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.
UUtheVote – We’re Doing It: July 15, 2022
We are already at 15% of our 40,000 Points of Love goal and it’s four months until the general election. If you have made any point of contact to encourage another person to vote, if you have registered voters or handed out voter information, if you have talked with someone about your values and how they influence your voting decisions, please let us know by emailing Shirley Adams through Realm or at admin@ucevanston.org. Each conversation or action is a Point of Love.
Here are some of our successes and words of encouragement:
“Good morning! Are you registered to vote at your current address? Let me check for you!” Thus began my experience with 40 prospective voters during a day in a Milwaukee DMV office. All are now guaranteed ready to vote without a hassle on Election Day and will have their voices heard. I had a great day! I also realized that, by way of my conversations with these voters, several hundred folks in and out all day were reminded of the importance, value, and impact of voting. I’m going back again next week, for a double shift! ~ Carolyn
Everywhere I turn is an invitation to write postcards to get out the vote. My favorite postcard party will be at the local wine cafe in Evanston. Organize something in your backyard like The Village People Proximity Partners is doing. Let’s make writing postcards a social event and invite our friends to help. ~ Shirley
I have worked in every election since 1968. I’ve canvassed door to door and made thousands of phone calls. One of my pet peeves is that the turnout drops off significantly in the off-year election. Accordingly, I’m going to be making trips to Wisconsin to register voters and making phone calls into Wisconsin to turn out voters for the November election. I’m so pleased that UU the Vote is on the case! ~ Lee
We have many opportunities to assist our Wisconsin neighbors to register to vote and to support the effort to get out the vote. There are in person opportunities at the Milwaukee Department of Motor Vehicles and other opportunities in Racine. There are also opportunities for you to help from home, on your own schedule through mailing/texting/calling programs. There is training available for all of this. For more information, contact me or anyone on the UUtheVote UCE Leadership Team. ~ Greg
Pick up Postcards at UCE on Sundays through August 7
UCE is partnering with Reclaim Our Vote (ROV), a non-partisan organization which targets potential voters in states experiencing aggressive voter suppression. ROV sends specific information to voters on how to validate their registration, obtain mail-in ballots, and get transportation to distant polling locations. The time for us to act is NOW! Pick up postcards in the back of the sanctuary this Sunday or contact Carolyn Laughlin through Realm or at admin@ucevanston.org.
Distribute Voter Information in Racine, WI, Now – August 6
UCE is linking with Racine Interfaith Coalition (RIC) and Turn Up The Vote to distribute voter information between now and August 6. Training is provided 1 hour before each shift starts. No prior experience needed! Snacks and drinks will be provided. Shifts available on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays: 9am-12pm or 1pm-3pm. Register below! Melissa R. Michelson states in Scholars Strategy Network that personal contact urging individuals to vote has “strong spillover effects within households, boosting participation by others as much as 60 percent.”
Thank you for living out your values in the world!
– UUtheVote UCE Leadership Team, Shirley Adams, Carolyn Laughlin, Greg Grabowski, Lee Bannor, and Rev. Susan Frances
UUtheVote Launch: April 10, 2022
After reaching 22,500 people in 2020, this year our UUtheVote Team has a 40,000 Points of Love initiative. Contact Shirley Adams or Carolyn Laughlin via REALM or at admin@ucevanston.org to get involved.
This Sunday, April 10th, at 3:00 pm CT, join the UUA Side With Love Organizing Strategy Team’s UUtheVote Launch. This 90-minute live webinar will feature UUA President Rev. Susan Frederick-Gray, state partners, and the new UU the Vote Campaign Manager. Learn how UUtheVote is going deeper into values-based conversation, showing up for ballot measures to combat voter suppression, fight for reproductive justice, and resist the criminalization of BIack, Indigenous, and people of color communities. Click here to register.
Our 40,000 Points of Love initiative encompasses our partnerships with the UUA Side With Love Organizing Strategy Team, Unitarian Universalist Advocacy Network of Illinois (UUANI), Reclaim Our Vote (ROV), and local non-partisan non-profits organizing around getting out the vote and voting our values! We will be engaging in the following 4 areas:
- Get Out The Vote (postcard and letter writing from home or in small groups)
- Voter Registration (in-person at various locations)
- Advocacy/Education Virtual (phone banking or text banking)
- Personal Conversations (in-person values conversations)
What can you do?
- Contact Shirley Adams, our lead UUtheVote organizer, if you are interested in working to organize one of our voter registration, advocacy/education, or personal conversations areas.
- Contact Carolyn Laughlin, our Get Out the Vote organizer, if you are interested in sending postcards or letters.
Unitarian Universalists understand that democracy is a process and a practice. It is one way we live our values out in the world. Join us!
UUtheVote Launches Soon: March 25, 2022
This year UCE’s UUtheVote team has a 40,000 Points of Love initiative that we will live into through our partnerships with the UUA Side With Love Organizing Strategy Team, Unitarian Universalist Advocacy Network of Illinois (UUANI), Reclaim Our Vote (ROV), and local non-partisan non-profits organizing around getting out the vote and voting our values!
Shirley Adams is our lead organizer. We will be engaging in the following 4 areas:
- Get Out The Vote (postcard and letter writing from home or in small groups), led by Carolyn Laughlin.
- Voter Registration (in-person at various locations).
- Advocacy/Education Virtual (phone banking or text banking).
- Values Conversations (in-person at community locations or door-to-door).
What can you do?
- Contact Carolyn Laughlin if you are interested in working on the Get Out The Vote work.
- Contact me or Shirley Adams if you are interested in working with Shirley to organize one of our voter registration, advocacy/education, or values conversations areas.
- Attend the UUA Side With Love Organizing Strategy Team’s UUtheVote Launch, on Sunday, April 10 at 3:00 pm CT. This 90-minute live webinar will feature UUA President Rev. Susan Frederick-Gray, state partners, and the new UU the Vote Campaign Manager. Learn how UUtheVote is going deeper into values-based conversation, showing up for ballot measures to combat voter suppression, fight for reproductive justice, and resist the criminalization of BIack, Indigenous, and people of color communities. Click here to register.
Unitarian Universalists understand that democracy is a process and a practice. It is one way we live our values out in the world. Join us!