eVOTER NEWSLETTER
October 8, 2023 - Vol. 5, No. 04 |
Upcoming Board Meetings. All Members Welcome!
- Wed. Nov. 1 | 4:00 PM | Schell Room, WRL (Scotland Street)
- (December - no Board meeting)
- Wed. Jan. 3 | 4:00 PM | Schell Room, WRL (Scotland Street)
For Your Calendar
- Thur. Oct. 19 | 4:00 PM | Back to League Fall Meeting (Legacy Hall)
Sign Up Here!
Are you a member or want more information?
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Pandemic level funding for childcare provided by the American Rescue Plan expired on September 30, 2023. This poses a significant threat to the childcare sector. With critical childcare stabilization funding expiring, millions of children across the nation including 88,265 children in Virginia will lose access to care. This not only disrupts the lives of working parents but also deprives children of quality early childhood education – a key predictor of K-12 academic readiness and success.
Contact your members of Congress today to PASS the Child Care Stabilization Act and the Child Care for Working Families Act (H.R.2976 and S.1354). The Child Care Stabilization Act provides critical short-term funding to address immediate needs. The Child Care for Working Families Act offers a comprehensive, long-term solution to make high-quality child care affordable for all families. Together, these bills can ensure that childcare remains accessible, affordable, and of high quality, benefiting working families and the broader economy.
This Child Care for Working Families bill is sponsored by Virginia Senator Tim Kaine. The only Virginia representatives co-sponsoring are Representatives Jennifer McClellan (4th District) and Don Beyer (8th District.) | Sign Up For Back To League
| Join us for Back to League. See old friends, make new ones! There will be light refreshments (and a sip of wine!)
A panel of advocates will speak on their special areas: Kyra Cook, former WJCC School Board Chair and current Director of Special Projects at Colonial Behavioral Health; Tim Cywinski who leads public relations and political communications efforts of the Sierra Club Virginia Chapter; and Han Jones, political director of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia.
After the presentations, there will be a Q&A session and you can pose questions and concerns with our experts.
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FINISH UP YOUR GOTV Postcards
Remember to finish writing you non-Partisan Get Out the Vote Postcards to Virginians. Reclaim Our Vote is organizing non-partisan postcards to Black, Hispanic, and Asian-American voters who live in key competitive districts in Virginia. Finish up your postcards and mail them by October 25. | | | | The Foreign Policy Association has announced the topics for our Great Decisions program that starts in February/March.
The topics are: Mideast realignment, Climate technology, Science across borders, NATO’s future, Understanding Indonesia, High Seas Treaty, and Pandemic preparation.
Our Great Decisions guru, Don Schilling, is recruiting speakers. Abra Smith will oversee registration which begins this November. Our series will be hybrid - with both in-person and Zoom attendance.
Stay tuned. We will contact you soon about registration! | | | October 26 | 4:30 PM
Member's Home
The Shadow Docket: How the Supreme Court Uses Stealth Rulings to Amass Power and Undermine the Republic by Stephen Vladeck.
Join us to discuss Stephen Vladeck's examination of the Supreme Court's use of unsigned orders, the shadow docket.
And in 2024
January 18, 2024 | 4:30 PM – The Heat Will Kill You First: Life and Death on a Scorched Planet by Jeff Goodell
April 18, 2024 | 4:30 PM – The Gun Dilemma: How history is Against Expanded Gun Rights by Robert Spitzer
| | | VOTING HISTORY AND RIGHTS
| Excerpt from: Virginia Voter Removals Raise Concerns Among Rights Groups
VPM | by Ben Paviour - Published September 15 2023
"At least one person was removed from the rolls after having their rights restored, raising fears of a broader problem.
The Virginia Department of Elections removed 10,558 people from the state’s voter rolls over the past eight months who previously had their rights restored, raising concerns from advocates who say at least some of those people may still be eligible to vote...
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Virginia is the only state in the U.S. where people who’ve been convicted of any felony permanently lose their right to vote, serve on a jury or run for office and can only have their rights restored by the governor, according to the Brennan Center for Justice. Advocates for repealing the measure note it has roots in Jim Crow policies meant to disenfranchise Black voters..."
And, on same issue:
Federal judge permits rights restoration lawsuit against Gov. Glenn Youngkin
VPM | By Ben Paviour - Published October 6, 2023 at 3:35 PM EDT.
Read More |
Keep Up with Voting Rights History
| | Come to these online virtual programs about voting at the National Constitution Center.
Civic Stories: Who Can Vote?
Friday, October 13 | Noon ET: A crash course in voting rights throughout history! Take a look at voting rights in early America, how these rights changed over time. Register now
Civil War and Reconstruction: The Battle for Freedom and Equality
Wednesday, October 18 | Noon ET: Explore the Center’s compelling exhibit, Civil War and Reconstruction: The Battle for Freedom and Equality. Examine the 13th Amendment and the abolition of slavery. Register now
The 19th Amendment: How Women Won the Vote
Tuesday, October 24 | Noon ET: Celebrate election season with a live guided tour of the exhibit, tracing the triumphs and struggles. Register now
| | | WHAT WE DID THIS SEPTEMBER
| | Candidates for WJCC School board and JCC Board of Supervisors.
| We held two candidate events in September at the WRL Library. On September 21, with our partners the York-James City-Williamsburg NAACP, and the Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy (VICPP) the We the People Unite for Democracy: Come Meet the Candidates evening happened for legislative candidates running for State Senate and House of Delegates. We invited all the candidates that will be on the November ballot. Unfortunately, not all the candidates could attend. Audience attendance hovered around 60.
And the League and the York-James City-Williamsburg NAACP sponsored another forum for candidates for James City County Board of Supervisors and for the WJCC School Board on Thursday September 28. Approximately 90 residents attended.
It was a great opportunity to meet the candidates and the public commented how much they appreciated the opportunity to see and hear from candidates in person.
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The League of Women Voters believes that public policy must affirm the right of privacy of the individual to make reproductive choices. We partner with other organizations that also support reproductive health justice. Reproductive health justice is the right to have children, the right to not have children, and the right to nurture the children we have in a safe and healthy environment.
In collaboration with Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia and the Williamsburg Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., our local League hosted a showing of The Janes on September 12th at the Williamsburg Regional Library. The Janes tells the story of The Jane Collective, a group of women in Chicago who helped women obtain safe but illegal abortions in the years before Roe v. Wade.
Our showing was well attended with a diverse audience of approximately 170 women AND men of varying ages who clapped, laughed, expressed shock and appeared very engaged in the film.
Clearly, voters are concerned about this issue. If you are concerned that Virginia is the only Southern state without a post-Roe abortion ban, you can take action by:
- Attending our Back to the League event on 10/19 to hear Han Jones, Political Director of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia
RSVP here: Back To League
- Contacting your Virginia legislators to tell them you want legislation that supports reproductive health justice.
- Voting in the November election for legislators who support reproductive health justice.
| | Voter Services and Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity (Kappa Pi Chapter) register students to vote at W&M - Sept 2023
| September saw the bulk of our voter registration events. Two more remain in October, before the October 16th deadline for the upcoming election. After October 16, all registrations and information updates must be done at the local elections’ office, or on Election day at the voter’s precinct. Those will be considered same day registrations (and voting) and require that provisional ballots be cast. Provisional ballots will be reviewed post-election by local Electoral boards and accepted or declined.
We had 21 registration events for this election, gave out over 750 Facts For Voters, and 250 postcard QR codes. We supplied our three local high schools with complete information packages and forms for National Voter Registration Day and helped the government teachers with clear directions as to registering their eligible students.
We were at four events at William & Mary, and one at Christopher Newport University to encourage college students to register sand vote. These were particularly successful, with both paper registrations and the online registrations that students prefer. The U.S. Naturalization Ceremony was held at CW, and we registered about a third of the new citizens third that day and made sure that their new citizens packets contained both registration forms and Facts for Voters |
Observing Public Meetings
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Follow Us on Social Media
| Hey! We have a social media campaign to present vital information about voting and upcoming Virginia elections. We have accounts on:
Encourage GenX, GenY, and GenZ family and friends to check us out. | | | Thank-you!
Thank you and welcome for new and renewing members for 9/1/2023 through 10/6/2023
New: Merry Allen-Scott, Donna Apperson, Thayne Flora, Jeanne Renee Hawthorne, Dennis Litalien, Kerry Mellette
Renewing: Rebecca Andrews, Jane Banfield, Timothy Campbell & Sally Graumlich, Virginia Stuart Dopp, Lydia Gershman, Cindy Gibson, Roswitha Goossens-Winter, Patricia & Barry Hood, Sarah Houghland, Ann Hunt, Joann Kansier, Mary Kenney, Elaine McBeth, Karen Rose & Bob Welsh, Sandra Stephan, Kathryn Suslik, Nancy Vincent-Archibald, Diane & Alfred Woods
Membership Renewals
Based on the month you joined, we will remind you to renew your membership yearly. **Students (aged 16+) are free.**
| | | Director's Series at Jamestown Settlement
Exploring Multicultural Roots
| | A map of Virginia. Made by John White in 1585 CE. (British Museum, London)
| Christy Coleman, executive director of the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation, talks with prominent scholars and public figures on topics of our diverse legacies.
COMING UP
October 18 | 7 PM | Jamestown Settlement
Michael W. Twitty
Michael is an African American and Jewish culinary historian and food writer. Winner of the 2023 National Jewish Book Award.
November 15 | 7 PM | Jamestown Settlement
Susan Devan Harness
Susan is a cultural anthropologist, member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai tribes and an American Indian transracial adoptee.
| Empowering Voters. Defending Democracy.
League of Women Voters of Williamsburg Area
P O Box 1086
Williamsburg, VA 23187-1086
501(c)(4) organization | |