| An update for League friends and subscribers. | | | | Nine Attended Voter Registration Training in September | | You know an election must be coming up when people ask for voter registration training. In September, nine forward-looking members of the Monroe County community reviewed the essential steps in registering people to vote. The ensuing discussion included concern about Senate Enrolled Act 10, which removes college and university student ID cards as acceptable for voter identification at the polls. The SAVE Act, which has passed the U.S. House of Representatives and awaits Senate action, would further complicate voting by requiring proof of citizenship. Meeting this requirement could be complicated for voters whose names have changed from what is on their birth certificates. - Ralf Shaw | | Fall League Gathering Well-Attended |  | On September 9, 2025, LWV-BMC held its fall gathering at St. Thomas Lutheran Church in Heritage Hall with 38 people in attendance. Indiana University Professor Jeffrey Isaac was our guest speaker, and he shared his insight regarding extremism in government. One of the topics Professor Isaac discussed was asymmetrical polarization, making the point that what we are currently witnessing at this time in our country’s history goes beyond Democrat versus Republican partisan politics. Professor Isaac stated that at this moment in time, the LWV is inherently partisan because we are committed to defending the Constitution and the democratic ideals that our country was founded on. Professor Isaac concluded by responding to numerous questions, and an interesting and informative dialog ensued.
Jeffrey Isaac has taught at Indiana University for 37 years. He is a Distinguished Professor, a James H. Rudy Professor of political science, and former chair of the political science department from 2003-2009. - Nancy Riggert
| | Register for Hoosiers Vote Summit, November 5 | From American Civil Liberties Union - Indiana: On behalf of the League of Women Voters of Indiana, Indiana Voices, Count US IN, Common Cause Indiana, Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights, and the ACLU of Indiana, we invite you to attend the Hoosiers Vote Summit on November 5, 2025. Taking place exactly one year before the 2026 mid-terms, this nonpartisan meeting will help Indiana organizations increase their capacity to support voting rights and Hoosier voters.
This meeting is appropriate for voting advocates and community organizations for whom voter education is part of what you do. Participation is free. Registration is now open now and will close when we reach capacity (but no later than Oct 27): https://forms.gle/vh1gZLPaNJZU6pQp7.
This in-person meeting will take place from 10 am – 4 pm Eastern Time (reception to follow) at the Drury Plaza on the far northside of Indianapolis. The Summit will include a hosted lunch for attendees. No-cost overnight rooms at the hotel are available for anyone who needs one.
Programming at the Summit will include an overview of voting rights laws, the ability of nonprofits to participate in nonpartisan voting rights advocacy, voter education and mobilization, and strategies for getting the most out of your voting programming and efforts. Summit organizers want to make sure the programming is relevant to you. There is space in the registration form to include ideas for topics you’d like to see addressed during breakout sessions and questions you want to make sure are answered before you leave. An agenda is also included on the registration page. Space for this meeting is limited. Please send any questions about the Summit to Jude Brown at jbrown@aclu-in.org. | | Monroe County Round Table on Senate Enrolled Act 137 | In July, the state began implementing an addition to the law on voter registration at the Bureau of Motor Vehicles. The BMV is now required to notify the Indiana Election Division of anyone who receives a temporary certificate to drive and also registers to vote. As of September, Monroe County had received only 39 such notifications. The Voter Registration Office sent the required letter to all and had heard back from some of the voters. Clerk Nicole Browne noted that one recipient was a U.S. citizen naturalized as a child. This case was cited as an example of both the problems in implementing the law (why would this case even have come to the attention of the Election Division?) and potential voter concern (why are government officials questioning my citizenship?).
Ami Gandhi, a round table presenter, mentioned several concerns about voting rights violations in Indiana law. Her organization, Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights, has notified the Secretary of State and the Indiana Election Division of violations of the National Voter Registration Act. The League of Women Voters of Indiana is one of the complainants. - Ralf Shaw | | No Kings Rally Takes Place on October 18 | LWVUS is a partner for the No Kings rally on Saturday, October 18, 2025. Our local League will partner with the Monroe County organizers. The local rally will be 2:00 - 4:30 pm at the courthouse square.
LWVUS decided to become an official partner for this day of mobilization to stand in solidarity with partners and stand up against hate and authoritarianism. This is an opportunity to put words into action and show up in defense of democracy and as an effective ally.
League members are encouraged to participate in a nonpartisan manner. We understand that we cannot control what others do and participating in any event comes with some risk. If representing the League or wearing LWV shirts (which we encourage), please use good judgment when creating signs and participating in nonpartisan chants. The LWVUS staff will have additional guidance in the weeks ahead. Note that the date, October 18, is also IU’s football homecoming game. So, keep that in mind when driving to the rally and parking. - Ralf Shaw | | DEI Unit Took on Abundance over the Summer | | During the summer hiatus, members of the League’s DEI group read Abundance, the 2025 book by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson, which had received considerable attention earlier in the year. This “book report” includes some of our responses to the publication and some thoughts for further consideration and discussion.
A major theme of Abundance is that, as our society has prospered, we have adopted laws and regulations that dealt with problems of the time but now may limit society moving forward, such as some housing codes or environmental laws. The authors direct their argument mainly toward liberals as those who instituted many of these well-meant stipulations. However, some more conservative groups have adopted the call for fewer regulations as well, giving rise to, for example, some "yes in my backyard" (YIMBY) organizations and AbundanceDC.org. | | | Our previous DEI readings emphasized that equity (proportional fairness) is different from equality. For example, requiring accessible curbs and traffic-calming devices in already quiet residential neighborhoods reduces the resources Bloomington can deploy to extend bus service to underserved areas or to reduce traffic accidents on busier streets. We are getting in our own way trying to implement rules that were adopted for bygone problems but that now may be more applicable in some cases than in others.
A particular difficulty our group had with Abundance was the authors’ assertion that (all) people should be encouraged to live in (big) cities, because where many people are clustered there is a greater exchange of ideas, leading to more innovative and creative thinking. Building affordable housing in cities will enable more people to move there and could also help to provide housing for homeless residents.
As Bloomington residents by choice, we find this approach to be too one-sided. In our experience, smaller cities can also be centers of engagement and creativity. And we, too, face some problems of big cities, such as a lack of affordable housing and low pay for service workers and university staff. As our community confronts these issues, we contend that better decisions arise when we listen to those most affected by the problem.
If these comments have sparked your interest, please contact Elaine Gaul (dei@lwv-bmc.org) and join us for our twice-monthly Zoom discussions. You do not need to be a member to participate. - Ralf Shaw | | The need for volunteers is always pretty desperate for any nonprofit, and the League is no exception. We're going to start to list volunteer opportunities in the newsletter in the hopes that this will boost participation, bring some new ideas in, and also give some relief to long-time volunteers. If you are not currently a member, you would need to join to participate, but that's not a bad thing! See below for current needs and the contact. - Ann Birch, info@lwv-bmc.org | | The LWV-BMC Observer Corps covers the local city and county government meetings. These meetings are all open to the public. Local government, in general, has the most impact on our daily lives. There are over 80 boards and commissions that conduct the operation of local government. We can't observe that many meetings, so we try to cover the ones that impact our communities most directly. | | | We currently observe ten boards and commissions. Some of the boards and commissions we need observers for include:
- City Plan Commission
- City Redevelopment Commission
- City Board of Zoning Appeals (City BZA)
- County Council
- County Solid Waste Management (County BZA)
- County Board of Zoning Appeals
An Observer Corps position involves attending meetings for a particular board or commission and bringing back to the Corps (and sometimes to the Leadership Team) information or actions of interest to the League. So there is a bit of a learning process. The time the position takes depends on how many meetings are scheduled. All the boards and commissions are listed on the Bloomington and Monroe County websites, with members, time and place, and purpose listed. We have a webpage that has more information; you can also contact me. - Diedre Todd, coordinator, observers@lwv-bmc.org | | The League Letter and The Voter | The League Letter is the monthly newsletter that goes to members. The Voter is essentially a copy of the Letter, but with the member-only information removed. Both newsletters are posted on the website every month. I've been doing the newsletters for about 8 years now, with a brief hiatus in there somewhere. I enjoy doing the newsletters and like the way it keeps me connected with League activities, members, and subscribers. But I really need to spend more time on other League projects that I just can't seem to get done. And I think it's time to get the perspective of someone else. So I would welcome someone working with me on an issue or two, then taking over. I would still be available if help is needed.
Here is some information:
- Skills needed: Writing and editing, comfortable with working online, some experience with editing photos
- Time required: About 3-4 hours/month plus one hour every other month for a Communications Committee meeting
The newsletter process is documented, so instructions are available. At this point, I don't write many articles, it is mostly editing and publishing with others doing the writing. An added benefit: you get to work with some very nice people! Please let me know if you are interested or would like to learn more. - Ann Birch, newsletter editor, info@lwv-bmc.org | Contacts, Events, and News Sources
| | Many citizens feel they have no say in their government. We can't have a say if we don't say anything. Contact your elected officials when you have something to say. Go to https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials to find the people who represent you in federal, state, and local governments. Contact them not only to urge action but also to show appreciation. | |
Proofreader: Kristina Lindborg
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