VOTER UPDATE SEPTEMBER 7, 2020
All Member Meeting/September Kick-off Event


The new program year for the League of Women Voters of Kent will kick off online Thursday, Sept. 10, at 7 p.m. New member orientation begins at 6 p.m. We have scheduled the event for the same night as the monthly online All Member Meeting. Log on to hear a presentation about microaggressions in everyday life. The speaker is Sunny Matthews, a motivational speaker who co-founded Dimensions of Isms and focuses on issues of diversity, inclusion, and anti-racism.  

To learn more about the speaker and how you can join the Zoom meeting, click here.
Attention, new members!
New Member Orientation begins begins at 6 p.m.!
Join Membership Chair Sherry Rose for all you need to know about getting the most out of your LWV Kent membership. She also will answer any questions you may have. To join the New Member Orientation (followed immediately by the AMM at the same Zoom location), click here.
Voters & Candidates Face2Face Forum for November general election goes virtual

The Voters & Candidates Face2Face forum sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Kent is going virtual, and the community is invited. Voters can talk with county candidates in contested general election races on Saturday, Sept. 19, starting at 9 a.m. Candidates in contested races for Portage County Commissioner, Portage County Court of Common Pleas - General Division, Portage County Recorder, Portage County Sheriff, State Senate 18th District, and State Representative 75th District will be participating in the forum.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this event will be hosted in an online meeting format through Zoom. The forum is free and open to the public, but registration is required. To register, click here. To learn how a virtual forum still lets you talk directly to the candidates, click here.

Thanks to our co-sponsors!

The success of the candidate events is aided by the support of our co-sponsoring organizations and their members: Portage County NAACP, Kent Lions, Kent Environmental Council, Kent State Votes, Kent State Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Brimfield Lions.

Members, get in on the Zoom fun!

League members! Interested in volunteering to help with this project? Volunteers will need access to a computer and internet to serve in the roles needed. Click here to sign up.
You've got the power!
The power to help us promote the forum to the community! We've provided a few ways to make that happen and still stay socially-distanced. It is less than a month away and community members need to be aware that registration is required.

  • Download this cover and it should open in your browser. Right click on the image and click on "save image as" to save to a file or leave in your downloaded files. Then change your cover image.
  • Download this updated flyer pdf file to print out and take places you might be able to post. Or attach it to emails to friends and invite them to register.
  • Download this image to insert into your emails and invite friends.
  • To those members with social media accounts, download this image and include a message urging area family and friends to attend by registering at this link that you have copied and pasted into the post: https://my.lwv.org/ohio/kent/event/face2face-voters-candidates-event.
Real Talk - 2-Part Panel Discussion
Access & Barriers to Voting: Where is Ohio today?
Join LWV Ohio for a 2-part panel discussion examining Ohio’s election system and its impact on voter access – what are the access points, where are the barriers, and how do Ohioans ensure their vote is counted.
 

Monday, Sept. 14, 2020, 7-8:30 pm
Understanding Ohio Elections: Access, Challenges, Rights
The session walks through the Ohio election process, details Ohio’s 3 options for voting, addresses challenges with in-person and mail-in voting, and offers best practices to ensure your vote counts.

OPENING SPEAKER: Dr. Deborah Turner, President, LWVUS
MODERATED BY: Jen Miller, Executive Director, LWV Ohio 
PANEL:
➢ Pooja Chaudhuri, Associate Counsel, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights
➢ André Washington, President, A. Philip Randolph Institute of Ohio
➢ Kayla S. Griffin, Ohio State Director, All Voting Is Local, Ohio
➢ Terry L. Burton, Director, Wood County Board of Elections



Monday, Sept. 21, 2020, at 7 pm
Equitable Voter Access: The Long Road to Access – Are We There Yet?
The second sessions explores the long, hard road to voter access within traditionally marginalized communities. What unique pathways have been cleared… what specific barriers remain… and how do we use the hard-won victories of the past to propel us forward.

OPENING SPEAKER: Dr. Elizabeth Smith-Pryor, Professor of History, Kent State University
MODERATED BY: Jocelyn L. Travis, Voter Services Chair, LWV Ohio; Organizing Manager, Sierra Club
PANEL
➢ Lilly Cavanaugh, Executive Director, Latino Affairs Commission
➢ Rev. Raymond Greene, Executive Director, The Freedom Bloc
➢ Kevin Truitt, Legal Advocacy Director, Disability Rights Ohio
➢ Kevin Walter, Advocacy & Community Outreach, International Institute of Akron
➢ Maria Bruno, Civic Engagement Coordinator & Policy Analyst, Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio
REAL TALK is hosted by League of Women Voters of Ohio in partnership with: Ohio Voter Rights Coalition, Common Cause, All Voting Is Local, A. Philip Randolph Institute, OhioVotes, and Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio.

REAL TALK Leagues: LWV Hudson, LWV Greater Cleveland, LWV Akron Area, LWV Kent, LWV Canton Area, LWV Oberlin Area


REAL TALK is a multi-League Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion program designed to fully examine, dissect and dismantle systemic and institutional discrimination and oppression based on race, sexual orientation and gender identity, mental and physical ability, socioeconomic status, faith/worship, gender, age. The program will examine each form of discrimination in a monthly series featuring an expert panel discussion, topical webinars/workshops, action items and resources to affect change. Monthly Series to address, but not limited to: Racism, homophobia, ableism, classism, sexism, ageism and faith and worship.
VOTERS' GUIDE publication dates for Fall 2020
The Fall 2020 General Election Voters' Guide information will be online by Sept. 19 at vote411.org, VG editor Nena Hankins said. Local leagues are responsible for local races, including for Congress while LWVUS posts the presidential race information.

Community members will be able to find a downloadable pdf version of the Voters' Guide at the Kent League website and at the libraries after Oct. 5 to coincide with early/in-person voting.The Record-Courier will be publishing the Voters' Guide in a print edition some time before the election.
Welcome, new LWV Kent members!
League of Women Voters of Kent has hit a milestone with 200 members! Welcome to new members these past 2 weeks: Lucy Merriman, Rhonda Richardson, Brian Bialik, Nancy Bubenzer, Donald Bubenzer and Barbara Hanniford. We also welcome members who joined since January! Georgina Aberegg, Rachel Baba, Irina Bade, Al Barber, Brian Bialik, Armintha Bryant, Alberta Bowman, Lori Calcei, Amelia Chapman, Damien Chapman, Wendy DiAlesandro, Becky Doggett, Joanne Kilgour Dowdy, Kathleen Endres, Patrick Heenan, Joanne Jones, Sara Koopman, Carlos Lechet, John Ludwick, Ruth Ludwick, Marianne Martens, Betsy Neylon, Cassidy Pittman, Betsy Rader, John Reynolds, Rhonda Richardson, Sarah Rogers, Ronna Russell, Mary Lynn Sartain, Marilyn Sessions, Mary Starbuck, Bethany Snyder and Carla Wyckoff. New members this past week: Lucy Merriman, Rhonda Richardson, Brian Bialik, Nancy Bubenzer, Donald Bubenzer and Barbara Hanniford.
Census 2020 UPDATE for Portage
With the 2020 Census Sept. 30 deadline now in contention due to a court case, Portage County may have more time to better its rate of response. The county is at a response rate of between 70 and 80 percent, but some areas like Kent and Hiram are at 55 percent. Census takers have finally hit the trail in the county. As announced by Portage County Commissioner Kathleen Clyde, there are also efforts to offer pop-up sites for mobile assistance:
  • 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Tuesday through Friday at Reed Memorial Library, Ravenna
  • 10 a.m.-2 pm. Tuesday through Thursday on Kent State University campus
  • Haymaker Farmers Market in Kent on Saturdays through Sept. 26.
  • Hiram Christian Church (check with the church for times)
Please share the above information. Need a Census 2020 sign to show your support and increase neighborhood awareness, email Faye Nicholson at faye.nicholson@2020census.gov.
VOTE411.org is your ‘one-stop-shop’ for election-related information
Where is my polling location? How do I vote absentee? When does early voting start? How do I register to vote? Is it too late to register to vote in November? Where can I find factual and unbiased information about the candidates and issues on the ballot this year?

If you’re puzzled about these and other election-related questions, VOTE411.org has the answers—all in one place. Launched by the League of Women Voters Education Fund in October of 2006, VOTE411.org provides nonpartisan information to the public with both general and state-specific information on the following aspects of the election process: absentee ballot information; ballot measure information (where applicable); early voting options (where applicable); election dates; factual data on candidates in various federal, state and local races; general information on topics such as how to watch debates with a critical eye; ID requirements; polling place locations; registration deadlines; voter qualifications; voter registration forms; and voting machines.
Dues are due! Have you paid yours?
Thank you to those who have paid their 2020-2021 dues. For those of you who have not done so, click here to pay online, or mail your check, payable to LWV Kent, to Gail Pytel, 613 North Willow, Kent, OH 44240. Dues are $60 for individuals, $30 for each additional household member, and $5 for students. We also offer a “pay what you can” option. 

Because a large portion of our dues ($57 of the $60 dues for individual members) is sent to LWV-Ohio and LWV-US to support the valuable work those organizations do on our behalf, members’ contributions, to the extent they are able, are appreciated to support our local activities. LWV Kent is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Membership dues and contributions are tax deductible to the extent provided by law.