2025:
AAUW Women CONTINUE to Advocate for
A More Perfect State with an Equal Rights Amendment
to our Constitution!
“We are nonpartisan. We do not endorse or oppose candidates or political parties. But we are not neutral. A thriving democracy demands engagement, and we take action on the issues that shape our communities. It is not partisan to defend democracy. It is not partisan to educate people about our past. It is not partisan to support the rule of law.“
Kelsey Waits, AAUW MN President, and Michelle Witte, Executive Director, LWV MN
Commentary in The Minnesota Star Tribune, March 23, 2025.
- Scroll down a bit or click here to find out about AAUW National Two-Minute Activist opportunities.
- Follow issues of particular importance to Minnesotans and Take Action on bills during the Minnesota Legislative Session here.
- Find out about actions YOU can take to help pet-owning victim/survivors of domestic violence here.
- See other resources and links for taking action here.
RED ALERT!
Millions could lose their right to vote!
We normally focus our Committee’s reporting on state rather than federal legislation, but U.S. HR 22 is so scary that everyone should know about it. HR 22 – otherwise known as the SAVE Act – was introduced on January 31, 2025, and is one of the 12 bills the GOP has identified for fast-tracking through the legislative process.
The bill essentially requires anyone registering or re-registering to vote (because of an address or name change) to prove citizenship in person. This would eliminate mail in registrations and voter registration drives. It would overturn virtually all Minnesota election laws. If you have been voting for 30 years and moved you would need to re-register and provide proof. Oh – and your driver’s license wouldn’t be sufficient to allow you to vote – even if it is a real ID.
The allowed proof is pretty much limited to a certified birth certificate or passport. If you are U.S. born, married and took your spouse’s last name you had better get a passport because your birth certificate won’t match your current name.
The reality is that this is a bill that is trying to make it harder for the poor, the marginalized, and women to vote. Here is a link to a good article explaining some of the implications of the act The SAVE Act Is Voter Suppression Disguised as Election Integrity – Ms. Magazine. Even if you favor providing ID to vote, this is not the way to do it. Let others know about this danger to our democracy. Write to your legislators opposing this bill. By the way – Rep. Brad Finstad (1st. congressional district, Minnesota ) is a co-author of this bill. If you know people in his district please share this information with them.
~Pat Dalton, Public Policy & Environment Committee
Use THIS LINK from National AAUW
AND/OR
THIS LINK from the League of Women Voters
to email your legislators about this bill.
202-224-3121
THIS IS A PHONE # THAT COUNTS!
It is the phone number for the U.S. Capitol switchboard where an operator will connect you directly with the office you request. Let your members of Congress know how you feel.
It matters.
~Jan Carey, AAUW MN VP Public Policy
Don’t Lose HOPE!
If you missed Kelsey Wait’s January 7 presentation, you can view her slides HERE.
Two-Minute Activist – AAUW National
Despair is NOT an option!
National is not currently posting two-minute activist items as they did in 2024. Until they restart that page, we will be posting other action items as they come in from National either directly or through our Minnesota Branch.
Once National starts posting again, you will be able to find quick and easy Two-Minute Activist opportunities and signup to get regular action alerts on the National AAUW website.
>>> Action and Information Items <<<
AAUW Condemns Actions to Undermine the U.S. Department of Education.
Read the press release HERE, and Take Action HERE. Please feel free to share these links widely.
Take action to support the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Amendment Act and oppose the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act.
National AAUW is actually quite active right now. Some webpages you can check include:
Press releases: https://www.aauw.org/resources/news/media/press-releases/
Policy updates: https://www.aauw.org/resources/policy/documents/
Sign up HERE to get alerts directly from National by Joining the AAUW Action Network.
Take Action Minnesota!
Legislative Update – March 27, 2025
Education bills – who should control what?
There are many education bills out there right now, but one major focus is on control of various speech/curriculum matters in the schools. What can/should the state mandate? What should be left to the local school boards? When should individual parents have control?
You can see a list of bills on this issue at education bills local and parental control.
Several bills are aimed at removing all state required administrative practices or curriculum requirements that might be considered DEI including teaching about indigenous people or racism in our schools. HF 1839/SF2100 is the most comprehensive of these bills but others do some of this by delaying or repealing existing state standards for social studies (HF 29 and 58), while others modify or repeal bans on the use of American Indian mascots (HF518/SF89 and HF519/SF97).
In the area of health and sex education many of the bills reduce state control and impose local and parental control. HF 65 replaces state standards for health education with local standards. HF 396/SF753 not only expands the information that a school must give to a parent on all sex education curriculum but also requires written permission from the parent of a student before they may attend a class.
Another bill (HF1811/SF1222) gives parents sole discretion on whether a student must wear a face mask if the school requires it. They do not have to give a reason for the refusal and the school may not treat a child differently if not wearing a mask.
A broader bill increasing parental rights is HF22/SF1707. The bill applies to schools and medical treatment. Under this bill a school nurse may need written parental permission to take a temperature. The language regarding a parent’s sole rights to determine moral training for a minor without interference from a political subdivision is even more troubling – how does a teacher provide instruction and maintain discipline under this requirement? What if different parents hold different perspectives on moral training? At best, this language is vague and could lead to innumerable lawsuits. At worst it is totally unworkable.
Check back for more updates as the session progresses.
~Pat Dalton, Public Policy & Environment Committee
Why lobby for an Equal Rights Amendment
to the State Constitution?
- Many people believe gender equality is the law of the land but neither the state nor federal constitution specifically provides equal legal protection regardless of gender under the law.
- Even though 38 states ratified the national equal rights amendment, they did not do so within the time frame set for ratification in the authorizing legislation.
- Bills have been introduced at the federal level to remove the ratification deadline. In the meantime, more than 20 states have included this protection in their state constitutions (see the states HERE).
- Early in the 2024 legislative session will be our best chance to help pass a bill to vote on adding an equal rights amendment to the Minnesota Constitution!
Put your support in writing! We are encouraging all members to to call, write, or email their State Senators and Representatives supporting equal rights for all – regardless of gender.
Find contact information for your State Representative and Senator HERE.
Suggested text for your letter: Word Format — PDF Format
NEW! ERA MN Two-Minute Activist for 2025:
Use THIS LINK if you prefer to make your support for MN ERA known electronically.
Take a few minutes to personalize the message if you use this link – your message will automatically be sent to your MN Representative and Senator.
More information on the ERA and ERA Minnesota:
Join Kelsey Waits, AAUW MN VP Public Policy, as she reviews a brief history of ERA efforts including why we need it, arguments for and against, why now, and next steps. Video Link
Slides provided by ERA Minnesota.
Branch Advocacy Initiative
Thanks to everyone who responded to the Public Policy & Environment Committee’s Branch Advocacy Survey. The results were used to prepare a resolution on advocacy that was approved by our membership at our 4/25/23 Annual Meeting.
Click HERE to read the survey report.
Click HERE to review the approved resolution.
Watch for emails from our committee and visit this page regularly to get updates and information on actions you can take on important issues.
Take Action for Women Victim/Survivors
of Domestic Violence
Nearly half of all domestic violence victim-survivors remain in abusive situations rather than leave their pets behind, and as many as 89% of victims with pets say their abusers threatened, hurt or killed their pets as leverage to prevent them from leaving or to force them to return in order to care for the animals.
The member organizations of the MN Pet Coalition are working to meet the needs of these pet owners, and we can help.
Many thanks to Carrie Openshaw, Kelly Turpin, and Marilou Chanrasmi
for a very informative and action-oriented presentation.
Slides and graphics used with their permission.
Find more information about The MN Pet Coalition with links to
its member organizations’ websites HERE.
Other Resources for Taking Action
- Find your Federal and State legislators here.
- Go to https://www.mnvotes.org/ to access comprehensive elections and voting information, including registration and absentee ballots, at the MN Secretary of State website.
- Set up a MyBills account: MyBills allows you to track House and Senate bills in the Minnesota State Legislature by bill number and topic. When you log in, your bills will be listed along with information about recent or upcoming significant action. You must log in to see this information, MyBills does not send email alerts.
- Check on individual bills of interest to you in the Minnesota State Legislature here.
Links to other organizations involved in advocacy:
- The Minnesota Women’s Consortium – now WoMN ACT® (Advocate, Collaborate, Transform): https://www.womnact.org/
- League of Women Voters of Minnesota: https://www.lwvmn.org/
- LWV of St. Paul: https://lwvsp.org/
- LWV Minneapolis: https://lwvmpls.org/