LWV April 2020 Voter

THE VOTER

LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS OF THE MIDLAND AREA

www.LWV-Midland.org | Facebook

April 2020

Empowering Voters. Defending Democracy.

The League of Women Voters is a national, political organization that encourages the informed and active participation of citizens in their government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues, and influences public policy through education and advocacy. The League is non-partisan and as an organization does not endorse or oppose candidates or political parties.

COVID-19 Adjustments

We have canceled all events that were scheduled for March, April and May. Business is being conducted by email and conference call.

The April 2 Board meeting was held by conference call. This worked well once we learned we couldn't all talk at the same time.

The Bylaws require that the LWV of the Midland Area has an annual meeting between March 1 and May 31 each year. At the annual meeting, the membership must do the following:

a) Adopt a local program for the ensuing year;

b) Elect Officers, Directors and members of the Nominating Committee;

c) Adopt a budget, including specific dues amounts; and

d) Transact such other business as may properly come before it.

This year, due to COVID-19 restrictions, the annual meeting will be held May 20, via conference call. Documents to be voted on will be sent to all members by April 20. These are 1) Slate of officers; 2) Local Program; and 3) Budget. A cover letter explaining how to join the conference call will be sent.

The conference call will use the FreeConferenceCall.com service. You only have to be able to make a phone call. The number to call and the "code" will be in the cover letter.

If you have any concerns or questions, please contact President Kim Steinke (kimsteinke@me.com).

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI)

The LWV of the United States has a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion policy that they are recommending for all state and local leagues to adopt. This year, section VIII, Diversity Equity and Inclusion has been added to the proposed Local Program, which will be voted on at the Annual Meeting.

What is it? Diversity includes all of the similarities and differences among people. Equity is an approach based in fairness to ensuring everyone is given equal opportunity; this means that resources may be divided and shared unequally to make sure that each person has a fair chance to succeed. Inclusion refers to the degree to which diverse individuals are able to participate fully in the decision-making processes within an organization or group.

The purpose of the policy is to encourage Leagues to look at ways they can reach many people who are different from our historical membership. At first it seems difficult to know how to reach diverse people, but we try to consider simple things like location and time of programs, the media outlets we use, and reaching out online.

Voter Service

Looking ahead to the August 4 Primary, candidate forums will be arranged as needed. A candidate forum is only held if there are 2 or more candidates for the same office in the same party. It looks like the Sheriff's race might be one of those, but we won't know about others until the filing deadline has passed.

Check the web page and the Voter newsletter for updates.