THE VOTER September

2016

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T H E V O T E R

LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS

OF SONOMA COUNTY Volume 22 Issue 6 Visit us at www.lwvsonoma.org September 2016

MEMBER MEETING KICKOFF !

Come and bring a friend to join us for

an evening of good talk, eats and drink.

Hear Susan Gorin, County Supervisor share

her experiences in League and public service.

Thursday, September 8, 2016

6:30 – 8:00 pm

Bennett Valley Senior Center

704 Bennett Valley Road, Santa Rosa

For more information contact Anita Lytle at 546-5943

********

THE VOTER September

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LWVSC Calendar

2016-17 LWVSC Kickoff Meeting

Thursday, September 8, 6:30-8:00 pm

See Flyer—Page 1

Voter Forums Santa Rosa City Council Candidate Forum:

Thursday, September 29, 6-7:30 pm

Santa Rosa Council Chambers

Ballot Measures Pros and Cons Wednesday, October 5, 6-7:30 pm

Rohnert Park City Council Chambers

SC District 5 Supervisorial Candidate Forum:

Monday, October 10, 6:30-7:30 pm

Sebastopol Community Center

Cloverdale City Council Candidate Forum:

Monday, October 10, 6-7:30 pm

Place TBD

Standing Meetings

Board Meeting:

1st Wednesday, 10-noon.

Voter Service Committee Meeting:

1st Thursday, 10 am.

Advocacy Committee Meeting: 2

nd Wednesday, 10:30 am.

Book Club: 3

rd Thursday, 10:30-noon.

See page 4 for details.

LWVSC meetings are held in the third floor

Conference Room at the LWVSC office, 555 5th

Street, Santa Rosa.

LWVSC Board meetings are open to all

LWVSC members, and to the public upon

request. All other meetings are open.

Visit our website for updated calendar

information.

Voter Service Activities

Our first meeting was held on Thursday August

4 in the conference room with many committee

members attending. Lee and I had put together

our major candidate forums and the Pros/Cons

presentations before and were ready for sign ups

and thanks to our hard working committee most

positions were filled. There is always room for

extra helpers so if you want to be included let us

know.

The District 5 Candidate Forum, a debate

between Noreen Evans and Lynda Hopkins, will

occur in the Sebastopol Community Center, 6:30

- 7:30 PM, on Monday October 10. The Santa

Rosa City Council Candidate Forum is scheduled

for Thursday September 29 in the City Council

Chambers at 6:00 to 7:30 PM.

We are planning a Pros/Cons presentation to be

televised and open to the public. The venue for

this is the Rohnert Park Council Chambers on

Wednesday October 5, 6-7:30 PM. Six members

will work on this with Juanita Roland serving as

moderator; Nancy Burrington, Anita Lytle, Max

Bridges, and Amy Southwick as presenters and

Lynda Hungerford as timer. Thanks to all for

your service.

Three requests for Pros/Cons presentations have

come in at this writing: Unitarian Universalist

congregation, Spring Lake Village, and the

Soroptomist Club. We expect more to surface in

the coming month. If you are interested in

studying the initiatives and helping present

please let us know. All of these presentations are

in October.

Now is a waiting period as the candidates are just

now being publicized. Look for more

information in the October issue.

Chlele Gummer, Co Chair

Vo

Welcome New Members!

Janice Gendreau

Mary Virdeh

Christina Meyer

We’re so glad you’re here!

Welcome New Members!

Janice Gendreau

Christina Meyer

Mary Virdeh

We’re so glad you’re here!

THE VOTER September

2016

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In 2013, the Supreme Court held section 4(b) of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to be unconstitutional. The

practical consequences of the ruling basically gutted the act. Since then the League of Women Voters has

pushed hard to get Congress to modernize and repair the Voting Rights Act. The League is at present

lobbying for passage of the Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2015 which would:

Modernize the preclearance formula to cover states with a pattern of discrimination

Ensure that last-minute voting changes won’t adversely affect voters

Protect voters from the types of voting changes that were likely to discriminate against people of

color and language minorities

Enhance the ability to apply preclearance review when needed

Expand the effective federal observer program

Improve voting rights protections for native Americans and Alaska natives.**

Meanwhile we can celebrate some key legal victories that advance voting rights. In North Carolina the US

Court of Appeals for the 4th

Circuit ruled that the Carolina legislature enacted voting restrictions in 2013 to

intentionally interfere with the increasing power of African American voters. In Wisconsin a U. S.

District judge found that parts of the law passed by a Republican-led legislature were unconstitutional and

suggested that claims of voter fraud were largely unfounded. In Kansas a state court stopped an attempt to

require proof of citizenship to register to vote.

These and other recent decisions are not a sign that the League should rest in its efforts to push for

modernization of the Voting Rights Act. Although California voter registration laws are nonrestrictive,

according to an article in The Nation (August 29-September 5 issue), 15 states have new voting

restrictions in place for the 2016 presidential elections.

September 27 is National Voter Registration Day. The LWVSC hopes to have a registration table in the

Roseland area. If you have Spanish-language skills we can especially use your help. If you would like to

volunteer in this registration effort, contact Lee Lipinski (Leeski2@earthlink.net, 758-2886), Voter

Service Co-Chair.

Welcome to the 2016-17 League activities year. We look forward to your participation in all of our events.

** Summary taken from website of VRA FOR TODAY, a project of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights.

President’s Message League Celebrates Voter Registration

Victories and Plans for National Voter

Registration Day

From Nancy Burrington

LWVSC President

THE VOTER September

2016

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The theme of the convention, Making Democracy Work for All, will also set the focus for the League

program for the coming years, with a focus on access to the ballot, limiting the influence of money in

politics, and working toward equitable election districts, looking forward to the 2020 census. To that end,

a new position on redistricting was adopted to support those states that do not have their own position. To

make the League even more inclusive, the by-laws were amended to allow all persons to be voting

members, regardless of citizenship status, and the age for voting membership was lowered to 16.

Other important issues, such as Behavioral Health, Climate Change, and Gun Violence were also acted

upon. The program included many outstanding speakers, and of course a new budget and slate of officers

were approved, including our new national president, Chris Carson, who is from California.

For more details you can go to

http://forum.lwv.org/category/member-resources/council-and-convention/convention-2016

September 15: Moderated by Juanita Roland.

Your Fatwa Does Not Apply Here: Untold Stories from the Fight Against

Muslim Fundamentalism by Karima Bennoune, 424 pages,

A veteran of 20 years of human rights research and activism, Bennoune draws on

this extensive fieldwork and interviews to illuminate the inspiring stories of those who

represent one of the best hopes for ending fundamentalist oppression worldwide. This is

not as easy book to read because it repels and haunts, while simultaneously challenging

one's thinking about the relationship between Muslim fundamentalism and women's

rights.

BOOK CLUB READS

2016 LWVUS

Convention

Making Democracy

Work for All

Sessions were attended by

up to

784 members from

48 states, DC and Virgin

Islands

THE VOTER September

2016

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Treasurers report: There was a review of last fiscal year and of the new year budget.

The VP of Administration position was discussed. At this point responsibilities are being shared

but more help is needed.

Voter Service: There will be forums for District Five Supervisor, SR City Council, and Cloverdale

and several events on the pros and cons of ballot initiatives. Times and places will be announced.

Voter Registration Day is September 27. The League will organize a presence in Roseland.

A new member meeting was scheduled for August 4 to welcome this year's new members.

A member kickoff meeting is being planned for early September. A speaker is being planned.

Respectfully Submitted,

Rebecca Jones

LWVSC Secretary

Advocacy Committee Report:

After a three month hiatus we are back at work. On August 10, member Rebecca Jones, who is also a

member of the County's Pension Committee, made a presentation on the latter's data, conclusions and

recommendations. She is available to other groups to make this presentation. The LWVUS has

established new positions on Redistricting and Behavioral Health. Since LWV-California already has a

position on the redistricting, we concentrated on learning the aspects of the new Behavioral Health

position. Basically, the position supports services for mental illness equivalent with physical illness.

Gene Zingarelli, Advocacy Committee Chair action@lwvsonoma.org

Board Briefs-August, 2016

Our new board at the Annual Meeting:

Lee Lipinski, Nancy Burrington, Anita

Lytle, Chlele Gummer, Rebecca Jones,

Juanita Roland, Nancy Richards, DeeDee

Bridges, and Susan Rouder. (not pictured,

Carrie Anabo, Terry Wall, and Gene

Zingarelli)

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LWVSC Board of Directors

Nancy Burrington, President

Open, VP Administration

Gene Zingarelli, VP Advocacy

Rebecca Jones, Secretary

Terry Wall, Treasurer Carrie Anabo, Membership Chair

DeeDee Bridges and Nancy Richards,

Media Outreach

Chlele Gummer and Lee Lipinski,

Voter Service

Anita Lytle, Program

Susan Rouder, Member-at-large

Juanita Roland, Editor

Because of privacy concerns, we do not include email addresses for the Board in the Voter. Readers can find email addresses in the directory or they can send email to Board Members from the contact us page of the LWVSC website. www.lwvsonoma.org

Connect with the League

LWVSC www.lwvsonoma.org

www.facebook.com/lwvsonomacounty

LWV of Bay Area http://www.lwvbayarea.org

LWV of California www.ca.lwv.org

LWV of the United States www.lwv.org

https://www.facebook.com/leagueofwomenvoters

Voter’s Edge http://votersedge.org/en/ca

Addresses of Members Only websites are in the front

of the LWVSC directory.

Remember to sign up for email alerts and

newsletters when you visit these websites.

Tell us what you think!

Send in your comments, questions, and suggestions.

Email, snail-mail, or call!

We want to hear from you!

THE VOTER March 20160165

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LWV of Sonoma County

or

JOIN

NOW

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555 5th Street, Suite 300 O Santa Rosa, CA 95401

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The League of Women Voters, a nonpartisan political organization, encourages informed and active participation in government

and influences public policy through education and advocacy. We do not support or oppose any political party or any candidate.

We do, however, take action on selected government issues in the public interest.

555 5th Street, Suite 300 O Santa Rosa, CA 95401 (707) 546-5943

The Voter is published nine times a year by the League of Women Voters of Sonoma County.