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| Wednesday, August 15 |
Deadline to register for Massachusetts primary
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Tuesday, September 4
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Massachusetts primary
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Friday, September 21
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LWVMA board meeting
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Saturday, October 20
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LWVMA League Leaders Lunch, Harvard Unitarian Universalist Church, 9 Ayer Road, Harvard, MA. from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
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Spread the Word About Our Online Voters' Guide
We are proud to announce that the LWVMA online voters' guide for the Sept. 4 primary election is now live at
www.InformedVoterMA.org
! After the September primary, the guide will be updated for the Nov. 6 general election.
Our guide is designed to eliminate the hassle of scrolling through dozens of candidates that won't appear on a voter's ballot. Voters can explore their personalized ballot simply by typing in a street address. Our guide features information about all candidates on the ballot in Massachusetts, as well as candidates' responses to questions posed by LWVMA.
In order to promote informed and active participation by all Massachusetts voters in the primary, please
publicize this guide as widely as possible
. Start by posting a link to the guide on your League's website and social media page and sharing the link through social media and with friends! Send a letter to the editor of your local newspaper. Please consult our
Voter Service Toolkit
for website buttons, letter templates and sample Facebook posts and tweets.
Let's mobilize voters and get this guide into as many hands as possible!
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League Leader Lunch--Mark Your Calendar!
Ever wonder what other Leagues find successful when engaging their membership? How do they develop succession plans? Our annual fall LWVMA League Leader lunch is a great opportunity to meet, share ideas, socialize and put a face to that email address!
We will gather on Saturday, Oct. 20, at the Harvard Unitarian Universalist Church, 9 Ayer Road,
Harvard, MA
from
10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
We hope to have representation from all Leagues and units. This year's focus will be on diversity, equality and inclusion. We welcome other ideas too! Please send comments or questions to membership chair Kate Boland.
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LWVMA is Moving...and Cleaning House!
In September, LWVMA will move to 90 Congress Street (just two blocks from our current office). Our new offices are already furnished and are smaller than our current space, so we will be giving away our furniture (desks, chairs, tables, filing cabinets, etc.), office equipment (computer monitors, fax machine, office copier), office supplies, and League paraphernalia. After Labor Day, we will send out a complete list of items we will be giving away free of charge. If you can carry an item away, it is yours. This is a great opportunity to get items you need for your home or work office. Stay tuned for more information! Questions? Email
Taylor.
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Looking for a moderator for your League's candidates' forum? The new list of LWV-trained moderators is a great resource. Contact
Meryl Kessler
,
Judy Zaunbrecher
, or
Kris Eastman
for recommendations and contact information to help find a moderator for your event.
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Voter Registration Help Wanted
MassAudubon has asked LWVMA to help its Get Out the Vote efforts for this fall's elections, including providing a voter registration and information table at MassAudubon events around the state. These are great opportunities for local League members and members-at-large to volunteer. There are three upcoming events in need of voter registration volunteers:
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Aug. 18, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Allens Pond, Westport
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Sept. 15, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Wachusetts Meadow, Princeton
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Sept. 29, 1 to 4 p.m., Boston Nature Center, Boston
Please contact
Judy Zaunbrecher
if you or your League is interested in volunteering.
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It's Election Season. Check Your Non-Partisan Policy
With the election season in full swing it's a good time to review your non-partisan policy with your board or steering committee and with your members via your League's bulletin. The League encourages its members to run for office and participate fully in the political process. Your non-partisan policy defines what roles related to campaigns are permissible for board and steering committee members. Click
here
for an article excerpted from the NH Voter - June 2018 Newsletter of LWVNH with suggestions for members running for office and for Leagues to maintain a "respectful distance" between themselves and the candidates.
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Prepare for National Voter Registration Day
National Voter Registration Day is Tuesday, Sept. 25.
If your League would like to participate this year, perhaps registering voters at a nearby college or in cooperation with a community group, you can learn more about the day's activities, the support and materials available, and how to register
here
.
The League of Women Voters is a major partner nationally in National Voter Registration Day, and the League has been the single largest on-the-ground partner in this event since 2012.
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Attend a Candidate Debate or Forum
Local Leagues around the state are hosting events with 2018 primary candidates. For information about events in your area, please visit the LWVMA calendar or Facebook page. You can also view videos of completed forums and debates on our website. Be sure to send information to Taylor about any election-related events your League has planned, as well as links to videos of candidate forums, so we can add them to the calendar and make them available on our website.
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Recapping the Legislative Session
We had some major successes in the legislative session that came to a formal end July 31--automatic voter registration, criminal justice reform, women's issues, gun control, and more. And there are many bills that didn't quite make it--we will be back next session trying to get those passed. For a recap of what happened to "our" bills during this session, see
this article
on our website.
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Update Your Board Information
LWVMA needs the names, positions, and contact information (phone numbers and emails) of your local League's 2018-19 Board of Directors or Steering Committee. If your League has not already shared that information, please send it to
Taylor Grenga
in the LWVMA office as soon as possible. One submission per local League, please!
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LWVUS Items and Reminders
Census and Redistricting Action Kits Now Available--
Two new toolkits are available on the LWVUS League Management Site. Visit the
Census Action Kit
and the
Redistricting Action Kit
for tools and resources, including templates, messaging guidance, and background materials related to the League's work on redistricting and the U.S. Census.
Updating Your League Page on LWV.org--
The state and local League pages on LWV.org now connect directly to the member database, so roster managers can make updates, such as correcting League website links, or update the names and contacts of League leaders. LWV.org will then update that information every 24 hours. Any questions on updating this information can be directed to
rostersupport@lwv.org
.
100th Anniversary Survey--
Is your League planning something big for 2020? LWVUS wants to know about it.
The 100th Anniversary Committee has put together
a brief survey
to gauge where Leagues are with their plans and so we can offer the right level of support, from events to fundraising to communications tools.
FY19 Per Member Payments--
PMP invoices for LWVUS Fiscal Year 2019 were mailed July 18. For any questions or concerns, email
membership@lwv.org
.
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The League Leader Update is distributed to local League board members and LWVMA leaders. Anyone can request the Update by clicking here. Please review this Update for articles of interest to your League and include them in your local Bulletin.
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