Hello LWVOR Members and Supporters!
Remember Happy May Day, baskets of flowers on doorknobs? Let’s reconnect in-person!
LWVOR is working on the May 17th primary, the Council to welcome new Board members, organizing Action to collaborate for the 2023 legislative session, then an in-person Board retreat in June.
Local Leagues–you should have delegations set for both the LWVOR Council and the LWV Convention.
THIS MONTH…
VOTER EDUCATION
For this May 17 Primary Election, contact us at lwvor@lwvor.org to help with this critical work.
Please help your local Leagues to GOTV: Get Out The Vote! Promote VOTE411.org.
For direct digital GOTV support through Outreach Circle, contact Elizabeth Anderson.
We do not endorse, support or oppose candidates or political parties.
This Chicago area League sent donuts for Election Worker Appreciation Day! LWVOR will continue legislation with the Secretary of State to strengthen harassment protections for Oregon’s elections workers, which is a tougher job than it should be. Think of ways your League can support our elections workers!
UPCOMING EVENTS
Please see the LWVOR calendar for local and other events as we receive them.
LWVOR Council 2022 Our Council will again be virtual, Friday May 13 and Saturday May 14. I will miss being in Newport, seeing our delegates in-person, but invite you to a President’s Meet & Greet on Friday from 6-7pm, also our Workshop Friday, The Future of the League in Oregon. Our Saturday business session will conduct the required League business of voting for some officers and adopting the budget, for example. Presidents, register your delegates here. If you want to observe the proceedings, register here.
LWVUS Convention 2022 We will coordinate and brief our delegation virtually before the hybrid virtual and in-person meeting in Denver, June 23-26. We will convene as a delegation to prepare and are counting on LWVOR delegates to lobby for support for our (unfortunately “not recommended”) two cybersecurity and privacy concurrences. We urgently need these to protect our elections, for example by protecting our critical cybersecurity infrastructures:
DEFENDING DEMOCRACY is our League Mission! Our caucus will discuss defending
elections, voting rights, and personal privacy through cybersecurity. We need the Oregon concurrence proposals today.
IMPROVE ELECTIONS, a true critical infrastructure, by defending against cyberattacks. Today we must rally for cybersecurity to protect our elections, the heart of our Democratic process, and the multiple critical infrastructures that enable us to vote. Elections can be crippled by cyberattacks to power grids, communications, and directly to governments and elections. From airports to stoplights, to all government services, including elections, to the private sector and to each of us – we are all vulnerable to cyber-attacks. These can profoundly affect our elections and democracy at large. Cyber-retaliation for sanctions against Russia may be linked to supply chain disruption here but cyber-attacks in Ukraine knocked out government sites. We need to be ready with positions to protect these critical infrastructures.
VOTING RIGHTS & REDISTRICTING Cybersecurity and privacy directly affect a confluence of elections vulnerability. Voter suppression from inaccurate census data needs strong cybersecurity. Census participation barriers included privacy concerns. Foreign interference in our elections, through bad social media, is well established. The new CISA “MDM” Team aims directly at defending elections from Mis-, Dis-, and Malinformation in social media, a welcome elections improvement. Our moderation aim is for civil discourse, not censorship.
MONEY IN POLITICS The Oregon League has testified to numerous bills with these positions and we look forward to talking with you about them.
LWVUS UN League members: Now is the time to consider attending the UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP27) in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt Nov-7-18, 2022. If interested, please contact Robin Tokmakian (rtokmakian@lwv.org) to request an application form (or download attached form) or more information. This is a self-funded opportunity. Deadline is July 1, 2022.
ACTION
Advocacy at the BALLOT BOX! Be sure to vote and help others for May 17!
Our Voter Education volunteers will research state ballot measures (to be certified in August) and prepare Voters’ Guide and Speakers’ Bureau coverage for voters. The Action Committee will decide which measures may merit taking a League position, then forward those recommendations to the board. Our Voter Education never simultaneously presents any League measure positions.
Please SHARE: The League never supports or opposes candidates or political parties. Sometimes, we support or oppose ballot measures based on our studied, nonpartisan positions.
Legislative Advocacy
We need more volunteers to observe hearings and report to us, and to help with research. We need your expertise (or willingness to learn) about issues including health care, broadband, and many others listed in our Legislative Reports (Subscribe). Our member experts write testimony to influence legislation by applying League positions and perspectives. Please apply your knowledge! Step up and find a way to help. Contact us today!
CIVICS ED
From Toni Lampkin: The LWVOR‘s online Civics Education curriculum is being updated and will be available to all students and teachers. Included in these materials is information for teachers to conduct a class or school Mock Election. We are hoping to also provide an online Mock Election available for this fall.
Oregon teachers and Leagues are continuing to participate in the Case Study Method Institute to expand their teaching skills. This program was previously known as the Harvard Case Study Method. By expanding to a virtual training, they have been able to accommodate many more teachers. Applications are still open for the August 2022 workshop.
From Donna Cohen: See this website to register for these events. Patrons/members who live in the Library/sponsor areas get registration priority, then it opens to others, a couple of weeks in advance.
Civics for Adults: To Enhance Civic Knowledge and Inspire Political Engagement
Free. Virtual. More info: https://www.civicthinker.info/
Citizen Activism 101—Making Change Happen Thursday, May 19. Evening; time TBA. Sponsor: Tigard, OR, Public Library. Register.
Beyond Voting: Elections and Campaign Finance
Wednesday June 1, 11-12:30. Sponsor: Wilsonville, OR, Public Library. Register: TBA
The Constitution: Fulfilling Democracy’s Promise? -
Democracy, The Constitution and Representation in Congress.
Tuesday, June 21, 6-7:30 EST. Sponsor: Schenectady, NY, Public Library. Register: TBA
RECOMMENDED READING
For May 2022, our “recommended reading” is to use, share, and promote our voting information. See our Voting in Oregon webpages, which include our Voters’ Guides, in English and Spanish, audio for each, our Vote411.org access, and Video Voters’ Guide interviews and event recordings.
From my desk to yours, please take care and find something to appreciate every day.
We send condolences to our Rogue Valley League, for Shiena Polehn.
We are a grassroots political organization and, importantly, our members mentor and support each other. I am counting on that being easier with things opening up in warmer spring weather. Thank you for making a difference with the League!
Becky Gladstone, President, LWVOR
Thank you for reading this newsletter! You can Manage Your LWVOR Subscriptions yourself for this monthly President’s Newsletter, the Legislative Reports, and the quarterly VOTER.