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Join Us for the LWVGO & LWVNE Annual Meeting on April 27

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LWVGO’s 2019 annual meeting will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 27 at the AIM Exchange Trading Floor, 7th Floor, 1905 Harney Street.

Annual Meeting Schedule of Events

Immediately following the LWVGO annual meeting will be a taco-bar luncheon, featuring a talk by LWV national board member Melissa Currence. Following the luncheon, LWVNE will have its annual meeting in the same space.

  • 8:30 a.m.: Check-in
  • 9 a.m.: LWVGO annual meeting begins
  • 11 a.m.: Lunch begins
  • 11:30 a.m.: Speaker begins
  • 1 p.m.: LWVNE annual meeting begins
  • 3 p.m.: Day concludes

Register for the LWVGO annual meeting (and pay for the lunch) by no later than 5 p.m. on April 19 to guarantee entry. Register using the form below or by sending a note and check to LWVGO.

To attend the afternoon LWVNE meeting, send a check for $10 to LWVNE at 4600 Valley Road, Suite 306, Lincoln, NE 68510. (This additional fee covers the cost of workbook printing.)

Please send any questions to vicepresident@lwvgo.org.

Featured Speaker: Melissa Currence

Melissa Currence has served as a Ruth S. Shur Fellow for the League of Women Voters of the United States (LWVUS) since 2015, serving the states of Illinois and New York. She also co-Chaired the Young People Task Force for two years. Melissa joined LWV when she was 18 and has served on LWV Cincinnati Area board in several capacities including president, vice president of voter service, and is currently vice president of development.

She served on the LWV Ohio for two years on membership engagement committee and starting the state’s social media presence.  In addition, she serves as vice president of the Cincinnatus Association, a membership organization providing civic leadership and improving the long-term vitality of the Cincinnati region.  Melissa has a B.A. in Political Science from Xavier University (2001) and a Master’s of Arts in Journalism from The Ohio State University (2004). She has worked in the nonprofit public relations/marketing field for 14 years, and is the Community Impact Marketing Director at The Greater Cincinnati Foundation. She has several writing projects at melissacurrence.com and stubbycurrence.com. 

Parking at Our New Office in the AIM Institute Building

Parking is available on the garage roof, leading into a second-floor entrance to the building. Overflow parking is available across the street at the Omaha-Douglas Civic Center garage.

Register for the Annual Meeting

Register for the annual meeting, and pay for taco lunch, by filling out and submitting the form below. Once you submit, you’ll see our PayPal gateway appear in your browser. Use this to pay for your lunch(es). (You do not need to have a PayPal account to complete payment.)

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Join LWVNE for Legislative Day on Feb. 19

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The League of Women Voters of Greater Omaha participates in the yearly League of Women Voters of Nebraska legislative/lobby day and encourages all interested folks — members and nonmembers — to join as well.

The goal of LWVNE Legislative Day is to learn about how to effectively lobby state legislators as well as to put theory into practice. The day finishes with a “lunch and learn” presentation.

Read more about the 2019 priority bills that LWVNE members will lobby for.

This year’s Legislative Day takes place from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 19, in Lincoln. The full schedule is listed below.

The featured luncheon speaker is Danielle Conrad, former state senator and current executive director of the ACLU of Nebraska, speaking on the topic of Criminal Justice Reform.

For more info and to register (registration is required and the deadline to register is Feb. 8), go to lwv-ne.org.

8:30 to 9 — Nebraska State Education Association Meeting Room

Registration and Refreshments. Note that parking is NOT available.

9 to 10:15 — Nebraska State Education Association Meeting Room

The Legislative process; LWVNE Priorities presented by LWVNE Action Directors: Lynne Elwood, Government; Phyllis Salyards, Health Care; John Else, Social Policy.

10:15 to 11:50 — State Capitol

Visit with senators, observe Unicameral in session, tour Capitol.

11:50 to 1 — Governor’s Mansion

Luncheon (Salmon with a Quinoa & Asparagus Salad) + speaker.

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Election Facts at a Glance: Get Ready for the 2018 Primary

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Election Day for the 2018 primary is May 15 and the deadline to register or change your registration (if you’ve moved, changed your name, want to change your political party affiliation, etc.) is coming up fast. In Douglas and Sarpy counties, the deadline to register by mail, through an agent (like one of our voter-registration volunteers) or online is April 30. Douglas County residents can also register in-person at the election commission office any time before 6 p.m. on May 4.

As part of our mission to empower voters, LWVGO has put together a two-page printable factsheet about the election: ElectFacts: 2018 Primary. Below, we’ve collected some more extensive information about the primary and how to be a voter. We also have a Google Calendar available with the deadlines and will be collecting candidate forums and other resources on our website under the heading “2018 ELECTIONS.”

We encourage you to distribute this information with your friends, families and community members.

Get out there and go vote, Omaha!

About This Election

Nebraska primary basics

In this election, voters will narrow the field — candidates that “win” their primary elections will go on to compete in the 2018 general election in November.

Many of Nebraska’s state and local offices are nonpartisan (including the state legislature and public utility races), so, in these races, the top two candidates — regardless of their political party affiliation — will move on the general election.

For example, Nebraska legislative district 8 has three candidates on the ballot, all of whom are registered Democrats. The primary election next month will determine which two will appear on the general election ballot in November.

Other offices have partisan primary races. This means that the primary election determines which candidate represents a given party in the general election.

For example, the Nebraska governor’s race has two Republicans and three Democrats in the primary. There will be two winners — one for each party, and those two will go on to appear on the general election ballot.

Some races, both nonpartisan and partisan ones, won’t be on the primary ballot because the number of candidates is small enough that they all advance to the general election.

For example, there’s only one Democratic candidate for secretary of state (a statewide, partisan race) but there are two Republican candidates, so voters who vote the Democratic ballot won’t see secretary of state as an option but those who vote the Republican ballot will.

Omaha Public Schools’ bond issue

Residents in the Omaha Public School District will have an issue on their ballots, in addition to the primary candidates running for representation of their districts. OPS voters will decide to grant or not grant a bond to fund the school district. You can find out more about this issue from Go Vote, Omaha.

Who Can Vote

You are eligible to vote in Nebraska if you are:

  1. A Nebraska resident; and
  2. A US citizen; and
  3. At least 18 years old OR 17 years old but you’ll be 18 by Nov. 6, 2018; and
  4. Have never been convicted of a felony OR have been convicted of a felony but have completed your entire sentence (including probation/parole and incarceration), plus 2 years of wait-time. (Citizens with misdemeanor convictions or citizens who have spent time in jail, including while awaiting trial, do not lose their right to vote.)

What about political parties?

Voters must select a political party when they register. There are four recognized parties: Republican, Democratic, Libertarian and Nonpartisan.

Registered voters of all parties (including nonpartisans) can vote in the primary election. Republican, Democratic and Libertarian voters will receive ballots specific to their respective parties. Nonpartisan voters will receive Nonpartisan ballots and can also choose to vote an additional ballot. If they elect to, Nonpartisans can choose to also vote the Nonpartisan Republican ballot, Nonpartisan Democratic ballot or Nonpartisan Libertarian ballot. These additional ballots include only the respective party’s Congressional race. View this graphic from the Douglas County Election Commission for a visual explanation.

What if I don’t have an address or are registered at my parents’ address but go to school out-of-state?

If you are registered at your parent’s home, you will need to request an early ballot to vote by mail.

If you live in a shelter, you can register to vote using the address of the shelter. You can vote early or on Election Day.

If you do not have an address at all, you can register to vote using the address of your county election commission office as your address. You can then vote early, in-person at the election commission office between April 16 and May 14. You cannot vote on Election Day.

If you are in a county jail, you can register to vote using your home address. You will need to request an early ballot to vote by mail.

How to Register to Vote

The deadline to register to vote in this election is April 30.

Nebraska residents can register online via the Nebraska Secretary of State’s website.

You can also register to by paper: You can fill out and print the form and mail it to your election commission or bring it in. (Mailed registrations must be postmarked by April 30.)

Douglas County Election Commission
225 North 115th Street
Omaha, NE 68154

Sarpy County Election Commission
501 Olson Dr. Suite 4
Papillion, NE 68046

Verify your registration and that all your information is correct by going to the Nebraska Voter Check website and entering your information under “Registration Information.”

How, When & Where to Vote

Nebraska voters can: vote early by going to their county election office (early in-person voting), vote early by mailing their ballot to their county election office (vote by mail), vote early by dropping off a ballot in a dropbox, or vote in-person at their polling place.

Early Voting

You can go to your county election commission office and vote early in-person any time between 8 a.m. Monday, April 16 and 6 p.m. Monday, May 14. Here are the office addresses:

Douglas County Election Commission
225 North 115th Street
Omaha, NE 68154

Sarpy County Election Commission
501 Olson Dr. Suite 4
Papillion, NE 68046

Vote By Mail (VBM)

In Douglas and Sarpy counties, you have to request a ballot to get it mailed to you. If you request a ballot, you cannot vote on Election Day. In Douglas County, you can also drop your ballot off at a dropbox instead of putting it in the mail.

To get a ballot mailed to you, fill out the form for your county and then email it in, mail it in or deliver it to your county election commission office. The deadline is 6 p.m. on Friday, May 4.

Douglas County Application
Email: earlyvoting@votedouglascounty.com
Dropbox Locations
Office Location:
225 North 115th Street
Omaha, NE 68154

Sarpy County Application
Email: earlyvote@sarpy.com
Office Location:
501 Olson Dr. Suite 4
Papillion, NE 68046

Verifying Your Ballot Was Received

After voting, it’s a good idea to check that your early/vote-by-mail ballot was received and accepted. To do this, go to the Nebraska Voter Check website, click on “Absentee Ballot” and enter your information.

At-Poll (Election Day) Voting

If you did not request an early/absentee/VBM ballot, you’ll vote on Election Day, which is Tuesday, May 15. You’ll go to your polling place any time between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.

Your election commission office should have sent you a card with your polling place information and district information when you registered or changed your registration. But you can find your polling place online if you need to: Go to the Nebraska Voter Check website and enter your address.

How to Find Out Who & What Will Be On Your Ballot

Your election commission office should have sent you a card with your polling place information and district information when you registered or changed your registration.

If you live in Douglas or Sarpy County, you can also find out your districts online. You can then match up your districts with voting guides to find out more about the candidates running to be your representative in those districts.

You can find out who is running in each race/district on the Douglas County Election Commission website (this includes statewide races and U.S. House of Representatives District 2 but not races specific to only Sarpy County).

Because this is a primary and there’s a mix of partisan and nonpartisan races, there are different ballots for the different political parties. Every ballot has the nonpartisan races that you’re eligible to vote for plus the bond-issue question, if you live in the Omaha Public School District. Libertarian, Republican and Democratic ballots have all the nonpartisan races, the bond-issue question (if you live in the OPS District), plus the party candidates for the partisan races.

Find Your Districts: Douglas County

If you’re registered, you can use the Nebraska Voter Check website to find both your polling place information and your districts.

If you’re not registered (or just recently registered), go to the Douglas County Election Commission website and enter your address under “Finding Your Voting Information.” (Tip: Use the advanced search for better results.)

Find Your Districts: Sarpy County

Go to the Polling Place Locator website and enter your address. Under the Voting Info tab, you’ll see your polling place address and can even click on links to view sample ballots. Click on the Districts tab to see all of your representatives and the districts they represent.

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Join Observer Corps

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Want to get to know your local government and help make democracy work? Join Observer Corps!

Observer Corps are a structured way for individuals to exercise their right to know. They provide a valuable service to the community. They help ensure that citizens are aware of the decisions that impact their lives and they promote government transparency and accountability.

An observer is an individual who attends a governmental meeting, notes what happens at the meeting, and reports back to the League and through the League to the community. By attending public meetings of local governmental bodies/agencies, observers learn more about what their government is doing. They learn about the issues facing their community and are empowered to take action, if warranted. They also learn how issues are being addressed.

Observers generally do not “act” on issues in these meetings as a representative of the League (observers should not provide commentary or testimony on issues on behalf of the League). Instead, observers attend meetings to gather information. Through the process, their presence encourages better, more transparent government.

Anyone is welcome to become an observer. Non-members are welcome to join and all participants are encouraged to bring a friend!

How much time does it take?

Observers can choose when they are available and how much time they are able to spend observing. They can choose to observe bodies that meet during the day, in the evenings and that are held weekly, twice per month, monthly or every other month. Observers can also choose to “virtually attend” meetings at any time they like by watching/listening to recordings available online. If there is a large enough response, we may be able to “double up” observers and even have rotating schedules (one meeting on, one meeting off), if desired.

To become an observer:

  1. Fill out the interest survey here: http://bit.ly/ObsSignup.
  2. Attend a brief training session with one or both of the observer corps leaders. (This can be done in person or online.)
  3. Attend your first meeting! We can provide outlines for taking notes if you like.

Any questions?

Contact Alex Garrison at alexcgarrison@gmail.com or Linda Duckworth at lindabduckworth@gmail.com.

Go Vote, Omaha: LWVNE Celebrates 19th Amendment’s 100th Anniversary

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In this episode of Go Vote, Omaha, host Debbie Ford speaks with Dianne Bystrom and Linda Duckworth, Co-Presidents for the League of Women Voters of Nebraska, about the League and its plans for celebrating the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment.

Celebrating the 19th Amendment: Women’s Rights Here and Abroad: Symposium Happening Oct. 19 in Lincoln

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OSHER LIFELONG LEARNING INSTITUTE 2019 FALL SYMPOSIUM

Celebrating the 19th Amendment: Women’s Rights Here and Abroad

Join us in commemorating the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution that granted women the right to vote.

Sponsored by OLLI and Global Perspectives: The Winter Lecture Series and the League of Women Voters, the program will feature scholars from the University of Nebraska and other institutions, as well as Nebraska women in elected office.

Hear about the history of the struggles for women’s suffrage; the impact of women in elections over the past century, as well as women’s involvement in elective office; and the status of women’s rights on a global scale.

The keynote speaker will be Rhoda Howard-Hassmann, professor emeritus at the Wilfrid Laurier University in Hamilton, Ontario. Dr. Howard-Hassmann has written several significant books and articles on international women’s rights. She was also so a consultant for the creation of UNL’s undergraduate program in Human rights.

This event is open to the public. Membership is not required.

Event Day/Date: Sat, Oct 19
Registration Deadline: Fri, Oct 11
Time: 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Doors open at 8:30 a.m. for check-in.
Location: UNL Nebraska Innovation Campus.

Parking is free on the blacktop lot to the north of the conference center.

Cost: $20 includes lunch. Cancellation after the registration deadline will be non-refundable.

Please contact the OLLI office if you have specific dietary restrictions.

For more information visit https://olli.unl.edu/events

Renew Your Membership with LWVGO today!

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October is Membership Renewal Month for LWVGO

Membership renewal is easy. Just click here.

The link will take you to a general information page you need to fill out, then you will be directed to a form you can use to pay your renewal.

To renew your membership:

  1. Fill out your information, then click Submit.

  2. On the payment page, first select your Membership Type:

    1. First-time members can select New Membership and will be charged $47 ($45 plus $2 PayPal processing fee).

    2. Existing members should select Standard Renewal and will be charged $62 ($60 plus $2 PayPal processing fee).

    3. Those wanting to join or renew as two or more members in a household should select Household Renewal and will be charged $99.

    4. Student members are free and should select Student Membership –  we ask that you complete the membership process so we capture your information.

    5. If you’d like to also order a new, permanent name tag, select Standard Renewal + Name Tag or Household + Name Tag, then enter the name to include on the new name tag. You’ll be charged $10 extra and we’ll send you more info about where to pick up the name tag once it’s created.

  3. Click Pay Now. You’ll see a new page with PayPal information at the top. To pay with a card, click Pay with Debit or Credit Card at the bottom of the page.

  4. Enter your credit card information, then click Pay Now.

Please renew as soon as possible, and no later than the end of the day on Oct. 31.

Thank you for renewing your membership. Your membership provides the funds necessary to run our LWV office and programming events. We couldn’t do it without you!

NDEE Seeking Respondents on Energy Issues

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The Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy is creating an energy plan and wants to hear from Nebraskans across the state.
This plan will cover where Nebraska is now in terms of energy resources and how the state could respond to the changing energy industry and technologies.
To properly plan ahead, NDEE has created a survey to hear from Nebraskans. It asks respondents about their views on sustainable energy, what energy issues are most important to them, energy use and more.

The survey is open to Oct. 11 and is available through this link:

Become a Deputy Registrar to Help Register Nebraska Voters: Training Sessions Happening on Sept. 24 & Oct. 15

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Deputy registrars work as agents of the Election Commission to register voters throughout the county. In order to become an official deputy registrar, you must complete a training class conducted by the Election Commission. After completion, you will be certified by the Election Commission to conduct voter registration drives anywhere in Nebraska.

In order to be an official deputy registrar, you must meet the following requirements:

  • Must be a registered voter in the State of Nebraska (you may register to vote at the deputy registrar training session, if not already registered to vote in Nebraska).
  • Must sign up for the deputy registrar training session on or before the business day prior to the training date.
  • Must attend a deputy registrar training session conducted by the Election Commission.

The training sessions are 1 hour long, free of charge and are being held:

  • 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, September 24, 2019 at Millard Branch Library, 13214 Westwood Ln.
  • 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, October 15, 2019 at W. Clarke Swanson Branch, 9101 W Dodge Rd

Sign up for one of the sessions on the Douglas County Election Commission website.

Go Vote, Omaha! Judge Smith Camp talks about the 19th Amendment

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In this episode of Go Vote, Omaha, MaryLee Moulton speaks with Judge Laurie Smith Camp of the U.S. District Court, District of Nebraska, about the 19th Amendment and Nebraska’s role in its passage.

Go Vote Omaha! is our locally produced informational television program. Watch Go Vote Omaha at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday nights on Cox channel 22 or CenturyLink channel 89 or anytime on YouTube. You can also listen to these episodes as podcasts on Podbean.

Missing Native American Women and Children

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In this episode of Go Vote, Omaha, Geri Simon talks with Renee San Souci, Colette Yellow Robe, and Lin Quenzer of the Nebraska Native Women’s Task Force about NE LB 154 and the issues of missing Native American women and children. NE  Bill 154 was approved to study to improve the reporting and investigation of missing Native American women and children.

Go Vote Omaha! is our locally produced informational television program. Watch Go Vote Omaha at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday nights on Cox channel 22 or CenturyLink channel 89 or anytime on YouTube. You can also listen to these episodes as podcasts on Podbean.

Meet the League on Sept. 26: Member Orientation Offers the Chance to Learn More About LWVGO

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Calling all new members! (And those who would just like to know more about LWVGO!)

Join us at our next Meet the League:

Thursday, September 26
5:30 pm – 7:00 pm
Combine Room, 2nd floor, AIM building
1905 Harney Street, Omaha, NE 68102
Hosted by the LWVGO Membership Committee

Please join us for Member Orientation, where you’ll meet League leaders and learn more about membership in the League of Women Voters.

Feel free to bring your favorite drink or food to share; this part is purely optional, however! You will have the opportunity to talk to small group leaders and to sign up to participate as much or as little as fits your schedule.

We hope to see you there!

Email laura@lwvgo.org with any questions.