LWVKC E-VOTER


PBS “AMERICAN EXPERIENCE” SPECIAL: THE VOTE

Women Weren’t Given the Vote.  They Took it.



Part 1, Monday, July 6, 9 – 11 pm, MPT 
Part II Tuesday, July 7, 9 – 11 pm, MPT

“The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.” This is the wording of the 19 th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the passage of which in 1920 – 100 years ago this August -- was the culmination of a 72-year campaign conducted by tens of thousands of volunteers, representing three generations of U.S. women. 

The Vote, shown on Maryland Public Television over two nights, documents their struggles and how their work transformed our country. Be sure to tune in!
Let’s “Get Out the Vote” this Fall!

According to the Maryland Board of Elections there were 3.9 million registered voters in the state in 2018. Only 983,550 voted in the 2020 Primary for a candidate for President. It’s possible that there are even more registered voters in 2020, but staying with the 2018 figures,  only slightly more than 25% of registered voters in Maryland actually voted in the Primary this past June!  

U.S. House MD District 1 (comprised of all of Maryland’s Eastern Shore, and parts of Harford and Baltimore Counties) voters did much better, but still not enough voted. Out of a total of 295,634 registered voters, 148,602 voted for a candidate to represent the District in Congress. That is slightly over 50%.

We know that more people vote in General Elections, especially in presidential elections, than in Primaries, but even so, it is clear that we have a lot to do to encourage more people to vote in November.   George Shivers
LWVUS Biennial Convention,
June 26 -- 29: A Musical Highlight

Two members from our League, LWVKC President Cece Trainor and Voter Service Chair Nancy Smith, attended this virtual convention, and racked up many hours at their computers over several days.  Cece has written a summary of events for us, just below. 

To get you started, here’s fun highlight from the LWV of Tennessee, which is producing a musical about Tennessee’s pivotal role in the passage of the 19 th amendment  -- Tennessee was the much-needed 36 th state to ratify :  For a preview of their coming performance, visit: 

LWVUS 2020 Convention Summary
by Cece Trainor

Monday, June 22 to Wednesday, June 24:  Virtual Caucuses and Info Sessions

There were many sessions on interesting subjects presented, and 13 of these are still on the League web site,  here (lwv.org) under League Management, 2020 Convention. Two are described below:

The People Powered Fair MapsTM Campaign is a national redistricting program of the League of Women Voters, focused on creating fair political maps nationwide. The program includes actions in all 50 states + D.C. and is comprised of five major focus areas:  Ballot Initiatives or Referendums; State Constitutional Options; State Legislative Fixes; Federal Legislative Fixes; and Civic Engagement & Education. This session shared the overall performance of Leagues to create redistricting reform in Year 1 with a focus on highlighting the quantitative and qualitative metrics and lifting up success stories from the field. The League gave nearly one million dollars in grants to train local League workers to accomplish these goals. There are 5 lawsuits in progress to stop gerrymandering and voter suppression.  There are 13 active state and local legislative initiatives over 9 states. They have developed new software to communicate with one another, mobilize people and mange the projects.

Climate Emergency - Time for All Hands on Deck,  conducted by 
LWV of California, LWV of Massachusetts, LWV of Oregon, LWV of Evanston (IL), LWV of Lee County (FL). The League has strong positions, and a long history of environmental/climate action. The session provided: 
  • Climate action ideas, strategies and resources that local Leagues are using successfully in their communities and their states.
  • Ways to use the nonpartisan voice of the League to bridge politics in encouraging climate action.  
  • Messages that will help citizens understand and want to engage in addressing the climate emergency. 

Thursday, June 25:  Pre-Convention Day

The pre-Convention day kicked off with a virtual Lobby Day to restore the Voting Rights Act. Seven years ago, to the day, the Supreme Court rolled back provisions of the Voting Rights Act. So, on the eve of Convention, League members and allies made calls and engaged on social media, calling on Congress to #RestoreTheVote by passing the Voting Rights Advancing Act. #LWVLobbyDay had 175 posts on Twitter, earning more than 1,500 engagements (likes, shares, clicks, etc.) and 82,700 impressions. And our members and engagers sent over 2,000 letters to the Senate in support of the VRAA! Congrats on a very successful digital lobby day! 

As a grand finale to our pre-Convention kickoff, LWV CEO Virginia Kase moderated a panel of voting rights experts to discuss how we can expand the vote and make our democracy representative of all. The conversation, which was also streamed on Facebook live, included D.C Mayor Muriel Bowser, Valerie Jarrett of When We All Vote, Allison Riggs of the Southern Coalition for Social Justice, and Alejandra Castillo of YWCA USA. In addition to the over 1,000 delegates watching over Zoom, LWVUS's Facebook livestream garnered over 5,000 views!  

Friday, June 26

LWVUS President Chris Carson kicked things off and about 2500 people viewed the first session of the convention. Chris described her four-year term as an effort to change League rules to allow rapid action. She highlighted our League’s work over the past biennium including our impact on more than 12.5 million voters; our redistricting fight at the Supreme Court and launching People Powered Fair Maps in the aftermath; and nearly $1 million in pass-thru grants to Leagues around the country.

LWVUS national board member Liz Bander delivered remarks honoring our native land and providing resources for delegates and observers to learn more about the native peoples in their jurisdictions around the country. 

During the first break, delegates and observers viewed a video featuring “ The Perfect 36,” a musical about the passing of the 19th Amendment, as well as anniversary messages from very special guests including multiple members of congress. (See above for a link to a preview.)

The Keynote Address was by Norah O’Donnell, CBS News Anchor 


Saturday, June 27

Address by the LWVUS CEO, Virginia Case, who spoke about the unforeseen challenges of 2020, our strategic framework for the new biennium, what it means to be nonpartisan in hyper-partisan times, and the way we talk about race in our country and especially in the League.

The proposed 2020-2022 Budget was completely re-written due to Covid-19. A 20% reduction in revenue is expected. LWVUS Treasurer Jessica Lowe-Minor delivered the report of the Treasurer indicating that our financial health is strong, with more than six months of operating expenses in reserves. Elaine Wiant, chair of LWVUS Budget Committee, presented the Proposed LWVUS 2020-2022 Budget and Per Member Payment. Delegates voted to adopt the unchanged PMP rate of $32 for the 2020-2022 Biennium and approved the proposed budget.

LWVUS Vice-President Karen Nicholson presented the Proposed National Program for 2020-2022.

Delegates debated and voted on the following Not-Recommended Program Item, Motion #2020-157: “On behalf of the League of Women Voters of Illinois, I move to adopt the abolition of the electoral college by Constitutional amendment as a LWVUS action focus for the 2020-2022 biennium.” The motion PASSED and will be added to the National Program. 

Then delegates discussed and voted on two concurrences:   
Motion #2020-145 – "The League of New Mexico moves for concurrence on the Transfer of Federal Public Land be adopted as submitted." The motion PASSED. 

Motion #2020-141 --  “On behalf of the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin and 23 other state Leagues, I move that the Voter Representation/Electoral Systems Concurrence as presented in the Workbook to support electoral systems at each level of government that encourage participation, are verifiable and auditable and enhance representation for all voters be adopted.” The motion PASSED. 

Vice President Karen Nicholson moved for a vote on current positions and the proposed 2020-2022 Program.  Motion #2020-118: -- move to retain all current LWVUS positions in the areas of representative government, international relations, natural resources and social policy. The motion PASSED. Motion #2020-119 – Move to adopt the proposed LWVUS program for 2020-2022  Campaign for Making Democracy Work®: ensuring a free, fair and accessible electoral system for all eligible voters by focusing on Voting Rights, Improving Elections and advocacy for the National Popular Vote Compact, Campaign Finance/Money in Politics and Redistricting and to continue to work on urgent issues: Climate Change, the Equal Rights Amendment, Health Care, Gun Safety, and Immigration. The motion PASSED. 

Moving to Resolutions, Suzanne Stassevitch, Chair of the Resolutions Committee, gave the committee’s report, recommending three proposals:  

Motion #2020-150 – Reaffirming our commitment to Immigration reform, for efficient, expeditious immigrant entry into the United States. The League stands in solidarity with immigrants and our immigrant rights community partners. Congress must take immediate action to pass common sense, fair immigration policies that end the crisis at our borders, end the separation of families, ensure their health and safety, and provide a clear path to citizenship, including DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) young people. Motion submitted by Rebecca Gladstone on behalf of LWV Oregon. The motion PASSED.

Motion #2020-136: We Resolve First, That the League advocates against systemic racism in the justice system and, at a minimum, for preventing excessive force and brutality by law enforcement. We also call for prompt actions by all League members to advocate within every level of government to eradicate systemic racism, and the harm that it causes;  We Resolve Second, That the League help our elected officials and all Americans recognize these truths to be self-evident; that Black, Indigenous and all people of color (BIPOC) deserve equal protection under the law; and that we demand solutions for the terrible wrongs done, so that regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, disability, and gender identity or sexual orientation we may truly become a nation "indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” Motion Submitted by Evelyn Maddox on behalf of LWV of Missouri The motion PASSED.

Motion #2020-122: "I move that that the LWVUS calls for an immediate, wide-scale, mobilization by the United States, to restore, protect and fund an ecologically sustainable environment and climate, based on an interrelated approach that is environmentally sound, science based, just and equitable, dedicated to adequately addressing the scale and speed of the global climate change emergency." Motion submitted by America Sherwood on behalf of Araphoe-Douglas County. The motion PASSED.

2020-2022 LWVUS Incoming President, Dr. Deborah Turner , introduced herself to the convention attendees. She is a very accomplished African American physician and she laid out her vision for the next biennium: making VOTE411 a household name, advancing our DEI work (Diversity, Equality and Inclusion), and embracing inter-generational conversations