Record voter turnout! We did it!

It was Thursday, December 1, 1955, when Civil Rights activist Rosa Parks was arrested after refusing to give her seat on the bus to a white passenger. Ms. Parks, kno wn thereafter as the “Mother of the Civil Rights Movement,” later reflected in her autobiography: “People always say that I didn’t give up my seat because I was tired, but that isn’t true. I was not tired physically… No, the only tired I was, was tired of giving in.”

Indeed, we can find ourselves tired this time of year… 

• registering and engaging thousands of voters
• conducting hundreds of candidate forums, with many new challenges 
• populating Vote411 with all new maps and candidates and sharing it across the state
• advocating at county board meetings and launching Elections411 to counter misinformation
• organizing volunteers for post-election audits
• launching our new High School Voters & Civic Engagement Collaborative to increase youth participation in our democracy
• registering new citizens to vote at Naturalization Ceremonies – where funding for the ceremonies is now in jeopardy, and we’re helping work with the courts for new locations. 

Democracy is asking more and more of League members these days, and everyone we’re talking to is tired. But we mustn’t give in! Like Rosa Parks, we’re tired of giving in – to election deniers, climate change critics, courts that are stripping away previously hard-won civil rights for women and people of color. We need to remind ourselves of how Rosa Parks’ one action, on one bus, on one day...changed the world. 

 It’s time for each of us to take one action that can make a difference. Because together, our one action matters – one act, one vote, one conversation, one letter to the editor, one new voter registered, one truth told, one donation – all work together to create an educated, engaged, multiracial democracy that serves the needs of our communities.

 While the elections are behind us, we face daunting challenges ahead, including the upcoming US Supreme Court case on the so-called “independent state legislature theory,” which, if adopted, would leave voters effectively defenseless from harmful election laws. Closer to home, we have dozens of bills left on the cutting room floor after Minnesota legislators failed to pass meaningful voting rights or climate change legislation last session. Now, we also need to fight again for our reproductive rights, and work to build new relationships with legislators after a change in district maps and representation. And we still have work to do in our counties to fight back against those who are injecting fear and spreading misinformation about our elections.

 So, we invite you to take that one more step, to not give in, and to join us, with your support of our annual fund today. Please consider a generous year-end donation to provide the resources we need to move our energy to the new legislative session and support our mission to empower voters and defend democracy!

 P.S. Membership dues only pay for 10% of our annual budget. By including us in your year-end charitable giving, and through your IRA “Required Minimum Distributions,” you can help ensure that LWV Minnesota remains visible and strong. And, if you make an online donation at lwvmn.org/donate, you can send a customized New Year’s e-card to honor someone special in your life, whose one action, kind word or deed has made a difference in your life or community.

Because one action...can change everything.