Hello all! Your Board has been busy working on administrative tasks as well as planning events for this winter. We hope to see you at the Member Socials coming up in the next two weeks. We have many new members and folks who are interested in learning about what we do, plus it is about time to see each other again in person! Please stop by and bring a friend. Times and locations are noted below. This is also the time of the year where we re-visit our Program (the areas that the League focuses on for advocacy and intervention). You will find information about the state positions at this link, and you can read about our local positions here. Please save January 28 from 10am-12pm for our Program Planning meeting where we will discuss state and local positions. More details about this gathering will be shared in December. Thank you to our members who came to the Board meeting on Monday, November 21 to share their thoughts about the proposed bylaw changes. We appreciate your feedback and have made some changes based on the discussion. First, we are sending out a new version of the proposed bylaws, which you can read here; this version includes the diversity, equity, and inclusion language added in 2021. We wanted to share the existing bylaws for your reference as well; you can read them here. Second, we heard members' requests for an in-person deliberation about the new bylaws. As a result, we have closed the online ballot and will instead discuss and vote on the bylaw changes and new slate of officers at our in-person meeting on January 28. We wish you all the best for a healthy and happy holiday season. May you find peace and joy with loved ones young and old. Take care, Jennifer Gauthier, on behalf of the Co-Presidents |
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Proposed Changes to Bylaws: FAQs |
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Why are we rewriting the bylaws? As you have heard in previous newsletters, the Board has struggled over the last few years with several challenges: We struggled to recruit board members, committee leads, and members of the Nominating Committee. We spent countless hours trying to fill seats, with few people willing to serve in a leadership role. We struggle to have Board members attend monthly Board meetings--in several instances, we failed to achieve a quorum and could not do League business in a timely fashion. The Board has been overwhelmed with administrative obligations associated with state and national responsibilities outlined in our bylaws. Trying to keep up was like drinking from a firehose, and we often fell short of the obligations mandated in our bylaws (which, in Virginia, are legally binding and tied to our nonprofit status). Because of the administrative burden, the League's Board members (often the most active members) often did not have the time/energy to participate in the true work of the League (like supporting voter registration events, scheduling/hosting member socials, organizing issue-driven meetings, etc.).
After consultation with the Virginia State League (LWV-VA), the Board brought a plan to rewrite the bylaws to the May 2022 Annual Meeting, as part of a larger discussion about leadership challenges. Key points included: The bylaws are the "minimum rules of the road" for how the organization operates. We are free to go above and beyond, but Board members must be in conformance with the bylaws. Per LWV-VA, a shorter set of bylaws is best when a local League needs flexibility. We were provided with a sample bylaws to use that ensured we got the basic elements in place. We are free to create supporting documentation (Board job descriptions, League vision/strategy plans, committee charters, etc.) to support our work--these are helpful but outside of the bylaws, so that they can be aspirational and/or implemented only when there is the bandwidth to do so.
Why are we closing the online ballot and moving to an in-person discussion and vote? Based on excellent feedback from members at last month's open Board meeting, we realized that the sample bylaws version provided to us by the LWV-VA didn't include the diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) statement incorporated into the 2021 bylaws amendments. We've updated the proposed bylaws with this previously-approved language. We also heard members' desire for more time to discuss these changes. We appreciate the discussion with members at the most recent Board meeting, and we hope discussion can continue at the upcoming Member Socials and at our in-person meeting on January 28. Our apologies for the extra work--we hope you agree that explicitly addressing DEI and giving members more opportunities for discussion are worth the second round of voting! Why are we restructuring the Board? There are three major changes happening with the Board structure: We have formally shifted to two Co-Presidents and one Vice President and shuffled the election cycles so that it is a three-year cycle (a person will serve as VP for one year, then "junior" Co-President for one year, and then "senior" Co-President for one year). This ensures that we have a solid pipeline for leadership and that we are not asking members to step directly into the Presidency (as we have had to do in the past). We have proposed a smaller board of just the officers (two Co-Presidents, one Vice President, one Secretary and one Treasurer), which will make it easier to meet our quorum responsibilities and releases additional Board members to spend their time supporting League activities, rather than sitting in largely administrative Board meetings. Note: This vote for the new Board is a separate vote from the bylaws. The only change to the bylaws related to Board size is to move to a minimum of five to seven elected directors (previously four to seven). The Board's ability to appoint up to seven additional directors remains the same. We have reduced the required number of Board meetings to four, down from nine meetings in the current bylaws. Again, this does not preclude us from meeting more regularly but does allow us the flexibility to adjust as needed while still being in conformance with our legal obligations.
Why has the section on programming been removed? One of the biggest and most time-consuming parts of the Board process is managing the local, state, and national studies and programs. There are hundreds of emails, webinars to attend, documents to review, and events to schedule each year--and in 2022 we have FOUR different studies to review: Education Equity and Child Care, Environmental Justice and Money in Politics. Removing the programming language from the bylaws allows us to participate in this process as we are able depending on available leadership and member interest, rather than as a requirement. And given that the League members agreed at our Annual Meeting that our primary focus should be voting rights and voter protection, we believe that it's smart to remove any potential obstacle that prevents us from devoting our limited time and attention to that goal. Jennifer Woofter, on behalf of the Board |
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Many thanks to the nearly 30 LWVLY members who spent over 180 hours: helping with the Candidates Forum; writing the Voters Guide; and working at 22 public events where they encouraged folks to vote, educated residents about Lynchburg's City Council elections in November, answered questions, and helped people with voter registration and with the restoration of the right to vote.
Molly McClenon and Carla Heath, LWVLY Voters Service co-chairs |
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Currently there are 19 participants with four ready to join and a long waiting list. Several participants are expected to graduate soon, with a formal graduation ceremony next year. It is likely that LWVLY will be asked to help provide a reception in several months. The Goody Basket used for rewards is empty. We received a request to help replenish it. LWVLY's approved budget has $100 for LADTC; $50 for the Goody Basket and $50 for the graduation reception. The Advisory Council met November 7, 2022. Brenda Farmer (NAACP) and Molly McClenon (LWVLY) are citizen representatives on the Council. There are some changes in the oversight leadership, and those people were introduced. Part of the opioid settlement Lynchburg City received will be given to the drug court. It is good to see the court on solid ground. Submitted by Molly McClenon |
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The December 1st Electoral Board Meeting will be the last one with Chair Dave Neumeyer. Vice Chair Carolyn Sherayko (D) and Secretary Betty Green (R) continue. Because the Governor is a Republican, the local Republican party will recommend the third member. The Circuit Court almost always appoints the person recommended, and the chairman and secretary must represent different political parties, unless the minority party member has agreed otherwise.
LWVLY had an observer at most Electoral Board Meetings this year and at the first post-election canvas reviewing the precinct reports. The meetings in which provisional ballots are approved are open only to a representative of each major party and the person who cast a provisional ballot if they care to appear. LWVLY members who want to help insure fair and accurate elections should consider being an election official and work inside during the election. You can ask your political party to suggest you, or you can volunteer yourself without having to declare a party. It is a long day, but some Virginia localities allow split shifts. This is something LWVLY could consider studying, if we wanted to do so. If we reached consensus, we could make our position known and work for or against split shifts, depending upon our consensus. Submitted by Molly McClenon |
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RESTORATION OF RIGHTS: CHANGES IN POLICY AND PRACTICE |
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Recently, LWVLY learned that Gov. Youngkin is not following former Gov. Northam's policy of restoring rights to felons on parole. Northam's only requirement for restoration of rights was release from incarceration. Gov. Youngkin requires completion of parole. This requirement is contrary to the previous understanding of LWV-VA. LWVLY should consider supporting a constitutional amendment clarifying and codifying this policy during the 2023 legislative session. Below is my (Molly's) story of discovery. At the Blue Ridge Re-entry Council on Nov. 2, I introduced myself as from LWVLY and noted that I was interested in voting and the restoration of voting rights. I noted also that this process had become easier: the person seeking restoration must simply be released from incarceration. However, after the meeting a participant showed me a letter that she had just received which read, “Once completion of your probation is documented, we will re-review your application.” The following Monday I consulted a probation officer. He said, “Funny you should ask about this today.” Three days earlier, one of his “guys” reported that he had received the same letter. The probation officer reviewed the list of parolees under his supervision and checked their voter registration status. Two had rights restored by Northam but none had been restored by Youngkin. Last week at the Democracy Center, I was meeting with the person restoring rights and learned that she had just discovered the same thing. A number of people she had helped also got a letter. They were very discouraged and are not planning to try to vote again. I saw one of their letters. It was identical the letter I had seen. Then I emailed the LWV-VA President who just a few months earlier during a Zoom meeting said that Youngkin was following Northam's policy. LWV-VA has also just found out that Youngkin has changed the policy. This is one reason why LWV-VA is working very hard with Sen. Locke to pass a constitutional amendment during this legislative session. At next month's Re-entry Council meeting I will share this new information and mention the possibility of a constitutional amendment. I want to also talk with Virginia Cares at LynCAG about their experiences. In my opinion we do need a constitutional amendment guarantying restoration of civil rights upon release from incarceration. Submitted by Molly McClenon |
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Members new and experienced, we would love to see you at one of our upcoming Socials! We have four Socials scheduled during the month of December at spots around the city. No need to RSVP--just drop in, grab a cup of coffee, and chat with other LWVLY members! Where and when: Tuesday, December 6, 12-1pm at Golf Park Coffee, 2306 Bedford Avenue Thursday, December 8, 5-6pm at Magnolia Foods, 2476 Rivermont Avenue Saturday, December 10, 11am-12pm at The Loving Co Coffee, 901 Jefferson Street Saturday, December 17, 11am-12pm at Marigold Coffee (in the Virginian Hotel), 712 Church Street
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