Voter Service

This fall, LWVW coordinated voter registration drives at the Westchester Community College campuses in Yonkers and Mount Vernon and at the New Rochelle Public Library. Next spring, LWVW will coordinate with local high schools to register and pre-register eligible 16, 17, and 18-year-olds on site.

Nationally, the 2023 election cycle generated the highest odd-year voter usage for Vote411.org, the league's premier online service, attracting two million voters across the country -- 50% higher than in 2019 and 25% higher than 2021. LWVW Voter Service volunteers populated Vote411.org with information about 133 races and 261 candidates in Westchester, with approximately 50% of the candidates responding to requests for data.

Many thanks to Mary Beth Gose for her expertise and time in setting up races and helping to correct the district maps for the Westchester County Board of Legislatures, and to the following individuals who were instrumental in gathering information and populating the website: Peggy Jackson (Larchmont/Mamaroneck); Haley Ferraro (New Castle); Joan Alexander, Seiba Cooper (New Rochelle); Bob Boffa, Lisa Pizzulo (Northeast Westchester); Rene Artale, Althema Goodson (Northwest Westchester); Jean Deitz, Jurate Mohen, Ann Scholl (Rivertowns); Tony Napoli (Rye/Rye Brook, Port Chester); Donna Conkling, Kathleen Gray (Scarsdale); Barbara Shore (White Plains).

Candidate Forums

LWVW coordinated the Moderator Program with newly developed online training tutorials posted to LWVW's YouTube channel (Part 1 and Part 2) and follow-up coaching. LWVW was able to provide trained moderators to its nine local leagues to cover 29 separate candidate forums for contested County and local races. Of the 29 scheduled, 24 candidate forums were completed (83%).

To expand the number of moderators available to meet the increased needs of the 2024 election cycle, LWVW will host additional meetings and training starting in January. If interested, please email westchesterlwv@gmail.com with a subject line of "moderator training."

Redistricting



The Court of Appeals in Buffalo heard oral arguments on November 15, 2023, in Hoffman v. New York State Independent Redistricting Commission, the lawsuit with the potential to overturn New York's Congressional maps drawn by a Court-appointed Special Master in 2022 and currently in place. If the appeal succeeds, the Independent Redistricting Commission may be directed to redraw New York's Congressional maps and submit new ones for approval by the NYS Legislature. LWVNYS filed an amicus brief arguing against mid-decade redistricting. The Court's decision may not come out for several weeks.

County Government

Westchester County has unveiled its proposed operating budget for 2024-25. This year, LWVW will not be holding its annual consensus meeting but will strive to provide additional information in the coming weeks to keep members apprised. View the County Board of Legislators website for dates and links to public input sessions and the County Executive webpage for the press release. The public hearing on the budget is scheduled for Wednesday, December 6, 2023, at 7pm.

Youth Engagement

Youth Corps

LWVW is pleased to introduce Emma Freeman, the newest appointee to the LWVW Executive Committee. Emma is currently a high school junior and member of the LWV of Larchmont/Mamaroneck. She will serve as the Youth Representative on the LWVW Board.

Civics Readiness Seal Program

LWVW has been assisting local public high schools in Yonkers, Port Chester, and Ossining interested in offering the Civics Readiness Seal Program to its students. The program is a civics curriculum developed by New York State Board of Regents and culminates in a capstone project.

Past Events for Students

LWVW partnered with the Westchester County Youth Bureau to plan and implement the UN International Day of the Girl Conference on Friday, October 13, 2023, at Manhattanville College. The theme was "Strive to Thrive: Unlocking Your True Potential." Schools within the county brought 350 female high school students to attend this all-day event where LWVW volunteers staffed a table and delivered Vote 18 workshops. Thank you to Alan Cass and Beth Kava for facilitating and pre-registering 16- and 17-year-olds and to C. Michele Shivers, Louise Perez, Ann Scholl, and several Westchester Women's Agenda volunteers for staffing the LWVW voter registration and information table.

As part of its College Campus Program, LWVW presented "Voting Rights in America: And Why Your Vote Matters" to 55 students of the Sister Mary T. Clark RSCJ Center for Religion and Social Justice at Manhattanville College during the virtual Social Justice Conference on October 18, 2023. The theme was "Civil and Political Rights." LWVW also continues to reach out to all local colleges to implement voter registration events and advocacy education.

LWVW co-sponsored UN Day on Sunday, October 22, 2023 at Mercy University. The theme was "Appreciating Peace and Promoting Non-violence" featuring keynote speaker Michael Kingsley-Nyinah, Director of the Central and Southern Africa Division in the UN Secretariat Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations (DPPA/ DPO), in conversation with Ambassador Francis Okelo, Former UN Special Envoy for Peace. LWVW volunteers staffed a table and registered students to vote.

Future Events for Students

Plans are underway for LWVW's annual Running & Winning program to be held on Thursday, April 18, 2024 at Manhattanville College, Reid Castle. The goal of this one-day event for female high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors is to support our young participants’ aspirations to serve in public office, develop their leadership potential, and, at the same time, help our government institutions increase gender parity. LWVW anticipates high participation rates of students and elected officials, as in prior years. LWVW appreciates Westchester Community Foundation's continued support and generous grant that helps defray the costs to LWVW of hosting this important event. LWVW seeks additional sponsors so that even more students have the opportunity to attend the program. View the Running & Winning Sponsorship Fact Sheet for more information on how to become a sponsor.

LWVW has received approval to send one high school student to LWVNYS's Students Inside Albany program in Albany from Sunday, May 19, 2024 through Wednesday, May 22, 2024. This conference is an intensive training designed to immerse students in the process by which public policy is proposed, enacted and changed in New York State and educate them as to how they can influence and affect this process. Additionally, students are afforded the opportunity to observe Assembly and Senate sessions and to shadow both their Assembly members and Senators. As in past years, LWVW will seek candidates from high schools within areas of the county not currently represented by a local league.

Advocacy and Education

Environmental Issues

On Tuesday, October 3, 2023, LWVW co-hosted a free webinar on Endocrine Disruptors in Plastics: State Policy Options about NYS policy options for addressing endocrine disruptors with John Peterson (Pete) Myers, Ph.D., CEO and Chief Scientist of Environmental Health Sciences, New York State Senator Peter Harckham, Chair of the New York Senate Environmental Conservation Committee, and Megan Wolff, Ph.D., MPH, Policy Director at Beyond Plastics. Over 1300 people registered for the event. Follow this link to view the recording.

LWVW's environmental advocacy and education section has focused on the efforts led by LWVNYS in favor of the following legislation, all of which are still in committee:

• Ban Release of Radioactive Waste into Hudson River (S5181/A5338)
• Bigger Better Bottle Bill (S237/A6353)
• The Packaging Reduction and Recycling Act (S4246/A5322)

Also pertaining to Westchester:

• In the aftermath of public comments, New York State has directed the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to revisit its proposal to erect steel barriers as part of its $52.6 billion storm surge protection plan for the New York/New Jersey Harbor. Final plans require Congressional approval.
• The U.S. Coast Guard has paused its plan to allow barges to park at various communities along the Hudson River.



The Save the Hudson Bill (S6893/A7208) was signed into law in August. The legislation is intended to protect the economic vitality of the Hudson River Region by restricting discharges of any radiological substance into the Hudson River. Despite the law's passage, Holtec International, the energy company working to decommission the Indian Point nuclear power plant, might still proceed with plans to dump Tritium, a radioactive isotope of hydrogen, with potential for interaction with remaining PCBs in the Hudson River. Advocacy efforts on this front continue.