The Voter

October/November 2024

President's Remarks

In September, LWVVC celebrated its 75^th anniversary. For three quarters of a century, our members have been actively involved in providing voter service support for our citizens and educating about and advocating for issues that impact the general welfare of our communities. That tradition continues this year as we do what we do best: prepare voters to cast an informed ballot. Our 2024 election related activities are as follows:

• The voter service team is participating in community events throughout the county, providing voter registration assistance and election related information.
• Our online Vote411 site allows voters to learn about the candidates and issues on their ballot and the hard copy voter guide will be available at libraries and other locations throughout Volusia.
• With six complicated constitutional amendments on the ballot, the Speakers Bureau is busy responding to requests for amendment presentations.
• Working through Local Leaguer groups, we held four information sessions explaining amendment 4 which would limit government interference in abortion decisions
• Partnering with other organizations, we held postcard signing parties to educate voters about amendment 4 and returning citizens requirements.
• Our media team is coordinating a robust social media campaign including a series of videos aimed at younger voters.
• LWVVC co-sponsored two candidates’ forums: for school board and county council chair candidates.
• We were invited to Seabreeze High School to speak on the history and importance of voting and assisted students with voter registration.
• LWVVC members served as canvassing board monitors.

During our November 12^th  hot topic, Mark Lane will share his insights regarding the 2024 election. Check the events section in this edition of the Voter to learn more about this and other upcoming events.



Regardless of the election outcome, our work will continue as we look toward the legislative session and meet with our elected officials to discuss our priorities and concerns. If any member is interested in being part of our legislative team, please contact me at president@lwvvc.org so we can include you in our discussions.



This important work is possible because of you, our volunteers. Many thanks for your continued support and dedication to our mission. It is a true honor to serve as president of this amazing organization.

In League,

Nicki Junkins, President

End of Fiscal Year 2023 2024 Reports

The League of Women Voters of Volusia County is obligated to share the end of fiscal year reports with its membership for purpose of transparency. The reports are in PDF format. You can download and view them HERE.

On September 12th, 29 people gathered at Unitarian Universalist Church of Ormond Beach to write postcards supporting Amendment 4, which limits government interference with abortion. The participants represented members of the UUCOB congregation, the First UU of West Volusia, and the League of Women Voters. After beginning with a bag lunch to meet and talk, we completed 900 postcards in less than 2 hrs. The postcards and stamps were provided by the Yes on 4 organizers coordinating the statewide amendment initiative. Many thanks to League Voter Service member, Vivian Lord, for coordinating this effort.

Florida Amendment Presentation at the Palmetto Club

On Saturday, September 28, the League hosted an event presenting the 6 Amendments to the Florida Constitution that are on the ballot for the general elections, November 5. Since some of the amendments are not the easiest to understand, this presentation was immensely helpful to our huge audience, so everyone can cast informed votes.

Saralee Morrissey and Carla Christianson presented three amendments each. Afterwards the floor was open to Q&A. The Palmetto club served a lunch during which we had the opportunity to discuss what we had just heard.

You can read up on the 6 amendments HERE.

For the League of Women Voters of Volusia County's 75th birthday, a huge cake was served for dessert, and we all sang Happy Birthday. It was an informative and fun event.

The League's Speakers Bureau, chaired by Ann Smith , put together this presentation. It is given at many locations who have requested it. To learn more, contact Ann ahsmith5@bellsouth.net.

Get Your Personalized Voting Information Here!

• See What's On Your Ballot
• Check Your Voter Registration
• Find Your Polling Place
• Discover Upcoming Debates In Your Area
• And Much More!

Juvenile Crime and Crime Prevention

October Hot Topic

Our speaker, Carla Quan, is the director of the Volusia Family Resource Center, Daytona Beach. She is in charge of Juvenile Services, Community Relations, Family Resource Center, and volunteers. The objective of the Resource Center is to help as many young people avoid the juvenile justice system as possible while ensuring the public's safety. It’s a full-scale assessment center with partners and services from mental health to substance

abuse treatment.

Date: Wednesday, October 23, 2024

Time: 5:30 – 6:30

Location: Family Resource Center, 3747 W. International Speedway Blvd.,

Daytona Beach, FL 32124+

RSVP: Let us know if you plan to attend. RSVP - Jeanne Tanke, jeanne622lwvvc@gmail.com

What We Learned from the Election

November Hot Topic

We are delighted to have Mark Lane speak to us again. He started at The News-Journal in 1980 and has been a columnist since 1999. We have enjoyed reading his columns about state and local politics, tourist culture, beach conditions, Florida history, minor league baseball, alternative gardening and the occasional hurricane. Who better to give us a wrap-up after the November 5^th election!

Date: November 12, 2024

Time: 5:30 - 6:30

Location: DeLand Regional Library, 130 E Howry Ave, DeLand, FL 32724



Optional dinner following: Cook’s Buffet, 704 N. Woodland Blvd, DeLand, FL 32720

RSVP: Jeanne Tanke, jeanne622lwvvc@gmail.com, by November 9^th. If you plan to attend let Jeanne know and tell her if you also want to join us for dinner.

Thank you to everyone who renewed their membership in a timely manner.   We have 226 members.  Local Leaguer groups have been a powerful effort to recruit and retain members. Anyone who joined the Volusia League since January 1, 2024 your due date for next year will be one year from joining. We still have some lapsed members, please send your renewal asap. Everyone has been contacted multiple times.  The new platform, starting in 2025, will send you an email reminder. 

The LWVUS is transitioning ALL Leagues to a new platform (ChapterSpot) for membership, this will happen after the election. We will still have a connection to the platform on our current website.    More information will be explained in Zoom meetings after the National election.

We do not have all the details but we know this: 

• Students will be encouraged to join at $20 level. (we have ten student members).
• The suggested membership amount will be $75 but there is an option to pay what you can, but no less than $20. This is to encourage a more diverse membership. You can always join at a higher level. The dues will be divided between the LWVUS, LWVFL and our local League in defined percentages. There will be a donation page where you can indicate where your dollars go.  The local League depends on your donations for all our programs. 
• Family membership will be handled differently. Each family member will be asked to join separately, using separate emails.  If you use combined emails I need individual emails for each member.
• Renewals will be directed to go online and use the portal.  Checks are discouraged but will be accepted but no details how that will happen have been announced.

As your Roster Manager I need you to advise me of any email or physical address change. The database will be transferred to the new platform in the next month or so.  We want the list to be as accurate as possible. My contact info is OAH@Vyndicar.com.

Olga Hernandez, LWVVC Membership Roster Administrator

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Like, Comment,

and Share:

Engage by liking, commenting, and sharing our posts. When you do so, it not only increases the visibility of our content in your network but also helps to improve the overall reach of our page. Facebook's algorithm often prioritizes content that receives more engagement.

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All 4 local leaguers’ groups participated in discussion parties to learn more about amendment 4. Combined we had about 75 participants. They were very successful, and participants felt that they learned about all aspects of this amendment and the importance of voting and encouraging friends and neighbors to do the same. 

The East Volusia group penned personalized postcards, encouraging the vote at the conclusion of the event.  The largest group that attended Victoria Gardens in Deland, said they would love to have us talk about all the amendments. We decided to wait to offer and advertise an event until after our luncheon on September 28.

Thank you to our hostesses Irene Curran, Libby Hildebrandt, Deb Ulmer & Bonnie Friedman. Thank you also to our speakers Nicki Junkins, Nancy Nussbaum, Carla Christianson, Ann Smith, Pat Drago, and Vivian Lord.

Bonnie Friedman, Local Leaguers Chair

bonnietunes@yahoo.com

Voter Service has been focused on registering and educating citizens for the upcoming election.  We provided tabling at the many Speakers Bureau engagements on amendments and getting ready to vote.

We coordinated post card writing sessions for returning citizens with the AKA sorority at Bethune Cookman on July 2, and at our member, Pam Novy’s, home on September 5. We had approximately 25 people in attendance and completed over 1000 postcards.    On September 12, 14 League members joined with the Ormond Unitarian Universalist church to address over 900 postcards promoting Amendment 4 for reproductive rights. This effort was led and coordinated by League member, Vivian Lord, in conjunction with Floridians Protecting Freedom.  Also on September 12, Voter Service members, Sue Hofstrand and Libby Hilderbrandt, joined Nancy Nusbaum in tabling at Father Lopez High where we assisted 4 new voters to register and many more pre-registrations for 16-year-olds.

As we are reporting, we are working with high schools to present the voter education and registration program before October 7, the deadline to register to vote .  This presented as an unexpected opportunity that we are very happy to have. 

Our last large event before the election is at Port Orange Family Days on October12 and 13. Volunteers are still needed for tabling. Please contact Nancy Nusbaum at nusbanh@gmail.com to help.

Nancy Nusbaum

Voter Service, Chair

The Social Justice and Diversity Team is working on its Black History Month event for February, 2025. For those who weren’t on the August or September Zoom calls, if you have an idea for a program, please send it to me. The group will make a selection during our October 22nd meeting and begin planning on November 26th, each date being the 4th Tuesday of the month and at 4pm.

October celebrates Family and LGBTQ+ History, Italian American and Hindu Heritage, and Filipino and Polish Americans.

October’s Awareness campaigns also ask everyone to think about National Disability Employment, Domestic Violence, and Down Syndrome.

November is National American Indian & Alaska Native Heritage Month.

So many are also honored during National Veterans and Military Families Month, and we're reminded of others with health concerns including Epilepsy, Lung Cancer, Alzheimer’s, and Diabetic Eye Disease. We’re alerted to care for ourselves with Healthy Skin Month as well.

And it’s Movember, a month-long fundraiser to bring awareness to men’s health issues including suicide, and prostate and testicular cancer.

Each of us and our differences should be recognized and appreciated every single day, so, I’m glad we can all be specially highlighted during these months.

Debbie Parker

Social Justice and Diversity Team Chair

debbie.socialjustice@gmail.com

Natural Resources Action Team

The Natural Resources Action Team is brainstorming our next Hot Topic. The focus will be on educating our residents about resiliency. This time we will be looking at inland flooding. At our September meeting, we discussed possible panelists, meeting location, and dates in 2025. Stay tuned as this event continues to develop.

The big, but unsettling, news this summer was the state’s Great Outdoors Initiative. Citizens of Florida had less than a week’s notice on this initiative, but organizations throughout the state rallied their members and the outcry against the initiative from citizens and leaders throughout the state was resounding. The State LWV was on board preparing a letter to be sent to Tallahassee.  In the end, it was not needed as Governor DeSantis withdrew plans to develop golf courses, pickleball courts, and 350-room lodges in nine parks. He said they would go “back to the drawing board”. This is probably not the last we will hear of this. It was revealed later that there were initially 26 parks on the list, including development of a 350-room lodge in North Peninsula State Park. This is not the first time the park has been threatened. We all must stay vigilant.

Unfortunately, shortly after the news was leaked about the Great Outdoors Initiative, the citizens of Florida became aware of a suspect land swap that the Florida Cabinet agreed to with no public notice or chance to comment. The Cabinet voted on June 12^th to declare as surplus 324 acres in the Withlacoochee State Forest with the intent to swap it for a privately owned 860-acre stand of planted pine in Levy County. The Native Plant Society acted swiftly by conducting an on-site survey and determined the Withlacoochee land had substantial conservation value: being contiguous with other publicly owned conservation land, being within the Florida Wildlife Corridor, consisting of an under-represented natural community (sandhill) and being home to a number of protected species. It does not appear to qualify as surplus.

However, it is adjacent to an exclusive golf course that has plans to expand and whose owners proposed the land swap. At our September NRT meeting, one of our members presented a letter from the Sierra Club that he would like the LWV to consider co-signing. The letter is addressed to the Florida Forest Service, which must approve the swap, asking them not to support it. Our members voted to submit the letter to the State League to evaluate if it is consistent with their position, and if so, to approve becoming a co-signer. As of this writing, the letter is under evaluation.

We are planning a field trip to the Port Orange Wastewater Treatment Plant one day in the third or fourth week in October. The date has not yet been set, stay tuned for more information.

One of our members is leading the effort to recycle election yard signs. Volusia County’s election supervisor has offered to assist with transporting the signs to the Tomoka Landfill where Gel Recycling takes in signs to be used in their recycling operation. Stay tuned for more information on how to help.

We will participate in Volusia County’s 2024 Coastal Cleanup on Saturday morning, September 21^st.

Our next Natural Resources Team meeting will be Thursday October 10^th at noon via zoom.

Pattie Gertenbach, Chair

gertenbachp01@gmail.com

Observer Corps Reports

We always need more Observers! Please consider becoming an Observer at one of our municipal or county meetings in Volusia County. You can share the responsibility with another LWVVC member. The function of the Observer Corps is to attend and observe meetings, and submit short reports for The Voter.

If you want to become an Observer and learn what this responsibility entails, please contact Susan Bayley at susancbayley@gmail.com. 

To view a PDF of the observer reports submitted by the Observer Corps members, please click HERE. You can download and read at your leisure.