What does every Missouri voter need to know about the voting system?
This event, convened in partnership with the Gephardt Institute for Civic and Community Engagement, offered guidance on navigating the system, from voter registration to absentee voting.
September 28, 2022
12:00–1:30 PM (CST)
Speakers
Louis Damani Jones is the Voter Engagement Coordinator at the Gephardt Institute for Civic and Community Engagement at Washington University in St. Louis. He previously served as an EngageDemocracy Fellow during his graduate studies at Washington University in St. Louis’s Brown School. He holds a master of social work from Washington University in St. Louis and a bachelors of social work from Southern Illinois University–Edwardsville.
Gena Gunn McClendon, PhD, is Director of the Voter Access and Engagement initiative and Co-Director of the Financial Capability and Asset Building initiative at the Center for Social Development. Her work primarily involves policy research analysis and consultation with community-based programs, academic institutions, state and federal policymakers, and advocacy groups. Dr. McClendon’s program development and policy work focuses on issues related to voter suppression and civic participation of low- and moderate-income households and marginalized populations. Through her research, she works to identify and advance practice and policy strategies that support an inclusive democracy and the professional training of social work students. She co-leads the Financial Capability and Asset Building initiative, which focuses on the development and research of a postsecondary curriculum in financial social work.
Denise Lieberman is a nationally recognized voting rights lawyer who has been on the front lines of voting debates in Missouri and around the country for 25 years. She serves as Director and General Counsel of the Missouri Voter Protection Coalition, a nonpartisan statewide network of voter advocates. Denise has testified in support of the Voting Rights Act before Congress and previously served as director of Power & Democracy for Advancement Project National Office in Washington, DC, a racial justice organization, where she brought lawsuits challenging discriminatory voting laws in states like Missouri, North Carolina, Louisiana, Wisconsin, Florida, and others. Denise also collaborates with Dr. McClendon as faculty director of the Voter Access and Engagement Initiative at Washington University in St. Louis, where she is an adjunct professor of law and political science. She has brought two lawsuits challenging several restrictions in Missouri’s new voting law, which went into effect on August 28, 2022. In her role with the Missouri Voter Protection Coalition, Denise coordinates statewide nonpartisan Election Protection efforts in Missouri.
Eric Fey is a lifelong St. Louisan and has been serving as the Director of Elections in St. Louis County since 2015. Eric received a BA in political science from Webster University and an MPPA (public policy administration) from the University of Missouri–St. Louis. Eric’s professional life has been devoted to public service, with work in various roles in the field of election administration since 2004. Eric currently serves on the Executive Board of the Missouri Association of County Clerks and Election Authorities and the International Association of Government Officials. In 2021, Eric began cohosting an election administration-focused podcast called “High Turnout Wide Margins.” In his free time, Eric enjoys spending time with his wife and two children. Eric also enjoys participating in international election observation missions and has volunteered for missions in 12 countries, including Ukraine, Sri Lanka, and Uzbekistan.
D. Benjamin Borgmeyer is a Democratic Director of the Board of Election Commissioners for the City of St. Louis, former public defender, Associate at Rosenblum Schwartz and Fry, and lifelong St. Louis resident.
Sponsors
Voting in Missouri, Civic Education, and Engagement: Local Voting, Community Action, and Impact is sponsored by the Center for Social Development; Gephardt Institute for Civic and Community Engagement; Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Gamma Omega Chapter; In Every Generation; the St. Louis Area Voting Initiative; the St. Louis Area Voter Protection Coalition; Grand Challenges for Social Work; League of Women Voters of Metro St. Louis; Missouri Voter Protection Coalition; and Voting Is Social Work
Gephardt Institute for Civic and Community Engagement
The Gephardt Institute fosters a vibrant culture of civic engagement throughout Washington University, realized by engaged citizens, scholarship, and partnerships that advance the collective good. Envisioned as an “action tank,” the Gephardt Institute serves two core functions: to prepare the next generation of civic leaders, and to equip people and organizations to engage in the progress and vitality of their communities.
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Gamma Omega Chapter
For 100 years, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Gamma Omega Chapter, has transcended time in the Metropolitan St. Louis community by enriching lives through scholarship, community betterment, and sisterhood. The original Chapter goals were to: (1) Vitalize the ideals of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., (2) foster civic and educational movements, and (3) encourage young women to attain a college education. The Chapter has maintained these timeless goals with adaptability, resourcefulness, and updated objectives to improve and expand programs to enhance and augment the community through “Service to All Mankind.”
In Every Generation
In Every Generation (IEG) provides the training materials and strategies to enable nonprofits and churches to implement effective voter registration and engagement programs right away. In partnership with these community organizations, IEG also tailors programs to meet the specific needs of a given community and help engage those voters on the importance of voting the whole ballot in every election. Engagement can also expand to offering information about serving on boards and commissions and opportunities to run for elected office. This engagement will provide the cornerstone for general power-building in currently under-served communities.
The St. Louis Area Voting Initiative
The St. Louis Area Voting Initiative (SLAVI) envisions Black communities in the St. Louis area that are informed, energized, empowered, motivated, and committed to sustained civic engagement.
The St. Louis Area Voter Protection Coalition
The St. Louis Area Voter Protection Coalition (SLVPC) maximizes access to the ballot because a strong democracy depends on a guarantee that all Americans deserve and have the right to vote. Every vote has the power to change the world.
The Grand Challenges for Social Work
The Grand Challenges for Social Work, the flagship program of the American Academy of Social Work & Social Welfare (AASWSW), is a groundbreaking initiative to champion social progress powered by science. It’s a call to action for social work researchers and practitioners to harness social work’s science and knowledge base; collaborate with individuals, community-based organizations, and professionals from all fields and disciplines; and work together to tackle some of our most challenging social problems.
League of Women Voters of Metro St. Louis
The League of Women Voters of Metro St. Louis is an affiliate of the national League of Women Voters, a nonpartisan political organization that encourages the informed and active participation in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues, and influences public policy through education and advocacy. The Metro St. Louis League is a 501(c)3 organization with two separate and distinct roles:
Voters Service/Citizen Education: We present unbiased nonpartisan information about elections, the voting process, and issues.
Action/Advocacy: We are also nonpartisan, but, after study, we use our positions to advocate for or against particular policies in the public interest.
The Missouri Voter Protection Coalition
The Missouri Voter Protection Coalition (MOVPC) is a nonpartisan statewide network of advocates who work to protect the right to vote in Missouri.
Voting Is Social Work
Voting Is Social Work, the National Social Work Voter Mobilization Campaign, integrates nonpartisan voter engagement into social work education and practice. The Campaign began in 2016 with the first launch of the VotingIsSocialWork.org website crafted by Influencing Social Policy, the Nancy A Humphreys Institute for Political Social Work, and the Congressional Research Institute for Social Work and Policy with funding by the Fund for Social Policy Education and Practice. The new website and current leadership team include the Humphreys Institute, the Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College, and Bryn Mawr Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research. Many people are involved in the more significant task force.
Empowering Voting and Democracy
A virtual education series
Empowering Voting and Democracy features insights from leading experts on voting rights and the democratic process. Events in the series will elevate the work of those fighting for democracy and engage the public in the work of expanding equitable access to democratic institutions in the United States.
The series is organized by the Center for Social Development, in collaboration with partners across the United States.
Events in This Series
September 28, 2022
Voting in Missouri, Civic Education, and Engagement: Local Voting, Community Action, and Impact
Louis Damani Jones, Gephardt Institute for Civic and Community Engagement
Gena McClendon, Center for Social Development
Denise Lieberman, Missouri Voter Protection Coalition
Eric Frey, St. Louis County Board of Election Commissioners
D. Benjamin Borgmeyer, Board of Election Commissioners for the City of St. Louis
September 13, 2022
Voting Is Social Work: Researchers Speak Out
The Center for Social Development is cosponsoring this event, which is part of the series The Power of Macro Social Work: Forging Pathways, to be hosted by the Open Classroom at the Brown School at Washington University, in collaboration with Influencing Social Policy.
Mimi Abramovitz, Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College
Cheryl Aguilar, Hope Center for Wellness
Gena Gunn McClendon, Center for Social Development
Shannon Lane, Yeshiva University
Gary Parker, Clark-Fox Policy Institute
Jenna Powers, University of Connecticut School of Social Work
Adelaide Sandler, Marist College
Moderator: Jason Ostrander, Sacred Heart University
September 7, 2022
Voting, Misinformation, Disinformation, and Manipulation
Shireen Mitchell, Stop Online Violence Against Women
Jennifer Lohman, St. Louis Area Voter Protection Coalition
Moderator: Gena Gunn McClendon, Center for Social Development
April 13, 2022
Connecting Voting and Social Work
Tanya Rhodes Smith, Nancy A. Humphreys Institute for Political Social Work, University of Connecticut; Voting Is Social Work
Moderator: Gena Gunn McClendon, Center for Social Development
March 30, 2022
Voting Rights: What’s It All About?
Barbara Arnwine, Transformative Justice Coalition
Elizabeth Hira, Brennan Center for Justice
Denise Lieberman, Missouri Voter Protection Coalition
Moderator: Gena Gunn McClendon, Center for Social Development
March 9 & 10, 2022
Social Work Day on the Hill
On March 9, join the Congressional Research Institute for Social Work & Policy for the 2022 Social Work Day on the Hill events, including the launch of the Social Work Democracy Project. Convened annually, Social Work Day on the Hill and Student Advocacy Day offer opportunities to engage policy makers in the nation’s capital. Social Work Day on the Hill is scheduled for March 9, and Student Advocacy Day is scheduled for March 10.
The Center for Social Development is cosponsoring the 2022 Social Work Day on the Hill events, which are organized by the Congressional Research Institute for Social Work and Policy. Additional cosponsors include the Council on Social Work Education; the Association of Social Work Boards; the Columbia University School of Social Work; the Boston University School of Social Work’s Center for Innovation in Social Work & Health; the University of Washington School of Social Work; the Clark-Fox Policy Institute in the Brown School at Washington University; the Luskin School of Public Affairs at the University of California, Los Angeles; the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, College of Social Work; the University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy and Practice; and the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis.
About Voter Access and Engagement at CSD
A strong democracy depends on a guarantee that all Americans deserve and can exercise the right to vote. CSD’s Voter Access and Engagement initiative works to protect voting rights through research and social innovation. The initiative examines practices and policies, investigates social conditions that threaten the right to vote, and tests strategies for inclusive participation in the voting process. Learn more.