GOTV Postcarding: Off to a Roaring Start!
UCE hit a Get Out the Vote home run last Sunday, picking up nearly 1,200 postcards targeted for Georgia! Our campaign to protect democracy and champion our UU values has exploded with energy, and commitment!
Join our postcarding team, reach out to registered voters who often face restrictions, and ensure voter knowledge and access. Pick up a bundle of postcards at the back of the sanctuary March 17 and March 24. Greg Grabowski, UCE Postcard Lead, at [gregwgrabowski at gmail dot com] or 847-772-0766 will keep the table filled!
Want more action? Come register voters in Milwaukee! Training, support, and carpooling is included. Folks in line at their DMV are receptive to completing the quick and easy form. Our efforts reduce barriers and boost voter participation. Reach out to Shirley Adams, UCE Wisconsin Voter Registration Lead, at [shirley at comeoutdancing dot com] for more information.
Postcarding is back! We are continuing our partnership with Reclaim Our Vote (program of Center for Common Ground) to send thousands of postcards to disenfranchised voters in southern states. We’ll encourage them to get to the polls and provide essential information to enable them to vote their values in this year’s primary and general elections.
“Postcarding” is easy and convenient to do from home, and fun done together with your friends and at occasional gatherings at UCE. The UCE UUtheVote team provides the postcards, addresses, recommended script & contact information labels for you to apply. You’ll complete the postcards as instructed, add stamps & drop them in the mail at the recommended time.
Wisconsin Voter Registration is Surging! Wisconsin is key in 2024, many potential voters are NOT registered, and UCE will be a positive force here.
The Milwaukee Voter Project (MVP) , a non-partisan, grass roots organization, engages folks in Milwaukee DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) offices to ensure that all citizens, especially those in underserved communities in Milwaukee, are registered to vote and are aware of upcoming elections.
Required training is via Zoom and lasts about one hour. You’ll get all the support you need, and carpooling is available.
Upcoming training sessions.
- Wednesday. March 20 at 7:00 PM – NEW DAY
- Monday, March 25 at 1:30 PM – NEW DATE
Wisconsin Voter Registration is Surging! Wisconsin is key in 2024, many potential voters are NOT registered, and UCE will be a positive force here.
Email Laura Kushner with MVP at [laurakushnerx2 at gmail dot com] to let her know which date and time you want to sign up to attend! Visit our UUtheVote info table on March 10 if you have questions, or contact Shirley Adams, UCE Wisconsin Voter Registration Lead, for more information.
UCE Group Meets with Senator Fine
Six of us from the Unitarian Church of Evanston met with IL Senator Laura Fine and her assistant on February 27 to urge action on items identified by the UCE Legislative Advocacy Team. Here are her responses to our requests:
On elder parole, HB 2045, Sen. Fine will support the legislation when it comes to the Senate. She has visited prisons here and in Germany and prefers a rehabilitative system over our punitive system.
On our requests for more money for immigrant assistance, and more health assistance for immigrants, she agrees on the need but is dealing with a projected state deficit that needs to be closed. She would prefer that federal dollars “follow the person” as they move (or are moved) from state to state.
On CO2 transport and storage, she has a bill, SB2421, to create regulations on this, but recently environmental groups have urged a moratorium. SB3441 by Sen.Steve McClure proposes a 4 year moratorium, or until regulations can be developed, if sooner. Sen Fine supports that bill as the best next step.
End-of-Life Options for Terminally Ill Patients Act (SB3499): Sen. Fine is co-sponsor of this bill. There are many safeguards built into it to prevent abuse.
It is helpful create and maintain relationships with our legislators so that our UU values are known!
Milwaukee Voter Project
Do you want to make an impact on the 2024 election?
One way you can make an impact is by making sure that voters in Wisconsin are registered to vote. Join UUtheVote at UCE for a voter registration training hour. The date has been unfortunately postponed, and its reschedule is still to be determined. The training will be in-person and by zoom.
Our trainer is Laura Kushner, an Evanston activist, who works with the Milwaukee Voter Project. From February through October, you will be offered lots of clear opportunities for reaching out to voters in Wisconsin – both in person or by phone. You do not have to be a Wisconsin citizen to help register voters. This training will give you options for future engagement.
We will provide snacks to get you through a fast paced hour and give you answers to all your questions. Register ahead so we can welcome you and make the training efficient. Contact Carolyn Laughlin through the Realm Membership Directory or at admin@ucevanston.org if you have any questions.
The Milwaukee Voter Project is a grassroots group of non-partisan volunteers
who are working to ensure that all citizens, especially those in underserved communities, are registered to vote and are aware of upcoming elections. We register voters in warm, indoor offices (DMV’s) in Milwaukee disadvantaged neighborhoods and give citizens the opportunity to register to vote.
Many of our volunteers live in the north suburbs of Chicago and drive up for a few hours shift. DMV sites are about an hour’s drive. Small teams from Evanston will be carpooling to Milwaukee as soon as January, 2024.
Sign up HERE if you are interested.
CRS Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Assembly
Community Renewal Society’s (CRS) Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Faith in Action Assembly presents a Chicago Community Conversation on Monday, January 16, 2023, at 1:00 pm. Join us to engage district council and aldermanic candidates and learn about Chicago’s 2023 elections!
Make sure to register so CRS can plan for in-person attendance at St. Mark United Methodist Church, 8441 S. St. Lawrence Ave., Chicago, IL 60619 or email you the week of January 9 with the livestream information.
Click HERE to register.
Time for Springfield to Step Up: July 15, 2022
In the wake of the horrific mass shooting in Highland Park, many of us are asking the same question: WHAT CAN WE DO?
The UCE Legislative Advocacy Team urges all of us to demand that Illinois have a special legislative session dedicated to gun violence prevention in Illinois. Specifically, we believe the legislature should immediately consider:
- a ban on assault-type weapons
- a ban on large capacity magazines
- mandatory fingerprinting to get a FOID card
While Congress recently enacted some meaningful but modest gun violence prevention legislation, our influence as citizens is strongest at the state level, so that is where we should focus our efforts in this time of crisis.
Please call and email the leaders listed below, as well as your own state representative and senator, and demand a special legislative session to address the plague of gun violence in Illinois.
- Governor Pritzker – Click here to send an email or call (312) 814-2121 or (312) 814-2122
- Senate President Don Harmon – Click here to send an email or call (708) 848-2002
- Speaker Chris Welch: Click here to send an email or call (708) 450-1000
- Find your senator and representatives here.
For more information, contact Carolyn Laughlin through Realm or at admin@ucevanston.org.
Keeping in Touch with Springfield Reps: September 24, 2021
Are you interested in state politics? Have you followed the state’s budget, prison reform and environmental bills? You might want to join the legislative action teams we’re forming to meet periodically with our state representatives and state senators.
We’ll be encouraging our local reps to follow a progressive agenda as they vote in Springfield. Separate teams are being formed in each legislative district. We’ll be letting our representatives know our concerns and highlighting the bills endorsed by UU Action Network of Illinois (UUANI) and Community Renewal Society (CRS).
Our current priority is to contact our representatives prior to the veto session which starts October 19. If you’d like to join us, contact Jane Bannor at jbannor@sbcglobal.net .
We hope to forge meaningful bonds with the legislators who represent us. Separate teams are being formed for each Evanston-adjacent legislative district. If you live far from Evanston, we’ll try to connect you with interested UUs in your area.