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Meet Activist Barbara Paterick
National Popular Vote Task Force member series
LWVUS NPV Task Force profile: Barbara Paterick of Wisconsin
In Wisconsin, Barbara Paterick is a driving force in support of National Popular Vote legislation. Currently, NPV is dead until the next legislative session. Nevertheless, Barbara continues working to bring about NPV legislation in her state.
Please tell us a little about your role in your League.
I am on the board of the LWV Greater Green Bay (LWVGGB). At the state level I am on the Legislative Committee, (following WI legislation and voting to support, oppose, or give no comment) and to national grass root groups working on NPV.
Why do you support NPV legislation?
I believe that every person's vote, in every state, city and rural area, should count equally in electing the President of the United States.
What prompted you to focus your energy on passage of NPV?
It is so important that every vote count toward electing the president and NPV is a way to get to that result without a Constitutional Amendment. Most people do not understand how the "winner take all" state electoral vote system works, much less know about or understand NPV. I think Leagues should educate broadly and advocate vociferously for NPV!
How are you (or have you been) educating your League members and community groups about NPV?
The LWVWI has a working committee on NPV, which I head, and we meet monthly. We have developed a toolkit, posted on our website for leagues to access and use to educate league members and community groups. The tool kit includes extensive background and explanation of NPV, a slide presentation that can be downloaded and altered to fit a local league's purposes, handouts and other NPV materials. In addition, we held a breakout session at our state league's fall Issues Briefing in October 2019 and held state-wide speaker training in November 2019. The working committee hopes to hold a briefing in the state capitol for legislators, staff and the public when the new term takes office in 2021, but this will depend on coordination with one or more future legislators. We are coordinating presentations with various campuses of the University of Wisconsin in the fall, depending of course on whether classes will be live or virtual. Locally, the LWVGGB, in coordination with the local YWCA, gave a three-hour presentation to the public on NPV and Fair Maps, with an attendance of 80.
What other groups support (or have supported) your League's effort to pass NPV?
In addition to LWVWI, Common Cause in WI and Wisconsin Democracy Campaign have registered in support of the bill introduced in the 2019-2020 session, but we have not jointly participated in any NPV activities.
What has been the greatest obstacle in your efforts to advance NPV?
NPV bills were introduced in both WI houses. Although NPV is a nonpartisan issue, the Wisconsin Legislature is highly gerrymandered in favor of the controlling party and those legislators are not interested in NPV. Hearings on NPV have not been held. It is important to demonstrate that NPV is not biased toward either party and that there are both Republicans and Democrats supporting it.
On a personal level, what has been the most gratifying aspect of your involvement with the NPV initiative?
To understand how NPV works, both the "winner take all" state electoral system and the mechanics of the NPV bill must be understood. These issues are confusing to most people and usually the material must be explained more than once and in more than one way, with time taken to answer questions. When done adequately, there comes an "Ah-ha" moment when you can see the comprehension in the audience's eyes. So far, this is the most gratifying aspect of my involvement with NPV. I hope that moment will translate to the eyes of the next Wisconsin legislature and they will vote to pass NPV in Wisconsin!