eVOTER
Newsletter of the League of Women Voters of Williamsburg Area
November 10, 2024 - Vol. 6, No.05
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- 20 November (Wed.) | 3 pm | Consensus Meeting on Right to Vote | Stryker Center, Rm 128 (412 N Boundary)
- 04 December (Wed.) | 9 am | League Legislative Priorities Meeting (Zoom) | Sign Up Here
- 08 December (Sun.) | 2 pm | League Holiday Party | Sign Up Here|
- No Board Meeting in December
- 08 Jan 2025 | 4 pm | Board Meeting | WRL Scotland Street
- Feb 2025 Great Decisions Begins | Sign Up Here
| FROM THE PRESIDENT'S DESK
| The Election is Over, Now What Do We Do?
~Susan Bivins
First, I need to thank all the hard workers who pulled off an incredible Summer and Fall for the League. Our Voter Services, Advocacy, DEI and Hospitality leaders, Maryann Simpson, Denise Koch, Linda Rice, Pat Evers, Rochelle Kithcart and Becky Andrews, did excellent jobs. Special kudos to those volunteers who helped more than 601 voters with issues, registration or questions: Mary Kenney, Mary Christine Miller, Conny Graft, Pam Pettengell, Priscilla Peterson, Laurie Hertzler, Jane Banfield, Susan Mulnix, Dee May, Mary Beth Hennessy, Jill Whitten, Cindy Sherwood, Laura Tripp, Pat Dalton, Judy Kinshaw-Ellis, Kathy Casey, Leslie Bowie, Karen Rose, Nancy Bolash, and Susan Strock.
Second, on 20 November we have the Consensus Meeting on the Voting Rights Study. The three issues that will be considered are felony disenfranchisement, the possibility of 16-year-olds voting, and mental capability to vote. There will be a presentation followed by discussion and then voting on the seven questions. Once consensus is reached, our results and combined with the other Virginia Leagues for a Virginia position on voting rights.
Third, 4 December is pre-session. The morning is on zoom with various speakers addressing all the issues important to the League for the 2025 General Assembly session. The General Assembly meets starting 8 January, 2025 is the year, hopefully, when the Amendment to end disenfranchisement is passed for the first time.
And then of course, there’s another election next year. This time it’s for Governor. Only 11.5 months to go!
| Great Decisions 2025
The Schedule
Feb 04: U.S.–China Relations
Feb 11: Ai & American National Security
Feb 18: The Future Of Nato And European Security
Feb 25: American Foreign Policy At A Crossroads
Mar 04: India - Between China, The West, And The Global South (Zoom only)
Mar 11: U. S. Changing Leadership Of The World Economy
Mar 18: International Cooperation On Climate Change
Mar 25: After Gaza - American Policy In The Middle East |
The Great Decisions Program returns in 2025! Our local League recruits speakers on the world topics selected annually by the Foreign Policy Association. Registration for the eight-lecture series includes a briefing book created by the Foreign Policy Association.
Seven of our eight presenters will speak in person at the library; one presenter will only address us on Zoom. All sessions can be viewed on Zoom.
Attend in-person at the Theatre of the Williamsburg Regional Library Theatre on Scotland Street or watch on Zoom. You can 'mix and match' - come to some sessions in-person, and others online.
About Our Program
Presenters.
Meet Our Presenters
Briefing books. Registrants will be notified when and where the briefing books will be available for pickup.
Cost. $75 individual; $100 household; one briefing book included.
Dates. Eight consecutive Tuesday morning sessions, each starting at 10:30 am (Feb 4-March 25)
Location. Seven sessions are in-person at Williamsburg Regional Library and simulcast on Zoom. One session (March 4) will be a Zoom-only event. Those who prefer a larger screen can attend at the Library and view it on the big screen in the Williamsburg Library Theatre.
Parking. For the program, you may park on the streets around the library without concern for ticketing. These special times run from 9:45 am to noon.
Questions? Email our Great Decisions registrar Abra Smith at greatdecisionswilliamsburg@gmail.com
|  | 20 November | 3 pm | Stryker Center (Scotland Street)
For the past year, a small group of League members, some from Williamsburg, and others from all over the state of Virginia, have studied the issue of whether there should be an Inalienable Right to Vote. Based on this study group's research and meetings we now have a document and consensus questions to consider. From local League discussions, held over Virginia, a final proposal can be crafted which has the potential to become an official position of the LWV of Virginia and all its local Leagues. We will talk about felony disenfranchisement, challenges for disabled voters, and youth voting.
Join us on November 20 at Stryker Center (room ?). Members of the team will show the slides and we can discuss where we stand on this profound issue.
Study Conclusion & Consensus Questions
Conclusion
In 1619, Virginians adopted a system of government that empowered men who were not of noble birth. Rather than being ruled by a monarch who was ordained by God or by a dictator who seized authority, these ordinary men elected ordinary men from among them to serve as representatives who would pass laws and perform other duties on their behalf.
Voting is a basic component of representational democracy. Restricting who can vote shapes who is represented but also the laws under which society operates. Representatives are influenced by their own perspective and lived experience. In 1619, these “ordinary men” were land-holding white men who were at least 21 years of age. Over time, barriers have been removed so that women, minorities, and 18-21 year olds could elect representatives. The Virginia constitution still leaves out those with a felony conviction (unless restored by the governor), those who have been mentally adjudicated, and those under the age of 18. Should the Virginia constitution be amended to admit these groups? What perspectives and lived experiences are not considered because of their exclusion? If voting is a “right,” as stated in the LWV-VA position, shouldn’t it be protected and not taken away?
We want your thoughts on these consensus questions:
- “Democracy arises from people’s desire for dignity, equality, justice, liberty, and participation–their desire for a voice.” If your voice is your vote, should everyone in a democracy have the right to vote?
- The U.S. Constitution delegates to states the authority to decide who can vote, but amendments have expanded who can vote. Should the U.S. Constitution be amended to create one national standard for who can vote?
- Should the Virginia Constitution be changed to add a “fundamental right to vote” clause in both the title and body of Section 1?
- Should the Virginia Constitution be changed to permit those who are 16 and older to vote in local and state elections?
- Should the Virginia Constitution be changed to remove the stipulations in Section 1, Article II of the Virginia Constitution that disenfranchise citizens convicted of a felony and those adjudicated to be mentally incompetent?
- Given concerns over aging office holders and Supreme Court Justices, should there be an upper age limit to qualify to vote?
- Should someone judged mentally incapacitated retain the right to vote if they demonstrate an Understanding of the act of voting and a desire to cast a ballot?
| 04 December | 9 am | Zoom
Learn About Our Legislative Priorities for 2025
Join the League of Women Voters of Virginia to hear our legislative priorities for the 2025 General Assembly and those of our partners! This is a virtual event.
| 08 December | 2 pm | 400 Frances Thacker
Holiday Party
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You're invited! Please join fellow members of the League of Women Voters of Williamsburg Area for our annual Holiday Party at Don Schilling's home in Kingsmill on Sunday December 8th from 2-4 PM. Enjoy refreshments and friendship!
Parking
Since there is little space for parking at Don's home, please either:
Park in the parking lot to the left just after you turn in France Thacker -- OR --
Park farther along in the circular area next to the old Plantation buildings. This is within reasonable walking distance
We will have shuttle service for both parking options! If you arrive between close to 2 PM and need a shuttle ride, call Don at 757-871-1775.
| "To all of you marvelous postcard writers..."
From Jodi Fisler, Postcard Organizer
Now that all of this fall's postcards are out of our hands, I want to extend an enormous THANK YOU to everyone for your fantastic work this election season. More than 100 volunteers here in Williamsburg wrote to 12,410 voters in nine counties across three states. That puts our total since the fall of 2020 at more than 57,300 cards! I think that's pretty darn incredible. Thanks to you, thousands of infrequent Black and brown voters have received the information they need to exercise their right to cast a ballot, and they know they have not been ignored or taken for granted. I believe intentions count for something, so whether our cards actually succeed in getting more people out to vote -- and the evidence suggests they do! -- you have done a great thing for democracy just by showing up and doing the work. I appreciate each and every one of you!
| October 8
The Wason Center Scholars organized the first annual Captains Vote Day on October 8th to energize students to vote and provide a bipartisan space for organizations to amplify their respective messages.
The Wason Center is an educational research center at Christopher Newport University (CNU) where students work side-by-side with faculty to produce survey research and non-partisan political analysis that informs decisions by citizens and lawmakers in Virginia, and increasingly around the country. CNU President William Kelly welcomed attendees and introduced Newport News Mayor Philip Jones as well as several state legislators who congratulated students on their civic involvement and encouraged them to vote.
LWV of Southampton Roads (LWV-SHR) and LWV-Williamsburg Area (WA) assisted students with voter registration and provided information about early voting, mail-in ballots, deadlines, and more.
Our League partner, REV UP Virginia (Register, Educate, Vote, Use your Power!), the Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy, and the CNU Disabled Student Union educated students about the power of the disability vote. Other participating organizations included Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., VA BLOC, The National Council of Negro Women, the Democratic Committee, and the Republican Committee.
We had a steady flow of students excited and eager to vote in the upcoming election. LWV-SHR engaged students with a 5-question history of voting quiz and REV UP attracted students with a chance to win prizes in a spin-the-wheel game.
LWV-SHR and LWV-WA enjoyed their first voter registration collaboration and look forward to teaming up for Captains Vote Day 2025
| | Pictured Back row, from left: Susan Bivins, president of LWV-Williamsburg; Attorney Tommy Norment, Jr. moderator; and Linda Rice, LWV-Williamsburg advocacy director.
Front row, from left: panelists Chris Kaiser, policy director at ACLU of Virginia; Rachel Lora, senior disability rights advocate at disAbility Law Center of Virginia; and Matthew Russell, William & Mary Law School law student.
| October 17 - Right-to-Vote Panel Highlights League of Women Voters-Williamsburg Area’s Annual Back to League Meeting
~ Becky Sipos
A panel of three advocates on voting issues addressed the annual meeting of the League of Women Voters at Legacy Hall October 17. Attorney Thomas (Tommy) K. Norment, Jr., former Republican Majority Leader of the Virginia Senate served as the moderator.
“Attorney Norment was a facile moderator interspersing his introductions of panelists with some of his experience in the General Assembly as Senate Majority and Senate Minority Leader,” said Linda Rice, advocacy director.
Member Abra Smith said Norment “did a wonderful job of providing insight into Virginia’s legislature’s process and historical background.”
Rice said, “All of the panelists were articulate. The main theme was that do not take the right to vote for granted. About 4% of the Virginia electorate or 312,000 are disenfranchised. Nationwide it is 2%. So, Virginia is an outlier. Only 20% of Virginia’s electorate is black, but 50% of the disenfranchised are black. Virginia, Kentucky and Iowa practice some form of felony disenfranchisement. All of this dates back to the traditions of the English kings and the determination in the VA Constitution of 1902 to purposely disenfranchise black voters.”
The first panelist Chris Kaiser, the Policy Director at the ACLU of Virginia, has spent 15 years advocating for voting rights and other civil rights issues in Southern state legislatures and local governments. “He told a touching story about his own father who was disenfranchised in Kentucky and how he felt lost and not counting,” Smith said.
The second panelist, Rachel Loria, an attorney and a Senior Disability Rights Advocate at disAbility Law Center (dLCV) of Virginia, uses her own experiences and knowledge daily to help others remove impediments to disabled voters. She discussed numerous obstacles that the disabled face such as a long parking distance to the office door for voters, difficult path to travel to the voting office (gravel is a problem), can a door be opened with one hand, and do voting staff know how to operate the voting machines for the blind. etc.
The third panelist, Matthew Russell, is a second-year William & Mary Law School law student who is currently co-president of the Election Law Society and an Election Law Program Research Fellow. He spoke to top concerns of younger voters: the right to choose (reproductive health), climate change, and the state of our Democracy. He also mentioned the economic challenges for younger voters in confronting the cost of purchasing their own home. He was hopeful that each barrier could be overcome by responsible elected officials.”
Senator Norment and all the panelists provided a great overview of the challenges facing a free and fair election.”
A Question-and-answer session followed the panelists but had to be cutoff after about 30 minutes before time ran out.
| Our Intrepid Team
Our local League Voter Services leaders, Maryann Simpson and Denise Koch, organize numerous voter registration events and candidate forums. Many voting services events will be scheduled in 2025!
| Volunteer with us to observe meetings of the York County School Board. We currently observe and take notes for the WJCC School Board, and we want to cover York County. You can observe the monthly meetings online (live or rebroadcast) and then write up your report which we will post on our website to share with membership.
Take a look at a typical report here
| VOLUNTEER WITH WJCC SCHOOLS
| WJCC schools are looking for volunteers to conduct mock interviews with high school students to give them practice with job interviews. They still have a few slots left. Sign Up At SignUpGenius
from: Ginny Gasink, Williamsburg Community Foundation
| There are two requirements for helping register voters with the League:
- You must be a member of our local League. Join or Renew
- You must take the Virginia state third party registration training. All members of our Voting Services team take this training annually.
State Training
It’s easy, thorough, and can be done from home on your computer. Go to Training | VA Dept. of Elections and complete the online training course and sign the online Third Party Voter Registration Drive Sworn Affidavit and Application Request. Virginia Dept. of Elections will send you an email confirming your certification with our League of Women Voters-Williamsburg Area as your sponsoring organization. Contact Us for help with this process. Let us know when you receive your certification!
| Welcome! Thank You!
Thank you renewing members! And a Special Welcome to new members! Names with asterisks gave an extra amount above basic dues!
Welcome New Members
Tressell Carter, Karla Johnson
Thank you Renewing Members
Rebecca Andrews, Jane Banfield, **Linda Boyce, **Frederica Carson, **Harry Chancey, **Ann & Ted Gerarden, Patricia & Barry Hood, Ann Hunt, Denise Koch, Donna Lloyd-Jones, **Dee May, Priscilla Nystrom, **Pam Pettengell, Cynthia Sherwood, Kathryn Suslik
[as of 11/04/24]
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