Education has long been an important issue to League members.  We have both national and state positions on Education.  The Governor has announced plans to significantly reform education in Michigan.
    Click here to view the League's coverage of education reform in Michigan since April, 2011, when Governor Snyder announced that he planned to reform education in Michigan and move to a “performance-based funding plan” from the current “seat count” funding.

    LWVMI will be following any proposed legislation closely and will keep members informed via this website and social media.

We are excited about our upcoming State Convention that will be held May 17-19 at the Radisson Hotel in downtown Lansing, just blocks from the Capitol.  In addition to the important business we will conduct on Friday evening through Sunday noon, we have added a special, pre-convention training opportunity on Friday, 9:30 am-3:30 pm.  This opportunity is open to all League members, not just delegates.  Friday’s training will offer two tracks:  Membership & Leadership Development and Advocacy.  See full details on registration form.  Additional workshops on a variety of topics will also be offered on Saturday afternoon.

     Phil Powers from the Center for Michigan will present “The Public’s Agenda for Public Education” at Saturday’s lunch and Rich Robinson from the Michigan Campaign Finance Network will share the latest information on Campaign Finance issues at Sunday’s Breakfast. Table top conversations on a variety of topics will be available during Saturday’s breakfast.

     Former US Congresswoman, Lynn Rivers will speak at Saturday’s Awards Banquet.  Separate tickets are available for those who want to attend just the Banquet.  See the Convention Overview for a complete schedule of activities.  See details and register on-line by clicking here.  If you want to send a check just print out the on-line version and mail it with your check.

Michigan’s process for choosing supreme court justices has been criticized for its excessive cost, lack of transparency, and damaging negativity.  Participation of special interest groups in judicial elections is particularly concerning.  Even the perception that campaign spending influences judicial decision-making reduces public confidence in the justice system.  Advertising in judicial races is powerful because voters generally lack other information on which to base their choices.  Convened in 2010 by Michigan Supreme Court Justice Marilyn Kelly and James Ryan, Senior Judge of the Federal District Court, the Judicial Selection Task Force recently completed a study of Michigan’s judicial selection system and recommended a series of improvements to the system.  Recently, LWVMI sponsored a series of forums in four communities that provided an opportunity for dialogue about the proposed reforms to Michigan's process for choosing Supreme Court Justices. 

The Oakland Press recently conducted an interview with Rich Robinson and highlighted the upcoming forums. In a February 3, 2013 article, Ann Arbor.Com interviewed LWVMI President Sue Smith as well as Supreme Court Justice Bridget McCormack.  The Ann Arbor forum held on February 11th can be viewed in its entirety by clicking here to see the video.  Click here to read and/or listen to the review on Michigan Radio, and click here to read a review of the event in the Michigan Daily.   

A similar forum held in Traverse City on February 6th can be clicking here to view the program featuring Michigan Campaign Finance Network's Rick Robinson discuss "Dark Money and Justice."

Wondering how your state representative and state senator voted on issues that the League of Women Voters has been tracking this past session? To view the 2011-12 roll call record for the Michigan House of Representatives, click here.  And to view the roll call of the Michigan Senate on these same issues, click here.

Click here for a complete review of the League's advocacy efforts during the 2011-2012 Legislative Session.

Michigan Supreme Court Justice Marilyn Kelly and Senior Judge James L. Ryan of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit convened a Task Force of distinguished Michiganders in December 2010 to study the processes by which state supreme court justices are selected across the United States.  The Task Force studied the issues of judicial selection, heard testimony from experts, debated and eventually reached a consensus on a set of recommendations that they believe can improve the process by which justices are selected for the Michigan Supreme Court.  Click here to download or order a copy the report.

• LWVMI Newsletter, April 2013
• LWVMI Newsletter, February 2013
• LWVMI Newsletter, December 2012
• LWVMI Newsletter, August 2012
• LWVMI Newsletter, May 2012
• LWVMI Newsletter, March, 2012