This year many of our I-Act Team members have served on ally group coalitions to amplify our collective voice and advocacy efforts.

One of the groups that a member has served on is the Promote the Vote / Voting Equity coalition which includes individuals and organizations from the Greater Chicago Area. 

Our branch member shares that she has attended these weekly meetings for several months.  It’s a dynamic umbrella organization that includes representatives from many organizations and chapters in the Chicagoland area. Among them are the League of Women Voters, Common Cause, NAACP, Courts Matter IL, and the National Organization for Women. One of its primary goals is to use the power of its coalition to protect the vote in Illinois. This election year is huge: 100% of the State Legislature is up for re-election, there will be judicial races, and US House Reps are up for re-election as is Sen. Tammy Duckworth. Currently, Promote the Vote is gearing up for the Illinois June primary. Promote the Vote has been active in areas that encourage voting for state and local elections in Illinois, including:

• Giving the discouraged voter reason to remain involved in the voting process
• Making voting possible and/or more accessible to people with disabilities
• Supporting voting from prison: Illinois could become the first state to restore voting rights to prisoners serving a felony sentence.
• Making it easier for voters to opt for permanent vote by mail
• Using social media to spread the word about issues and elections
• Working with the Election Protection coalition, which recruits, trains, and deploy thousands of volunteers nationwide to protect voters’ rights at the polls.
• Passing Illinois HB4775, which amends the Election Code to remove the requirement that an election judge initials the ballot after the ballot is properly folded. Hundreds of votes were thrown out in the 2020 election due to this requirement.
• Promote the Vote has also been involved in preventing school board disruptions and harassment, efforts to pass the Freedom to Vote Act, and passing bills that are currently being considered by the Illinois legislature. They recently made available and encouraged everyone to share the League of Women Voters’ Illinois voting guide at https://www.lwvil.org/illinois-voter-guide .

Our member has been impressed by the expertise, dedication, and focus of this group to engage Illinois voters, get them to the polls, and make sure their vote counts.

Do you want to get more involved in our branch’s public policy efforts? We need you! Please contact Elizabeth at elizabethbcarroll@gmail.com to join the I-Act Team!