October, 2024

The Voter
NOW ONLINE

Read this latest edition of the LWVAL newsletter for current news and events.

IN THIS ISSUE…

Editor's Preface

Breaking News - Post Card Effort a Success

Key Election 2024 Dates and Resources

• Key Election/Voter Dates
• Sample Ballots in Alabama
• Voting Guide for People Who are Disabled Election Protection Hotline Numbers

• Poll Monitors
• Lift Our Vote - Rides for Voters

• New League at Large Formed Poor People's Campaign Textbanking
• In Memoriam - Mary Lynn Bates
• Voter Services Training - October
• Voter Services Training - November
• Photos - Postcarding Across the State
• 72nd NAACP Conference
• Alabama Channel Party
• SB1 Update
• Source for Hurricane Helene Aid

Read The Voter, October 2024

September, 2024

The Voter
NOW ONLINE

Read this latest edition of the LWVAL newsletter for current news and events.

IN THIS ISSUE…

COMING SOON IN SEPTEMBER

• Sept 16, 2:00 pm Mon. - Voter Services Training
• Sept 17 - Public Meeting for NW Alabama Community Panel
• Sept 23 - Book Bans and Librarian Intimidation

• Update - LWVAL GOTV Project for CD-02
• National Voter Registration Day/September in Alabama!
• SB1 Update
• LWVAL Joins LWVUS ERA Memo
• Contribute Your Talent at State Level
• LWVAL Project Updates: ** Strategic Planning ** Climate Change - Gulf Coast Region Summit ** Vote411 ** Volunteer Hour & Impact Survey ** Lobby Corps ** Next Generation Powering Democracy ** GOTV Efforts
• LWVAL President in the NYTimes
• State Convention Announcement
• Local League Nuggets
• Important Dates in September

• August Voter Services Training - Recording
• LWVAL Signs onto Letter re: Violation of the NVRA

Read The Voter, September 2024

LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS

Statement on VOTE411

Press Release / Last Updated: July 29, 2024

WASHINGTON – Today the League of Women Voters Education Fund issued the following statement regarding the League’s nonpartisan election information tool VOTE411.org:

“It’s troubling that misinformation about the League’s nonpartisan elections resource is being spread among voters. The League of Women Voters’ VOTE411.org platform is a tool that provides the public with both federal and state-specific information so voters can participate in our democracy with confidence. The League of Women Voters has been strictly nonpartisan for over a century, neither supporting nor opposing political parties or candidates for office at any level of government.

“The purpose of VOTE411 is to meet the needs of voters and help individuals navigate the election process. Since VOTE411’s inception, the award-winning platform has provided election resources to millions of Americans in every election.

“As a 104-year-old voting rights organization, the League of Women Voters understands the importance of all elections, from local municipalities to those for federal office. We urge everyone to use all available tools to fully participate in our democracy, whether that comes from VOTE411 or the state and local elections websites we link to on the site.

“The League of Women Voters stands with voters and remains committed to empowering voters to make their voices heard.

“VOTE411 is transparent about the data collected on our website, and voters should rest assured that using the tool does not result in the selling or sharing of their personal data. Learn more about VOTE411 and read our privacy policy here.”

####

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Click here to read this press release on the LWV website:
https://www.lwv.org/newsroom/press-releases/league-women-voters-statement-vote411org

Click here to read the related press release issued by Alabama Secretary of State’s office:
https://www.sos.alabama.gov/index.php/newsroom/secretary-state-wes-allen-warns-alabama-citizens-about-misleading-voter-registration-psa

Click here to read related article in the Alabama Reflector:
https://alabamareflector.com/2024/07/30/alabama-secretary-of-state-accuses-league-of-women-voters-of-data-mining/

Copyright (C) 2024 All rights reserved.

LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS

President Biden Withdraws from Reelection

Taskforce Statement on the Democratic Party Replacing Its Presumptive Presidential Nominee

Press Release / Last Updated: July 21, 2024

The League of Women Voters of the United States, as a member organization of the National Task Force on Election Crises, released the following statement on the Democratic party replacing its presumptive presidential nominee:

"While a major party’s presumptive nominee withdrawing his presidential candidacy is an extraordinary occurrence, rules and procedures are in place to respond to this development.

"Americans can be confident that this situation falls well within existing rules and that their election system continues to allow for a free and fair election.

"A political party has control over how to choose its nominee in accordance with the party's own governing rules. When a presumptive nominee withdraws before their party makes its nomination official, the party will follow its own rules and procedures to choose an official nominee (typically, but not necessarily, in person at the party's nominating convention). In this instance, the Democratic Party will determine its path forward, and its delegates will vote to approve a nominee at or before the Democratic National Convention this August. Additionally, state ballot access laws are no obstacle to the party choosing a nominee other than President Biden. States have not yet printed ballots for the general election, and state laws across the country provide for the candidate chosen by the Democratic Party at or before the convention to appear on ballots this November irrespective of whether that nominee is the same individual as the party’s presumptive nominee based on the results of the party’s presidential preference primaries."

Read more about candidate succession from the National Task Force on Election Crises here.

Copyright (C) 2024 All rights reserved.

July 15-19, 2024
A week of VERY IMPORTANT
LWVAL Virtual Events



LWVAL TRAINING
Voter Registration
Voter Rights Restoration
2 pm Monday July 15, 2024

On Monday July 15 at 2pm, the League of Women Voters of Alabama will hold a public training for LWV voter services volunteers and the public. The following topics will be covered:

• LWVAL President Kathy Jones will review the national and state volunteer protection act and how it protects volunteers who are acting as good Samaritans
• Roger Ellis will provide training on how to fill out the online and paper Voter Registration Form.
• Bryan Lorge will provide training on how to fill out the Voter Rights Restoration (VRR) Referral form to get assistance for potentially disenfranchised citizens
• Bryan Lorge will review the Secretary of State's guidance on conducting Voter drives

UPDATE: If you missed the event below, you can watch it on the League's YouTube Channel.




PARCA Report:
"How Alabama Democracy Compares"

On Thursday, July 18 @ 6:30pm central time, we will have an education forum to learn more about the recent PARCA report entitled "How Alabama Democracy Compares".

Register here to receive a zoom link: https://bit.ly/3VHzdvz

The author of the report Thomas Spencer, Senior Research Associate, will be presenting. Also on the panel are Dr. Mitchell Brown, Mitchell Brown, PhD, Curtis O. Liles III Professor of Politics at Auburn University; and Christopher Tyler Burks, Board Member, Alabama Citizens for Constitutional Reform

ABOUT THE PANEL MEMBERS

Thomas Spencer came to PARCA after nearly two decades in journalism, most recently with The Birmingham News. He has a diversified background, researching and writing on a wide variety of topics including the environment, education, economics, governmental and community affairs, politics and civil rights. His work has earned top national, regional and state awards. A Birmingham native, Tom is a graduate of the University of Virginia.

Mitchell Brown, Ph.D., is the Curtis O. Liles III Professor in the Department of Political Science at Auburn University and is a founding editor of the Journal of Election Administration Research & Practice. Her work as a researcher, evaluator, trainer and consultant focuses on applied projects around the country centering on election administration and community-based problem solving. She is the author of numerous books, research articles, and reports. Recent titles include How We Vote: Innovations in American Elections (with Kathleen Hale, Georgetown University Press) and the Elgar Publishing handbooks Teaching Undergraduate Political Methodology and Teaching Graduate Political Methodology (both with Shane Nordyke and Cameron Thies). From 2015-2018 she served as the Director of Auburn University PhD Program in Public Administration and Public Policy and currently co-directs the Election Administration Initiative with Kathleen Hale. She also serves as curricular faculty for the National Association of Election Officials and is a member of their board of directors. From 2016-2022 she served as the Science of Teaching & Learning section editor for the Journal of Political Science Education.

Christopher Tyler Burks is a Visiting Assistant Professor at Samford University where he teaches courses in American Politics, law, policy, planning, and administration. He serves on the Birmingham Planning Commission and is president of the Alabama Chapter of the American Society for Public Administration. He founded Urban Analysis, a consulting firm for changemaking through policy, planning, and politics. He is passionate about the need for public transportation and continues to work on efforts to develop transportation solutions in the Birmingham metropolitan area.

Register here to receive a zoom link: https://bit.ly/3VHzdvz

July 17, 2024
John Lewis National Day
of Commemoration and Action

** Important LWVAL Announcement **

The LWVAL will commemorate this important day with an official kickoff event for the CD2 GOTV Postcard Campaign. This event has been registered with the national network for commemoration events on this day.

In a 2012 speech, Congressman and civil rights activist John Lewis said, “My dear friends, your vote is precious, almost sacred. It is the most powerful nonviolent tool we have to create a more perfect union.” Representative Lewis’s idea of the vote as a sacred franchise that can make a difference is closer than ever to being reality in Alabama.

After decades of racial gerrymandering, Black voters and civic advocacy groups in Alabama recently won a federal lawsuit to force the state to redraw the state’s Congressional District (CD) maps to create a second minority-opportunity district where Black voters will have the opportunity to elect the candidates of their choice – an opportunity for proportional representation.

To get out the vote in the district, the League of Women Voters of Alabama and the Alabama State Conference of NAACP, have set a goal of contacting every registered Black voter in the 11 rural counties of CD2 through a postcard campaign. At nearly 27,000 voters, it is about 1/3 of the registered Black voters in the new minority-opportunity district.

We are kicking off the campaign July 17th at 9:30 AM (Central). Joining us live will be plaintiffs from the successful Milligan v Allen case: Shalela Dowdy and NAACP of Alabama's President Bernard Simelton. Then sign up to help write postcards to voters from anywhere in the country.

Register for the Zoom: https://bit.ly/3Lej3Ur

Sign up to write postcards or donate to the project: LWVAL.org/CD2postcards

IMPORTANT - Be part of the national count as participating in this day of action. Sign up on the official John Lewis Commemoration Day site that you are attending the LWVAL CD2 GOTV Postcard Campaign Kickoff event and be able to see other commemorating events in your area:

https://www.mobilize.us/mobilize/event/645569/

It's Time to Read the Report and Celebrate!

The Alabama Channel

Year in Review 2023/2024

READ THE REPORT.

The Alabama Channel has become an invaluable resource for Alabamians, advocacy groups, the media, and legislators themselves. By providing comprehensive and accessible coverage of legislative activities, this project elevates the important work the League of Women Voters of Alabama does for all of Alabama. Our platform not only enhances civic engagement but also supports the crucial role of transparency in governance..

_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________

"@thealachannel does a great public service sharing and archiving Alabama State House livestreams, which would otherwise disappear into the ether when finished.”

Kyle Whitmire, Pulitzer Prize Winner and al.com reporter

_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________

Key Achievements

• Videos Captured: 741 videos have been captured to date.
• Viewership: These videos have been viewed 60,400 times representing close to 8,000 watch hours.
• In-Person Meeting Coverage: Alabama Channel interns helped capture over 60 meetings that would have otherwise been witnessed by ONLY the individuals present in the committee rooms.

Make a tax deductible donation
to support the Alabama Channel. 
DONATE


READ THE ALABAMA CHANNEL
2023-2024 REPORT

League members are invited to a virtual panel discussion with democracy experts who will explain how to tackle challenges with the Electoral College.
WHAT: LWV's 'One Person One Vote' panel
WHEN: June 27, 6-7:30 pm CT
WHERE: Livestreamed on Facebook and later shared on YouTube

RSVP for Event

The Electoral College is an archaic system created to take power away from the people — historically from Black Americans, but nowadays from all people of color.
The LWV wants to help move the nation beyond the Electoral College and toward true representation.

REGISTER TO ATTEND

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT…

The June 13, 2024 presentation by Onoyemi Williams, Ranada Robinson, Teumbay Barnes, and Kameryn Thigpen was based on their analysis of the direct surveys and the focus group discussions with nearly 1900 black women in Alabama and beyond. The event was a powerful and enlightening learning opportunity. If you missed it, you can watch it on the League's YouTube Channel.

The June 10, 2024 presentation by Adam Keller and Jennifer Sherer provided attendees with a timely and engaging presentation about the history of unions , the unexpectedly outsized role Alabama played in this history and the continual effort of businesses and government to oppose them. If you missed this program, you can watch it on the League's YouTube Channel.

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