. 

You can find everything you need to know at the link to the Minnesota Secretary of State’s office, including where and when you can vote. You can even track your ballot after it is submitted.
https://www.sos.state.mn.us/elections-voting/other-ways-to-vote/

Remember that Minnesota remains unique when it comes to elections and government. It’s our higher than the National average turn out during elections and the fact that we have so many competitive districts. It makes every everyone's vote count. Do your research, vote in the primaries and in November. Be a Voter.

Carolynne White
President League of Women Voters Park Rapids Area
http://lwvparkrapidsarea.blogspot.com/

“An afternoon with Ahmed Ismail Yusuf”

League of Women Voters Park Rapids Area and Beagle & Wolf Books are excited to present “An afternoon with Ahmed Ismail Yusuf”.  Mr. Yusuf will discuss his personal immigrant story from Somalia to America and his new book The Lion’s Binding Oath.  Come join us at 3 pm on June 19th at the Northwoods Bank Community Room: 1200 1st St E, Park Rapids, MN 56470.  The program will last about an hour and half including time for questions. All programs are handicapped accessible and refreshments will be served.

Ahmed Ismail Yusuf arrived in America from Somalia as a high-school dropout, unable to speak English, and unsure of his actual age. He has lived in Minneapolis, Minnesota since 1997. Today he has two college degrees and is the author of Somalis in Minnesota, published by the Minnesota Historical Society Press, and Gorgorkii Yimi, a collection of stories in Somali, published by Ponte Invisible.  In February 2018, The History Theatre of St. Paul, Minnesota produced his play, “A Crack in the Sky,” a memoir about how Yusuf found inspiration in Maya Angelou and Malcolm X during his early days as an immigrant to the U.S.

Yusuf’s most recent work, The Lion’s Binding Oath, documents a country coming apart yet reveals its deep pride and a quiet hope despite the instability.  Yusuf hopes that his work shines a light on both the immigrant journey as well as the Somali people and the legacy of his homeland.

 League of Women Voters Park Rapids Area  (LWVPRA), a non-partisan volunteer organization, whose mission is to encourage informed and active participation in government. We influence public policy through education and advocacy which includes supporting activities to preserve the nation’s natural resources. Programs are always free and open to the public.

If you have any questions about the program contact Beagle & Wolf Books.  If you have any questions about LWVPRA activities, events or on how to join LWVPRA (not for women only), email  lwvparkrapids@lwvmn.org. Follow our activities, events on our website: http://lwvparkrapidsarea.blogspot.com/

Civic Engagement: The Key to Improving our democracy?

As this next election cycle approaches, many people are thinking what can we do to improve our democracy?   Some people think that having citizens become more engaged is the answer.

According to the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project survey of 2012, only half (48%) of  American adults directly took part in a civic group or activity in the 12 months preceding. The survey measured several broad categories of civic activity that Americans might engage in.
 This includes anyone who did one or more of the following six activities:
    •    35% of American adults have recently worked with fellow citizens to solve a problem
          in their community


    •    22% have attended a political meeting on local, town, or school affairs



    •    13% have been an active member of a group that tries to influence  the  public or
           government



    •    10% have attended a political rally or speech



    •    7% have worked or volunteered for a political party or candidate



    •    6% have attended an organized protest

Therefore the next question is what can be done to change these statistics?  One way is to join an organization such as League of Women Voters.. We are non partisan which means we don't support specific candidates or political parties, but we do research issues, help educate the public and lobby for changes especially on issues surrounding our democracy, and our voting systems. 

If you want to make a difference in Hubbard County,  come find out more about League of Women Voters Park Rapids Area and what we do to support our local elections.  Join us for our Annual Meeting: May 10th, 2018.

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Park Rapids: A MN GreenStep City?

To learn more, come to the free program Thursday, April 19, 6 pm at Northwoods Bank in Park Rapids.  Sponsored by the League of Women Voters of the Park Rapids Area, Mellissa Birch, Central Coordinator for Clean Energy Resource Teams, will be the featured speaker.  Light refreshments will be served.

Starting in 2007 with statewide listening sessions, the idea was raised of creating a free sustainable cities program that would challenge, assist and recognize cities that were "green stars." In 2008 the Minnesota Legislature directed the MPCA and others to recommend actions cities could take on a voluntary basis. Representatives from dozens of cities, non-profit organizations, businesses and state government agencies provided the outline for what has been developed as the Minnesota GreenStep Cities program in 2010.  Over forty percent of Minnesota citizens presently live in a total of 120 GreenStep Cities, mostly in the metro areas but also scattered throughout rural Minnesota.

Simply put, Minnesota GreenStep Cities is a free and voluntary program that provides a simple pathway to help cities achieve their sustainability goals through implementation of best practices focused on cost savings, energy use reduction, and innovation.  The program provides a list of twenty-nine best practices, divided into the categories of Buildings and Lighting, Transportation, Land Use, Environmental Management, and Economic and Community Development.   The twenty-nine best practices are further divided into more than 170 more specific best practices which can be chosen by a city as fits into the particular city’s needs.  But, what’s this “Step” business?
When a city government formally joins the GreenStep program through a city resolution, it is considered a Step One City. Cities that implement a minimum number of best practices of their choice will be recognized as Step Two Cities.  Completion of a few high-priority actions merits Step Three recognition.  Measuring city performance metrics will garner Step Four and Step Five recognition.  Cities will be credited for sustainability actions completed prior to joining the GreenStep program. 

GreenStep Cities receive peer recognition at the League of Minnesota Cities Annual Conference.  Accomplishments of member cities will be visible on the GreenStep web site, the most comprehensive web site in Minnesota devoted to city sustainability.  But best of all, citizens of GreenStep Cities know that their city is using best practices to achieve among other things, energy and cost saving strategies, natural resource preservation, efficient city growth, walkable and bikeable neighborhoods, well managed urban forests, good water quality, community resiliency, and sustainable economic development. For more information: www.mngreenstep.org. 

If you have any questions about LWVPRA activities, events or on how to join LWVPRA (not for women only), email  lwvparkrapids@lwvmn.org. Follow our activities, events on our website: http://lwvparkrapidsarea.blogspot.com/

Concerned about our Election Intregrity?

Join us to hear Steve Simon,  Minnesota Secretary of State, as he explains what is happening with elections in Minnesota..

A citizen’s most powerful tool in civic engagement is the right to vote.

It is important that we all  learn how to protect that right.  Tuesday, March 13 (1 pm at Park Theater), LWV PRA and Headwaters Center for Lifelong Learning will present a joint program on Election Integrity with Steve Simon, Minnesota’s Secretary of State. As Minnesota’s chief elections administrator, he has pledged to “work with anyone, of any political affiliation, from any part of our state” to protect, defend and strengthen the right to vote in Minnesota.
    According to Simon, Minnesota has rigorous safety measures in place before, on and after Election Day to ensure elections are fair and secure. Voting integrity is an important cornerstone of democracy.
    Simon will address the questions of: What are the safeguards for our election system? Can we be hacked? What does hacking exactly mean? How do we make sure there is no fraud in our registration and voting system?   What do we need to do to improve our voting system? What are our responsibilities as citizens to maintain the integrity of our elections? Is the legislature putting forth any bills with changes for our election system in 2018?

League of Women Voters Park Rapids Area (LWVPRA) is a non-partisan volunteer organization, whose mission is to encourage informed and active participation in the community through education. Please direct any questions about LWVPRA activities, events or on how to join LWVPRA (remember it's not for women only) by emailing lwvparkrapids@lwvmn.org. Follow League activities, events at http://lwvparkrapidsarea.blogspot.com.