President’s Update – February 2026

Dawn Smith, President

It’s cold, friends. 

If you read my update last month, you might remember I was looking forward to 2026 after last year, which was a tough one. 2026 had to be better, right?

Well, we’re a month in, and I’m already exhausted. I’m watching the situation unfold in Minnesota, like many of you, and I feel a bit like I’m living in a dystopian novel. Minnesota is right next door, and I’ve seen videos of two people being killed by federal agents, and a five-year-old being used as bait to trap his family outside his home. And we’re just getting started.

So, as I write to you, I’m trying to think of something inspirational to say to help us all keep our spirits up and keep fighting the good fight, but I’m struggling myself, so I just don’t have it in me.

Here’s what I know…

We FINALLY have fair(er) maps in Wisconsin, which means 2026 has the potential to be a huge win for democracy in our state. 

We have school board, city council, county board and village trustee races in our community this spring, and we have a plan to engage our communities.

Our NPV team, under Jill Fermanich’s leadership, did an awesome webinar on National Popular Vote, and it’s saved to our YouTube channel. This was an topic that came out of our Lively Issues and an area we want to put more emphasis on in the future, so I’d highly suggest taking the time to watch the video on our YouTube channel: LWVGGB NPV Webinar

2026 is going to bring three new constitutional amendments (that I know about) to the ballots – and we can expect all of them to be confusing and misleading to voters – because that’s how it’s done.  The State League will be working on educating the public, and I’m expecting our local League will be acting on these also.

We have a lot of work to do. The League has played a part in making the United State the country it is and has helped to ensure that everyone eligible to vote is educated and able to vote in a safe, free and FAIR election, and that’s what we’ll continue to do. The members who came before us have faced challenges and overcame them; now it’s our turn, and together we’re going to keep moving ahead.