News From LWV - Lynchburg |
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We are pleased to share with you the news that the League of Women Voters - Lynchburg has secured a new Treasurer! Susan Stengal volunteered her time and talents, and the Board unanimously voted to approve her for a 2-year term ending June 30, 2024. We continue to work to revamp our League to ensure long-term community impact, engagement opportunities for members, and a strong financial footing. In the coming weeks, we will be circulating a new set of bylaws for your consideration/approval, introducing a candidate forum for the upcoming City Council elections, and creating more opportunities to see each other in person. Thank you for your continued support of the League! Sincerely, Jennifer Gauthier & Jennifer Woofter |
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The date of Candidates for City Council Forum has been changed to September 12 (a Monday) because something came up and the city is using the space the afternoon of September 14. Invitations to participate in Forum are being sent to the seven City Council Candidates as we write this. (Thank you, Carla, Martha Terrell, Nancy and the Jennifers!) Ann Alty has agreed to be our point person for Letters to the Editor. She will keep track of times and topics that present themselves and will encourage LWVLY members to write LTE under their own name. If anyone would like suggestions she would be glad to help. Please reach out to her. Volunteer to be called to write (or sign something already written if it suits you). Contact Ann at annalty01@aol.com or 434-907-4240. The Voters Guide is mostly completed. It is being tweaked now. We hope it will be printed by the end of the week. (Thank you, Judy, Marge, Mary, Pat, Molly & Crystal!) Friends, we need your input now!
Please think about and send suggestions for distributing the Voters Guide:
1. Good places to leave a bunch for people to pick up.
2. Events where we can set up a table to register folks, talk up the election and pass out the Voters Guide.
3. Consider where you might be able to help.
Send your ideas to Molly at m.mcclenon@comcast.net or 434-384-7430.
Keep your thinking caps on! Please think about and let us know where would be good places to post a flyer advertising the Forum and where would be good places to post electronic versions that could be resent. Our hope is that folks will resend the flyer to friends and to groups. Please send your suggestions to Carla cheath340@icloud.com or 434-846-4229. (Thank you to all of you who said you will help: Shanda, Debbie, Elaine, Arelia, Sandy, Joan, Arielou, Maria, Claudia, Judy S, and to the folks mentioned above!)
One last request. For VOTE411 we need 3-4 carefully worded questions to ask the city council candidates. They will post their answers right on to the VOTE411 website. When folks use VOTE411, they can find out about their voting location, what is on their ballot, candidate bios, candidate contact info, and candidates' response to the questions we ask. If they do not respond, then it says: "The candidate has not responded as of this time." When they do respond the response can be added. You, each of you supporting and believing in these efforts, keeps us all going. Thank you, Carla and Molly |
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ELECTORAL BOARD MEETINGS Carla Heath and Molly McClenon continue to attend the monthly Electoral board Meetings and introduce themselves as from the LWVLY. A representative from each party is present, several elections officials, and 4-6+ "concerned citizens." There as been a lot of discussion about how election officers are selected, trained, and notified of being accepted. The list of qualified election officials is available. The concerned citizens will get a copy to check for names they expect to find. We have spent a lot of time about what observers can do during the vote tally after the poles close. They can not hold the tally tape that comes from the vote counting machines. An election officer will hold it for as long as they want to look at it. Last week there was concern about where observers could stand during early in-person voting. The space is crowded. But "no," observers can not stand on the office side of the counter! A time will be set when the Electoral Board, the Registrar/staff, and the concerned citizens can meet in the office and see if a spot can be found that is closer to where a voter gives their name and is checked in. According to new guidelines, third parties cannot contribute goods, money, or TIME to any of the election process. The city attorney has been asked to interpret the guidelines, just to be sure. As it stands now, it means that our Voters Guide cannot be made available in the office nor can we stuff envelops. Maybe we could volunteer to get qualified as an election official to do it. We can educate voters so they know what to do and what their rights are! It is more important now than ever. DRUG TREATMENT COURT The Lynchburg Adult Drug Treatment Court continues to help people who have pleaded guilt to a crime overcome their addiction instead of being incarcerated. I attend the bimonthly sessions with a representative from the NAACP. Last week the judge assigned several participants who seemed to have plateaued to attend a regular court session. One participant said the judge was really different. The defendants did not get to talk--it was "harsh." The participant said he was lucky to be in drug court. LWVLY's support and continued interest is much appreciated by all involved. Thank you, Molly |
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EDUCATION EQUITY STUDY PRESENTATION Saturday, August 27, 10 a.m. Did you know that Virginia is among the Top Ten wealthiest states? Why does it rank 41st in state funding for K-12 public education? Did you know that six Republican and Democratic legislators tried but failed in writing Virginia’s new constitution in 1969 to require that the General Assembly fund a high-quality education? Join Virginia Leagues on Saturday, August 27th, at 10 a.m. to learn “How Virginia Funds Its Public Schools” – the report from the LWV-VA’s Education Equity Study Committee. After the presentation, each League will meet to review and vote on consensus questions that will shape the League’s policies on public education. You will hear on the 27th a presentation on the statewide study. An Executive Summary of the study, the full study report, and the consensus questions are attached to this email. Committee members will be present on the 27th to answer questions and discuss the challenges of ensuring that ALL Virginia children receive a high-quality education. The Zoom link is:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85089134043?pwd=UGh3VjA3SHFWTGw0d1NuSVh1YjRyQT09
Meeting ID: 850 8913 4043
Passcode: 535862
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Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kdAG98NuC DEDICATION OF NATIONAL VOTES FOR WOMEN TRAIL MARKER Wednesday, September 7, 4pm Please join us to celebrate the important role that Randolph-Macon Woman's College played in the fight for Woman's Suffrage on Wednesday, September 7 at 4:00 pm in Wimberly Recital Hall. A marker on the National Votes for Women Trail will be dedicated, one of only two such markers in Virginia. Faculty and students at R-MWC were active in hosting equal suffrage events. The Reverend Anna Howard Shaw spoke on campus at the invitation of student Lucy Somerville (Howorth), class of 1916 and Professor Nellie Powell hosted a "Suffrage School" on campus. As you all know, Carrie Chapman Catt founded The League of Women Voters just after the passage of the 19th Amendment, in order to educate citizens and prepare them to take up their civic duty in an informed and responsible way. Although the 19th amendment did not give all women the right to vote, her fight made a big difference in the lives of so many Americans. The work we all do today as League members continues to honor her legacy! To the wrongs that need resistance, To the right that needs assistance, To the future in the distance, Give yourselves.
- Carrie Chapman Catt |
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