Public forum to focus on election reform, future of voting

MERRILL – Next week, the League of Women Voters of the Northwoods (LWVNOW) and the T.B. Scott Free Library will host a free public forum focused on election reform and the future of voting.

The event will be held at the T.B. Scott Free Library, 106 1^st St., Merrill, on Tuesday, Oct. 6 from 5:15 p.m. to 6:45 p.m. The program is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be provided.

Eric Giordano, Executive Director of the Wisconsin Institute for Public Policy and Service (WIPPS), will moderate the discussion. Giordano has extensive experience facilitating public dialogue on public policy, civic engagement and democratic participation, according to a release from LWVNOW.

“Rather than focusing on a single proposal, the forum will examine three different approaches to election reform and the concerns each approach attempts to address,” LWVNOW stated. “Participants will consider the potential benefits, drawbacks, risks and trade-offs involved in each.”

Topics will include:

• Mail voting: Would sending mail-in ballots to all voters increase accessibility, or create additional challenges for election officials?
• Voter identification: What role should voter ID requirements play in election security, and what challenges might they create for some voters?
• The Electoral College: What would change if presidential elections were decided by the national popular vote instead?
• The discussion will also consider an important question that often gets lost in debates over election policy: Can a reform address one concern while creating new challenges elsewhere?

“The goal is not to tell participants what to think, but to provide an opportunity to examine competing approaches, ask questions and better understand the choices involved in election policy,” LWVNOW said.

The release said the forum “reflects T.B. Scott Free Library's broader commitment to civic engagement and providing opportunities for community members to engage with ideas and public issues.”

For more information, contact Maria Pregler, Head of Adult Services, at 715-536-7191.