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By LWVOR Action Committee Member Trish Garner There are really two -- or more -- interrelated issues that are raised here. One, of course, is whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has the authority to allow the dispensing of Mifepristone by mail instead of requiring an in-person dispensing process. The other issue relates to court-shopping and the conservative leaning of the Fifth Circuit's judiciary, and, in particular, Federal District Court Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk whose docket currently includes a case that presents this very issue. The Mifepristone / Misoprostol Abortion Regimen These medications are taken together. The regimen usually involves first taking Mifepristone (brand name Mifeprex) up to 10 or 13 weeks since the last menstrual period, and then two doses of Misoprostol. Multiple randomized controlled clinical trials have shown that this combination is effective with success rates ranging from 95-98% up to 9 weeks of gestation.[1] The FDA approved this regimen in 2000 as a safe and effective way to end early pregnancies. Mifepristone is also frequently used in the US, as shown in a 2020 Center for Disease Control Report which found that about 51% of abortions in the US were performed by taking Mifepristone at or before the 9th week of pregnancy.[2] Mifepristone's regulatory history is somewhat complicated.[3] When the FDA initially approved dispensing the medication in 2000, it required that it be dispensed only by qualified physicians and administered in hospital, clinic or medical office settings. In 2007 the FDA deemed these restrictions constituted a proper "Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy" (REMS), and in 2011 it approved the existing REMS with additional "Elements to Assure Safe Use" (ETASU). The ETASU requirements included a mandate that the drug be prescribed only by specially certified physicians, that it be dispensed only in hospitals, clinics or medical offices and that a patient needed to sign a special patient agreement form. In 2016 the FDA issued a report that resulted in the modification of some of its these restrictions, including that Mifepristone could be prescribed by certain nonphysicians as long as they met certain certification requirements and the medication could be dispensed in a clinic, medical office or hospital, which the patient could then swallow at home. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic led the Trump administration in March, 2020 to declare a national emergency and in response the FDA suspended enforcement of REMS in-person requirements for a number of medications and procedures -- but this action did not extend to the dispensing of Mifepristone.[4] Patients still had to travel to a health center to receive the pill in person. First Go-Round in a Federal Court In May, 2020 and on behalf of medical associations, physicians and reproductive justice advocates, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit (American College of Obstetricians and Gynecology "ACOG" v FDA) seeking to suspend FDA's in-person pill pick-up requirement, noting that this was the only medication out of 20,000 FDA-approved drugs that patients were required to pick up in a clinical setting but free to self-administer at home.[5] They also asked that a preliminary injunction be issued to bar enforcement of FDA's in-person requirements. On July 13, 2020 US District Court Judge Theodore Chuang issued that preliminary injunction, but on August 16, 2020 the government, still under the auspices of the Trump administration filed a motion requesting that the injunction be placed on hold pending the conclusion of the litigation. On January 12, 2021 the US Supreme Court granted the FDA's request for a stay of Judge Chuang's preliminary injunction by issuing a rather controversial one-page, unsigned opinion.[6] Chief Justice Roberts concurred in the opinion, stating the question for the Supreme Court was not whether requirements for dispensing Mifepristone imposed an undue burden on a woman's right to an abortion as a general matter, but whether Judge Chuang made his own evaluation of the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic rather than according sufficient deference to the "politically accountable entities with the background, competence and expertise to assess public health," i.e. the FDA. On December 16, 2021 the FDA, now under the Biden administration, announced that it would permanently allow patients to receive Mifepristone by mail instead of requiring them to obtain the pills in person from specially certified providers.[7] Again, in making its decision the FDA could point to a 22-year history of Mifepristone’s safety and effectiveness. Should approval for prescribing Mifepristone be overruled by court action in the future, a re-approval process would likely take years. As we will see below, it is considered likely that shortly after February 24, 2023, US District Court Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk will in fact overrule the mail-in dispensing of Mifepristone. We can also add in the time it takes for his decision to reach the US Supreme Court. Its reception there may also be problematic for those needing Mifepristone. Background of Federal District Court Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk Judge Matthew Kaczmarek was first nominated by President Trump to sit in the Federal Court for the Northern District of Texas located Amarillo in 2017, but the nomination died at the end of the Congressional Session. President Trump resubmitted his name to the Senate on January 23 and his judgeship was approved on June 19, 2019. Only one Republican, Maine Senator Susan Collins, publicly opposed the nomination ahead of the 52 to 46 vote. He had received a "qualified" rating by the American Bar Association, which is a ranking below "well qualified."[8] Judge Kacsmaryk has long standing affiliations with the religious right. His photograph[9] communicates a great deal. Prior to his appointment to the federal bench he represented the Oregon bakery "Sweet Cakes by Melissa" that refused to provide a wedding cake for a same-sex couple. He served as a former deputy counsel at the First Liberty Institute, a conservative group that litigates religious liberty cases. On September 4, 2015, he wrote an amicus ("friend of the court") brief that opposed same-sex marriage and policies allowing transgender students to use restrooms that match their gender identity on the grounds that it contradicted the "Abrahamic" or "Catholic, Protestant, Evangelical, Jewish, Mormon, Muslim" principles defining marriage as the "sacred union of one man and one woman." In this article, he also criticized the "sexual revolution" and said it was "spearheaded by secular libertines."[10] According to Judge Kacsmark, transgender people have a "mental disorder" and gay people are "disordered." He was a member of the Fort Worth Chapter of the Federalist Society since 2012.[11] Judge Kacsmaryk's decisions run true to his political and religious orientations. He has been characterized as "a favorite judge for litigants opposing Biden administration policies." The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has also implicitly concurred with this approach. In September, 2022 the District Court adopted rules that any civil case filed in Amarillo would be assigned to Judge Kasmaryk. Before that, litigants had a 95% chance of getting Judge Kacsmaryk.[12] As we will see, the Supreme Court has not exactly distanced itself from Judge Kacsmaryk's approach either, particularly in light of its decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization. Background of Some Decisions by Judge Kacsmaryk Prior to the Mifepristone Cases In Deanda v. Becerra (Health and Human Services Secretary; December 2022) Judge Kacsmaryk awarded summary judge to the plaintiff, an avowed Christian who had claimed his statutory and parental rights under the US Constitution had been violated by a Title X program that provided grants to health providers to fund family planning and contraceptive care.[13] Legal commentary has taken issue with this decision on the basis the plaintiff lacked the standing[14] to sue. The plaintiff was a father who did not claim he had ever sought Title X funded care, did not allege his daughters had ever sought this care and didn’t even claim they intended to seek such care in the future. Judge Kacsmaryk also ruled that Title X federal regulations do not preempt Texas state law regarding parental notification and consent requirements, a decision which is a "clear misinterpretation of the law" and "ignores decades of established law."[15] There is also Neese v Becerra in which Judge Kacsmaryk (November, 2022) held that a federal law prohibiting certain forms of discrimination by health providers does not encompass protection against anti-LGBTQ discrimination. Legal commentary indicates that this opinion cannot be squared with the Supreme Court's decision in Bostock v. Clayton County (2020) which established that statutes prohibiting "sex" discrimination also ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity because "it is impossible to discriminate against a person for being homosexual or transgender without discriminating against that individual based on sex." It has been noted that Judge Kacsmaryk seems to "revel" in defying the law. An example of this attitude is seen in his Neese opinion which he opens with a quote from Justice Samuel Alito's dissenting opinion in Bostock. Needless to say, a dissent is by definition not the law.[16] Another interesting case (Biden v Texas) relates to Judge Kacsmaryk's decision regarding the Remain in Mexico program. The program had been initiated in 2018 under the Trump administration and required asylum seekers arriving at the US Southern border to stay in Mexico while they awaited a hearing on their asylum claim. President Biden sought to terminate the policy and on June 1, 2021 the Secretary of Homeland Security announced that it would end the program. Texas filed this lawsuit against President Biden and on August, 2021 Judge Kacsmaryk issued a permanent injunction requiring the government to reinstate the program.[17] His order gave the administration one week to do so. His ruling rested on his conclusion that he could only give the government two options regarding those seeking asylum: mandatory detention or return to a contiguous territory. Upon appeal to the Supreme Court, six Justices agreed that Judge Kacsmaryk had misread immigration law when he required the federal government to maintain the Trump-era program by his ignoring that fact that federal law explicitly gives the government more than two options in these situations, including the option for immigrants to parole into the United States “for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit.” The Supreme Court also commented that the judge had engaged in “unwarranted judicial interference in the conduct of foreign policy,” because his opinion effectively forced the United States government to bargain with Mexico in order to reinstate the Remain in Mexico policy.[18] What seemed to be a victory for the Biden administration, however, became a hollow one when the Supreme Court also returned the case back down to Judge Kacsmaryk to resolve other issues raised in the case and in doing so rejected the government's request to temporarily block the injunction issued by Judge Kacsmaryk. An Earlier Mifepristone Case filed in Maryland On May 17, 2020, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and others sued the FDA (ACOG v FDA) in the District of Maryland (federal court) seeking a declaratory judgment that the in-person requirements for the dispensing of Mifepristone during COVID-19 epidemic should be overruled.[19] The Complaint described the long history of Mifepristone’s safety and efficacy, and that of the more than 20,000 FDA approved drug products, the FDA subjected only 16 drugs to a REMS requirement that the patient obtain the medication in a hospital, clinic or medical office, two of which are Mifeprex and its generic Mifepristone. ACOG also noted the increased use and efficacy of telemedicine. The legal bases for ACOG's complaint were based on patients' rights to privacy and liberty as guaranteed by the due process clause of the Fifth Amendment (substantive due process) and the equal protection clause under the Fifth Amendment. ACOG also requested the issuance of a preliminary injunction to bar enforcement of signature and in-person dispensing requirements for Mifepristone while the lawsuit was pending. On July 13, 2020 US District Court Judge Theodore Chuang granted the ACOG's request, but on January 12, 2021, in a controversial format, i.e. a one-page, unsigned opinion, the U.S. Supreme Court stayed enforcement of Judge Chuang's issuance of the preliminary injunction pending appeal. Justice Roberts wrote a concurring opinion, stating that the question before the Court was not whether requirements for dispensing Mifepristone imposed an undue burden on a woman's right to an abortion as a general matter, but whether the District Court properly ordered the FDA to lift those requirements on the basis of Judge Chuang's own evaluation of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Mifepristone use. The case was then returned to Judge Chuang. On April 13, 2021 the FDA under the Biden administration temporarily halted the enforcement of Mifepristone's in-person requirement.[20] On December 16, 2021 the FDA permanently lifted the in-person requirement.[21] In June, 2022 The Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade in the Dobbs v Jackson Women's Health Organization case. Judge Kacsmaryk and the Alliance for Hippocratic medicine vs FDA We now get to the case regarding Judge Kacsmaryk's decisions regarding the dispensing of Mifepristone. On November 18, 2022 the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) filed a lawsuit in Amarillo along with a request for the issuance of a preliminary injunction against the FDA asking that it reverse its lifting of the in-person requirement for dispensing Mifepristone (Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v FDA[22]). The Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine was incorporated only 3 months (August 5, 2022) in Texas, of course, before they filed this lawsuit. As an aside however, it is interesting to note that AHM's official mailing address is in Tennessee. The Alliance Defending Freedom is a Christian organization that played a central role in Dobbs.[23] The Alliance claimed that (1) the FDA abused its authority by using an accelerated process to approve the use of Mifepristone in 2000 which is reserved for new drugs which would benefit patients with serious or life-threatening illnesses, (2) FDA's approval of Mifepristone "puts a woman or girl's health at risk," and (3) its decision violates the Comstock Act (Title 18 US Code Section 1461,enacted in1873) which declares anything designed or intended to produce an abortion as nonmailable. The government countered on both substantive and procedural grounds. It stated that (1) pulling Mifepristone from the market would put more women's health at risk, and risk overcrowding and delays at clinics that provide surgical abortion, (2) contrary to Mifepristone being approved under an accelerated path as claimed by the plaintiffs, its approval was based on extensive scientific evidence, and (3) the Comstock Act [see below] does not prohibit the delivery of Mifepristone. It also characterized the lawsuit as "extraordinary and unprecedented," noting that it "could not find any previous example of a court second-guessing an FDA decision to approve a drug."[24] It also added that a decision in favor of ADF would “upend the status quo and the reliance interests of patients and doctors who depend on Mifepristone, as well as businesses involved with Mifepristone distribution.” The Comstock Act of 1873 which was cited by the plaintiffs as a basis for their cause of action currently declares that "'[e]very article or thing designed, adapted, or intended for producing abortion,' as well as '[e]very article, instrument, substance, drug, medicine, or thing which is advertised or described in a manner calculated to lead another to use or apply it for producing abortion,' to be 'nonmailable matter' that the United States Postal Service (“USPS”) may not lawfully deliver." That might seem to apply to the mail order distribution of Mifeprestone. However according to settled law, the Comstock Act has a much longer and more complicated history and in fact prohibits delivery of abortion medications only when the sender intends to violate the law. This argument was detailed in a US Attorney General Opinion (December 23, 2022) issued in response to a request from the US Post Office. As stated there, in order to be unlawful under the Act and based upon "a longstanding judicial construction of the Comstock Act, which Congress ratified and USPS itself accepted," the mailing must be accompanied with an intent on the part of the recipient that the drugs will be used unlawfully.[25] The FDA also argued that the 6-year federal statute of limitations barred the lawsuit and the plaintiffs lacked the standing to sue. As to the former, FDA's approval of Mifepristone was in 2000 and the lawsuit was filed in 2022. Also, Congress had enacted the Food and Drug Administration Amendments Act of 2007 that deemed any medication which was approved before the effective date of the Act was in compliance with relevant federal legal requirements.[26] On the standing issue, the government pointed out that none of the individual nor the organizational physician member plaintiffs' had established standing or an "injury-in-fact." The complaining physicians were not themselves regulated by the FDA and did not purport to prescribe Mifepristone. Instead, they contended they "will" be injured because "other" physicians will prescribe it and the Mifepristone will cause adverse events, thereby forcing patients to seek care from other physicians, subjecting them to potential exposure to liability and insurance costs, and "potentially causing the patients to suffer grief, distress and guilt.[27] Not buying these arguments, the government countered, "Here, Plaintiffs do not even attempt to allege facts supporting the chain of causation. They do not corroborate any of the pecuniary harms that they purport to fear, nor any of the intangible concerns that they raise." The reason that analysis of these substantive and procedural (standing, statute of limitations) issues is so critical is that in order for the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine plaintiffs to prevail on their motion for a preliminary injunction, they must demonstrate a likelihood of success on the merits which includes passing procedural hurdles. The government appears to have established that the plaintiffs this have not met this standard. Before concluding this analysis of Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v FDA, it is interesting to note that in January, 2023, Danco Laboratories filed a motion to intervene in the case, claiming that forcing FDA to withdraw a longstanding approval would "seismically disrupt" the agency's governing authority as to whether drugs are safe and effective and would cause Danco "direct and immediate harm by shuttering its business." Because of Danco's entry into the case, briefing on a preliminary injunction is scheduled to end this February 24th. A decision from Judge Kacsmaryk is anticipated to follow shortly after this date. The problem we face here is that given Judge Kacsmaryk's past history, there is more than enough reason to fear that, regardless of the above-cited law, he will grant the plaintiffs' motion for a preliminary injunction. Because this is a federal case, the impact would be felt nationwide. An appeal of that decision would go to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals which is a conservative court, with 12 of its 16 active judges appointed by Republicans. And then to the post-Dobbs Supreme Court. Senator Wyden and Court-washing It is into this maelstrom that on February 16, 2023 Senator Wyden made his claim of improper "court-washing."[28] Anticipating Judge Kacsmaryk's decision to grant the preliminary injunction, Senator Wyden said "Enough" to the "rigged game." In a historically significant move the Senator also pleaded that the FDA ignore Judge Kacsmaryk's anticipated ruling, just as President Lincoln ignored the "historically egregious" Dred Scott v Sandford ruling which held that black people could never be citizens of the United States. The Senator noted that the use of Mifepristone has fewer complications than Tylenol and that "a wealth" of evidence had demonstrated its safety and effectiveness, adding "Legal logic be damned, the plaintiffs know that Judge Kacsmaryk won't let pesky obstacles like standing or precedent to get in the way of the agenda they share." Wyden also pointed out that on 41 occasions the Trump administration had asked the US Supreme Court to put a hold on adverse lower court rulings for the duration of the government's appeal and in 28 of those cases, the Supreme Court, "aiding these polarization efforts," granted the stay. In comparison, the Biden administration has sought emergency relief from the Supreme Court 9 separate times. The Supreme Court has granted it on only two occasions. And "incredibly," the Court has granted emergency relief against the Biden administration four times, something that did not happen during the "lawless" days of the Trump administration. Oregon State Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum has entered the fray by officially writing to Walgreens and CVS expressing appreciation for the recent announcement of their intention to start offering Mifepristone in their retail pharmacies.[29] Attorney General Rosenblum joined the Attorneys General from Washington and California, and 20 additional states in her plea; 20 Republican Attorneys General warned CVS and Walgreens that they could be violating the Comstock Act if they send the pills by mail.[30] Attorney General Rosenblum vigorously disagreed with the claim of the Republican Attorneys General that abortion pills are "far riskier than surgical abortions" and providing this medicine increases "coerced abortions." To the contrary, she states that providing abortion medications offer more private and flexible options for these personal and confidential choices. Conclusion As stated above, the web that is woven here is tangled indeed. Not only are the implications for women and families with the withdrawal of Mifepristone significant, but Judge Kaczmarak's legal prevarications and legalistic teasing threaten the fabric of a democracy based on the rule of law. [1] https://www.ipas.org/clinical-update/english/recommendations-for-abortion-before-13-weeks-gestation/medical-abortion/mifepristone-and-misoprostol-recommended-regimen/ [2] https://www.cnbc.com/2022/11/23/abortion-pill-most-common-way-to-end-pregnancy-cdc-says.html; and Guttmacher Institute, Medication Abortion Now Accounts for More than Half of all US Abortions, https://www.guttmacher.org/article/2022/02/medication-abortion-now-accounts-more-half-all-us-abortions, updated 12-1-22 [3] https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/20/20A34/151289/20200826115344506_20A- FDA v. ACOG Appendix FINAL a.pdf [4] https://www.aafp.org/dam/AAFP/documents/advocacy/prevention/women/LT-WH-Mifepristone-030121.pdf [5] American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists v. US Food and Drug Administration, https://www.aclu.org/cases/american-college-obstetricians-and-gynecologists-v-us-food-and-drug-administration [6] https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/20pdf/20a34_3f14.pdf [7] https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/16/health/abortion-pills-fda.html [8] https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2019/06/19/in-middle-of-pride-month-senate-confirms-texas-judge-who-defended-bakery-that-turned-away-gay-couple/ [9] https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2022/12/17/23512766/supreme-court-matthew-kacsmaryk-judge-trump-abortion-immigration-birth-control [10] https://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2015/09/15612/ [11] https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Kacsmaryk SJQ.pdf [12] https://www.abajournal.com/news/article/meet-the-texas-judge-who-is-a-favorite-of-conservatives-in-hot-button-lawsuits-including-abortion-pill-litigation [13] https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district courts/texas/txndce/2:2020cv00092/330752/63/. The standard for granting summary judgment is that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. The decision is made on briefs, not after a trial. [14] Standing to sue is basically whether a plaintiff has or will sustain direct injury or harm and that this harm is redressable. State laws differ but in federal court a plaintiff has to demonstrate: (1) an "injury in fact," meaning that the injury is of a legally protected interest which is (a) concrete and particularized and (b) actual or imminent; (2) there must be a causal connection between the injury and the conduct brought before the court; and (3) it must be likely, rather than speculative, that a favorable decision by the court will redress the injury. https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/standing. [15] https://www.everybodytexas.org/january-11-2023-statement-on-deanda-v-becerra [16] See footnote 7 above. [17] https://www.scotusblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/21A21.pdf [18] See footnote 8; https://www.vox.com/2022/6/30/23189965/supreme-court-biden-texas-remain-in-mexico-john-roberts [19] https://www.aclu.org/cases/american-college-obstetricians-and-gynecologists-v-us-food-and-drug-administration; https://www.acog.org/-/media/project/acog/acogorg/files/advocacy/acog-v-fda-complaint-mifepristone-covid19.pdf?la=en&hash=2C5C6C65F3E6C8A693ACD649C7C12129 [20] https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/13/health/covid-abortion-pills-mailed.html [21] https://www.fda.gov/drugs/postmarket-drug-safety-information-patients-and-providers/questions-and-answers-mifepristone-medical-termination-pregnancy-through-ten-weeks-gestation - :~:text=On December 16, 2021, the,in-person dispensing requirement”) [22] https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/23505124-alliance-for-hippocratic-medicine-sos-document [23] https://www.cnbc.com/2023/01/24/abortion-pill-fda-challenged-in-lawsuit-seeking-to-pull-mifepristone-from-us.html [24] https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/10/abortion-pill-judge-extends-deadline-in-lawsuit-seeking-to-pull-medication-from-us.html; https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.txnd.370067/gov.uscourts.txnd.370067.28.0.pdf [25] https://www.justice.gov/olc/opinion/file/1560596/download. [26] https://www.vox.com/politics/2023/2/17/23603182/supreme-court-abortion-mifepristone-ron-wyden-senate-fda-matthew-kascmaryk [27] https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.txnd.370067/gov.uscourts.txnd.370067.28.0.pdf [28] https://www.facebook.com/senatorronwyden/videos/879092286541141 - video; https://www.wyden.senate.gov/news/press-releases/wyden-delivers-floor-speech-calling-on-president-biden-and-the-fda-to-keep-mifepristone-on-the-market-regardless-of-outcome-in-texas-case - the text of Senator Wyden's speech; https://www.vox.com/politics/2023/2/17/23603182/supreme-court-abortion-mifepristone-ron-wyden-senate-fda-matthew-kascmaryk - commentary. [29] https://www.doj.state.or.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Multistate-Pharmacy-Letter-2023-02-16.pdf [30] https://www.opb.org/article/2023/02/16/attorneys-general-support-letter-abortion-pills-by-mail/

As an organization deeply concerned about the large number of Oregonians facing homelessness and housing instability, the League of Women Voters of Oregon commends Governor Tina Kotek for her focus on increasing the production of all types of housing. We are pleased she plans to appoint such broad representation to the advisory council, and in particular people with experience in permanent supportive and affordable housing. Those are the units that will be the most challenging to produce and where we have the greatest need. From Governer Kotek's press release: The Governor is looking to appoint housing developers with expertise in permanent supportive, affordable, and market rate housing, representatives of rural and coastal communities, communities of color, local government representatives, and experts in land use, fair housing, permitting, workforce development, and construction. Oregonians interested in applying for the Council are encouraged to submit an application, found here. Applications are due February 15, 2023. Appointees will begin work on the Council in early March. Read Governor Kotek's full press release. You can follow LWVOR's weekly Housing summaries in the Legislative Report (found under Social Policy).

Dear LWVOR Members and friends, February is a busy month for us! Action is “in” the Legislature (see building photos!). Voter Service will run Vote411 for the 2023 primary! Youth Outreach is preparing for an odd-year Student Mock Election. This newsletter has a link to reserve rooms at The Graduate in Eugene for LWVOR Convention, May 19-21, 2023. Please try to join us. We have missed so many opportunities to see each other, now at the third anniversary of COVID. Attending virtually is an equity issue so we are working on hybrid attendance, too. There are trade-offs either way, we understand and will do our best. Thank you for being part of the team by reading and helping as you are able! Yours In League! Becky Gladstone LWVOR President This month... First Call to CONVENTION, LWVOR in Eugene, May 19-21, 2023! LWVOR Studies’ status Voter Service news, Spring primary Vote411 & OSME Youth Outreach, OSME wrap, moving forward! Action, see the Capitol ACCESS, see the photos for yourself! Your League Comms, how to keep in touch with the state League Civics ED from Donna Cohen Recommended reading FIRST CALL TO CONVENTION 2023 CONVENTION Is the biennial State Meeting of the League of Women Voters of Oregon, which is held on alternate years to the State Council. First Call is issued so that local Leagues can begin to plan and discuss matters that will be presented at the convention. TIME & PLACE The 2023 State Convention will be held Friday through Sunday, May 19-21, 2023 in Eugene, OR at The Graduate Hotel. HOSTS League of Women Voters of Lane County PURPOSE The convention shall consider changes to the Bylaws; shall consider and authorize for action a program; shall elect the president, first vice-president, secretary, three directors (two-year terms), and a chair and two members of the nominating committee; shall adopt a budget for the ensuing year; and shall transact such other business as may be presented. DELEGATES The convention shall consist of the Board of Directors of the LWVOR and delegates chosen by members through the local Leagues. Each local League shall be entitled to two delegates for the first 40 members or fewer. If possible, one delegate should be the President. An additional delegate is allowed for every 20 additional members or major fraction (10 or more) thereof belonging to the local League as of January 31, 2023. Each approved State Unit of members-at-large (MALs) shall be entitled to one delegate. For those MAL’s not in an approved unit, MAL representation at convention shall be one delegate for every 20 MALs or major fraction (10 or more) thereof. If there are fewer than 10 MALs, the interest of the MALs shall be represented by the LWVOR Membership Chair. OBSERVERS Any member of the LWVOR (in a local League, a State Unit, or as a general MAL) may attend as an observer. Observers may not vote, but may, upon recognition of the Chair, have the privilege of the floor. All League members are urged to exercise this privilege, and members are encouraged to register as observers. BASIC COSTS Registration fees will be announced in the next update. Hotel reservations can be made online or by phone: Call 844-888-4723. Use BOOKING CODE: 0519WV. Use this booking link: League of Women Voters of Oregon – Guestrooms Studies, Upcoming and Ongoing! Focus now on submitting materials to allow adequate time for board consideration this month. Send study and concurrence proposals to Study Chair Annie Goldner by March 1 so the board has time to read them before our March 10 board meeting. We have been reaching out since August to promote your campaigning for study (or concurrence) proposals, to build support among local Leagues for passage at convention in May. Send to Studies Chair Annie Goldner, a.goldner@lwvor.org. The Election Methods study update is in final review. We are pleased to announce board adoption: Biocides and Pesticides position (study). Child Care re-study, updating much needed since 1988, no position change. Voter Service Thanks to our strong local League network, thanks to Chair Peggy Bengry, Voter Service Reps have committed to gathering candidate and local ballot measure information for the May 16, 2023 primary election! The LWVOR Board has voted to sponsor state-wide access to Vote411.org, covering the $6,000 annual subscription fee for this calendar year, expanding our usual even-year coverage. Youth Outreach The Youth Outreach (YO!) committee is expanding opportunities for the Oregon Student Mock Election (OSME) local versions for this 2023 Primary! The committee is establishing a local League liaison network. To help develop an active presence in your local schools, contact Diana DeMaria, youthoutreach@lwvor.org. Action The Legislative session is underway in the third week and Action is galloping with hail and farewell for a number of volunteer transitions. Basically, we can always use more help! Thanks to Chair Alice Bartelt organizing! Please read the LR (Legislative Report) and consider helping out. We are meeting weekly as a committee, processing and presenting testimony, collaborations, and preparation for a Day at the Legislature. If you can help, please contact our staff, lwvor@lwvor.org. This powerful and energetic group of issue advocates needs support from organizers who can help with committee logistics. Many issues need coverage. We continue to welcome volunteers who want to learn our process to observe and learn to cover additional specific topics. Subscribe for the really useful weekly email Legislative Report summaries and see the comprehensive reports online. Your League Comms! Stay informed on League happenings at the state and local levels! You can sign up and manage your LWVOR newsletter subscriptions directly. Don't miss our event updates, Action Alerts, newsletters, and other important information. Questions? Contact our staff at lwvor@lwvor.org. Capitol Access Curious about Capitol building access and seismic work? Senator Dick Anderson’s staff featured Capitol construction maps in their newsletter. It inspired me to take these photos recently! This is House-side access, only for exit by the public. Underground staff and member parking is closed so these street parking spaces are reserved for them. Let’s appreciate the construction sentiment, “Get Us There Safe”! This is Oregon and we really care about our trees! This public art was displayed sitting on temporary cushioned mats. Announcements Civics for Adults Update, January 29, 2023 ** Portland League member Donna Cohen shares her Civics Education information and has served on our Election Methods Update committee. Upcoming Citizen Activism 101—Making Change Happen Sunday, Feb 5, 2:30-4pm. PST. Hillsboro Public Library [OR]. Virtual Register: WCCLS website if WCCLS patron or TBA § Historical perspective § Examples of successful advocacy § Types of advocacy § Who makes the rules? § Tools / strategies for change § Engaging with government / lobbying for influence § Tracking legislation in the Oregon Legislature and having your say on bills! Legislature has just begun! Beyond Voting: Elections and Campaign Finance Wednesday, Feb 15, 3pm. EST! Stoughton Public Library [MASS]. Virtual Register: One week in advance; check website § Right to vote? § Voter suppression § Election 2024 issues § Redistricting / gerrymandering § Electoral College § Alternative voting systems § Campaign financing issues and tracking Boston Globe about my workshop! Local groups want to put civics education back on the front burner ** If you've been confused about CRT, read this article, summing up how divorced from reality it is. School Ends Dr. Seuss Reading When Students Recognize Its Racism Lesson ** See League testimony supporting SB 579 in the Oregon Legislature now, to allow those who are incarcerated to vote. It is easy to submit written testimony [aka your opinion] or to sign up for in-person or virtual testimony now. [We have one of the best systems in the country for doing so!]. Just go to the link and look around: information, sign up, follow the bill via email alerts, etc. It's a hotly contested topic. Check out what people have submitted as testimony. ** National Archives Resources from Martin Luther King Day, January 16, 2023 Donna L Cohen, MLIS, MEd Portland, Oregon Civics for Adults – and Others Facebook: Civics For Adults Workshops: To Enhance Civic Knowledge and Inspire Political Engagement Ask your local library or community group to sponsor a workshop! See Flyer “My philosophy is very simple. When you see something that is not fair, not right, not just – stand up, say something, speak up!” Rep. John Lewis Recommended Reading My husband and I had just visited and seen the 9th, 10, 14th, and 15th US House votes, trying to elect the House Speaker, now Kevin McCarthy. The drama was intense! Thanks to 4th CD Rep Val Hoyle for the photo of us up in the gallery. By 2am on Saturday, January 8th when all of the House Congressional members were finally sworn in, it was very crowded! Congratulations to all, we’re counting on you! Nancy Pelosi: A study in power From the WaPo review: Pelosi was part of the first generation of women to take office by winning on their own merit. By the time she was pushing 80, she’d be supporting, and sometimes clashing with, another generation of politically ambitious women who didn’t want to play the old games or follow the old rules. Page delves into the issues of gender and sexism with depth and nuance, illustrating how social norms for women, and Pelosi’s alternate embrace and then defiance of them, shaped her rise — and how she learned early on not to talk about sexism as an impediment, lest she be branded a whiner and excuse-maker. But that doesn’t mean she didn’t notice or resent it. “There had never been another politician at her level who wore Armani suits and four-inch Manolos,” Page writes. “In a slight she never forgot, Time magazine didn’t put her on its cover through her entire first tenure as Speaker, despite the history she HAD made. Two weeks after the 2010 midterms gave back the House majority to Republicans, the magazine’s cover featured a flattering photo of John Boehner and the headline ‘Mr. Speaker.’ ” Thank You for reading! Becky Gladstone President, LWVOR

Date: December 6th, 2022 To: All League Members From: Rebecca Gladstone, LWVOR President Alice Bartelt, Action Committee Chair Claudia Keith, Social Policy: Immigration & Refugee Portfolio Call on Congress to Protect Dreamers in Lame Duck Session The League of Women Voters of Oregon strongly supports legislation that would permanently protect recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. Individuals who benefit from DACA live in every state around the country and contribute to their communities. For decades, they have lived in fear of deportation while hearing promises of reform. People who are protected by DACA deserve to have peace of mind regarding where they call home. House and Senate leadership have stated that protecting the Dreamers is a high priority for the remaining time of the 117th Congress. A true democracy includes fair and equitable immigration policies with a path to citizenship. With just a few short working weeks left this year, please call on your members of Congress to take immediate action to protect the Dreamers for once and for all. To take action: Copy and paste the following text into an email or letter. Then you will use this link to look up your legislator contact information. Simply type your name into the search bar under "How to Contact Your Member" to bring up their contact information. --- Subject: Protect Dreamers Dear [Recipient's Title and Name]: As a member of the League of Women Voters of Oregon, I was pleased to hear from Senate and House leadership this week that protecting Dreamers is a high priority in the remaining time of the 117th Congress. I urgently request Congress to pass legislation to protect Dreamers from future attempts to dismantle the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program and give these individuals the desperately needed security to plan productive futures in the United States. There should be no delay in taking action to protect the Dreamers. For far too long, these individuals who are part of the fabric of America have not been fully recognized. There should be no doubt that these individuals are worthy of protection from deportation and a path toward permanent status and citizenship. People who are protected by DACA, their families, and their communities deserve the peace of mind to build their lives and futures, which so many of us born in this country take for granted. I strong urge you to protect Dreamers in the remaining time of the 117th Congress. Sincerely, [Your Name]

Dear LWVOR Members and friends, Happy New Year! I hope you enjoyed ringing in the new year and are resolving to welcome a productive, healthier 2023! I love year-end retrospectives but find myself firmly looking forward to the work ahead in this newsletter! Thank you all for our accomplishments! We are gearing up for the important primary, the legislative session, and our Convention 2023! The new year brings a board transition with new energy and fresh perspectives – that could be you and I hope you’re planning to come to Eugene to celebrate! Yours In League! Becky Gladstone LWVOR President THIS MONTH… LWVOR Convention 2023 Voter Service, Local Elections, & Youth Turnout LWVOR Studies' Status YO! Youth Outreach Action Recommended Reading LWVOR CONVENTION 2023 Thanks to our hosts, LWV Lane County, we will meet in Eugene, Tracktown USA, May 19-21, at The Graduate, featuring Pendleton and Oregon décor, with UO Duck and Nike sports influence, a spectacular 3 way Vista conference space, serving a local, seasonal menu. Take a hotel photo tour! On site AV will enable remote connections, important for DEI, diversity, equity and inclusion. We recommend in-person attendance and hope many will join us for our first state event since March 7, 2020. WORKSHOPS: Our December leaders’ call discussed ideas: 501.c.3 transitions, membership growth, and developing interest groups. This is the perfect time to meet colleagues who share your efforts, your fellow Voter Service Reps, Treasurers, Leadership Teams, Comms people- the web, social media, and newsletter editors, well, all of us, actually. Let us know if you expect a large group attending in-person because we’ll have a couple of meeting spaces just for caucuses. We will vote on a board slate from the nominating committee, a bylaws committee proposal for annual meeting changes, and proposed studies. I want us to catch up with each other and celebrate our accomplishments, having risen so well to these many recent challenges! I hope you plan to attend! VOTER SERVICE Our YO! Youth Outreach committee is pushing for Oregon youth voter turnout for this 2023 primary, calling on us all to highlight our local races this spring. “All politics is local” is increasingly pressing as attention continues to increase nationally for local races like school boards. See this month’s YO! Youth Outreach and recommended reading. We are evaluating our 2023 Vote411.org subscription, whether to pay for statewide software access, depending on how many of our Leagues will cover their local measures and candidates. STUDIES, UPCOMING AND ONGOING! Both current studies are wrapping up with no recommended advocacy position changes, both providing timely, relevant new information. CHILD CARE is in final layout (yes, during December holidays!) for Board approval. Here’s a peek: "Usually, the term childcare brings to mind a picture of little kids playing in a room with a teacher reading from a picture book. This is very different from the reality of childcare today and what is needed to ensure the future of childcare." ELECTION METHODS is close behind for Board approval, so timely with growing consideration and adoption of RCV, Ranked Choice Voting, which we recommend. Note that Multnomah County Measure 26-232 passed this fall, asking if local voters want to decide races with RCV, now joining voters in 50 other US cities. Take a minute to watch this one-minute Ranked Choice Voting explanation, then share it! We expect three study proposals at the 2023 Convention. For information, contact Annie Goldner, a.goldner@lwvor.org. YOUTH OUTREACH Our YO! Youth Outreach committee will host another Student Mock Election for the spring 2023 election in Portland. Ask how you can promote one for your students this spring. We met with UO professors Dan Tichenor and Alison Gash, authors of this month’s recommended reading. Professor Tichenor shared this: Gen Z might finally turn young voters into a political power: “Alison and I just wrote a piece for the Washington Post on the formidable power of Gen Z when it connects its passion for key issues and movement activism with voting. We also discuss earlier examples of youth insurgency, a little history of the 26th amendment, and the checkered story of youth voting in the past.” The Voting AGE: 18 or 16? An LWV Boston-Cambridge consensus study group reached out to us about Oregon Rep Blumenauer’s HJ Res 23 (2021): Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States extending the right to vote to citizens sixteen years of age or older. We will share the status of this discussion in Oregon. LWVOR SJR 25 testimony (2021), addressed moving the voting age from 18 to 16. League youth voting positions focus on establishing responsible long-term voting habits. From our LWVUS senior staff, “We do not have a firm position for or against a specific age. Many leagues have advocated for 17-year-old voters participating in primaries, certainly, as well as things like preregistration starting at 16, likely using the League’s Right to Vote position. Citing LWV Empowering the Voters of Tomorrow, 2018: The League of Women Voters believes we all have a role to play in inspiring and empowering young Americans to register and vote. For us, that often means reaching out to potential new voters while they are still in high school. We have a special responsibility to reach out to those most often left behind: with no college experience, living in neighborhoods predominately of color, or where voter registration drives are rarely held.” The Classroom Law Project, promoting courtroom process learning, has an interesting resources page Current Event: Lowering the Voting Age. LWV Colorado wrote, asking about cross-league borrowing from our 2022 Civics ED Curriculum, not yet updated for the 2023 cycle. Youth Outreach will have a new webpage soon. To learn more, contact Diana DeMaria, youthoutreach@lwvor.org ACTION When the Oregon 6-month legislative session starts January 17th, we will switch from monthly to weekly Legislative Reports. Subscribe for weekly email briefs linked to our extensive ongoing League volunteer reports. Hot topics abound across all League “portfolios”. Legislators are emphasizing housing and public defender shortages. Sen Prozanski, Senate Judiciary Committee Chair, described Oregon’s public defender crisis, needing attorneys for 80 in custody and another 600 not in custody, also in need. Our local Leagues are developing and reinforcing working relationships with newly elected officials, comparing legislative priorities. Our LWVOR “action priorities” are actually rosters for issues that we have volunteers to cover. Most of us can use help and numerous issues go unaddressed for lack of observers. This powerful and energetic group needs help. We continue to welcome volunteers to learn our process to observe. If you can help, please contact our staff who can direct you, lwvor@lwvor.org. RECOMMENDED READING This month’s recommendation is from the UO professors who met with our youth Outreach committee, all invested in understanding and motivating better youth yoting turnout. They see strong activism commitment and are curious about why that isn’t better connected to voting. We’re looking forward to developing a collaboration, considering that the League has been tasked by the Oregon Dept of Education to help our students learn how to vote in Oregon. Democracy’s Child, Young People and the Politics of Control, Leverage, and Agency Oxford University Press Fundamentally recasts understandings of democratic politics by centering youth in US law, policy, and governance Spotlights youth-led movements that are transforming democratic societies, from climate change and racial justice to Queer and immigrant rights Shows how today's most prominent movements reflect a long history of youth leadership and mobilization, such as the Children's Crusades of the civil rights and labor movements Uncovers patterns and processes of systemic advantage and exclusion on the basis of race, gender/gender identity, sexuality, immigration status, religion, class, and ability Alison L. Gash, UO Political Science: U.S. Courts, Public Policy, Gender, Race, Sexuality, Civil Rights, Constitutional Law Daniel J. Tichenor, Philip H. Knight Chair of Political Science, Wayne Morse Center Director for the Public Affairs Speaker Series and the Wayne Morse Scholars program, UO Law. Thank you for reading and for making a difference, for Making Democracy Work! Here’s to a Very Happy New Year for all of us! 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.

IN THIS ISSUE... PRESIDENT’S COLUMN CONVENTION 2023 OREGON STUDENT MOCK ELECTION COP 27 IN MEMORIAM VOLUNTEERS NEEDED PRESIDENT’S COLUMN By Becky Gladstone, LWVOR President Happy Holidays! I hope most of us will find things to celebrate this month! I am thankful for the breadth of our intense League work! We’ve informed and engaged many voters this fall! We ran an invigorating Student Mock Election. Our 2023 Legislative session preparation was never paused. I am confident that our work across the country, with state leaders in touch comparing election news daily, made a big difference! I am so grateful to our LWVUN delegation at COP27 in Egypt in November. With this December 2022 edition of The VOTER, we thank outgoing Editor Terry Styner for her excellent organizing management this past year. We will need a new Editor, volunteers welcome, for our spring 2023 edition, in time for LWVOR Convention 2023 news. When I started as President almost 4 years ago, improving communication was the top “direction to the board.” Our leadership structure is knitting and weaving a more compelling description than the “lateral communication” I have been calling for over the years. We are strengthening our networks with local League leaders, Treasurers, Voter Service, Nominating Committees, Youth Outreach, Development, Membership, and others. We are helping each other, considering job sharing, and discussing leadership teams. We have made great strides, and with new LWVOR board members.’ energy. I am excited by the new members of the LWVOR Board and am looking forward to seeing transitions at the 2023 LWVOR Convention! I hope many of you can attend in person in Eugene because we truly have much to celebrate! We already have two state study proposals in the discussion, and you should hear from their advocates soon, rallying your support and participation. We expect a bylaws discussion to consider aspects of change needed for a transition to annual meeting adoption of studies, for example. We can only vaguely predict public health concerns and gas prices but hope these may be ebbing as barriers. I hope we can look forward to a Happy New Year! My best to all of you, with thanks for your work! Yours in League, Becky Gladstone UPCOMING EVENTS TIME TO THINK ABOUT LWVOR CONVENTION 2023 BY ROBIN TOKMAKIAN The League’s convention is planned for May 2023 in Eugene. (specific date is May 19-21). It will be an in-person meeting to help facilitate and energize our membership. (Becky Gladstone here- we’re looking at virtual options). We look forward to hearing from Oregon leaders and networking with League members from around the state. Local Leagues should start program planning activities soon. The deadline for submitting potential studies, updates, or other program ideas is February 6, 2023, for consideration at the LWVOR Board meeting. Present your program ideas to your local league, and communicate with others around the state to support your ideas. Your LWVOR Board looks forward to hearing what local leagues are interested in to address policies at the state level. RECENT ACCOMPLISHMENTS OREGON STUDENT MOCK ELECTION BY BECKY GLADSTONE Results are in! Students across Oregon participated in OSME, the 2022 Oregon Student Mock Election, for a realistic voting experience endorsed by Governor Kate Brown and Secretary of State Shemia Fagan. The League of Women Voters of Oregon created a mock ballot, with Secretary of State review, mirroring the General Election ballot with three contests for all Oregon students: US Senator, Oregon Governor, and Measure 114 (gun safety). We honored educator requests for mock ballots with some local races. Multnomah County students voted on Measure 26-232 (ranked-choice voting), Clackamas County students voted on County Clerk, and Deschutes County students voted on Measure 9-148 (nonpartisan county commissioner elections) and Measure 9-155 (a Bend-La Pine School District bond measure). Several regions voted on US Congressional Districts 5 and 6. Every public school district and private/charter/homeschool educators across the state were invited to register for ballots, instructions, and a lesson plan. Over 5500 students were registered from an impressive 18 different communities all around Oregon: Astoria, Bend, Boring, Camas Valley, Crane, Days Creek, Hood River, Irrigon, Klamath Falls, Lake Oswego, Medford, North Bend, Portland, Salem, Sandy, Springfield, Tigard, Troutdale, West Linn, and Wilsonville. Statewide Student Mock Ballot Results: • Ron Wyden won US Senator with 53%. • Tina Kotek won Oregon Governor with 54%. • Measure 114 (gun safety) passed with 73% voting yes. Local Student Mock Ballot Results: • US Congressional District 5, Jamie McLeod-Skinner won with 73%. • The new US Congressional District 6, Andrea Salinas, won with 59%. • Multnomah County Measure 26-232 (ranked-choice voting) passed by 75%. • Clackamas County Clerk Clackamas students elected Catherine McMullen by 59%. • Deschutes students passed Measure 9-148 (nonpartisan county commissioners) by 88%. • Deschutes Measure 9-155 (the school bond) also passed by 86%. The award-winning LWVOR OSME student voting experience is supported by YEAR-ROUND access to our free Civics Education curriculum and materials. TOP LWVOR PRIORITIES COP27 - DAILY REPORTS FROM THE LEAGUE By Robin Tokmakian The annual UN Climate Conference, COP27, is underway in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, and 15 League representatives are attending this year (in-person and virtually) as observers for the League of Women Voters of the U.S. 11/7: Day 1 of COP27 REPORT SUBMITTED BY ROBIN TOKMAKIAN, LWVUS UN OBSERVER FOR CLIMATE COP27 has begun. This first report will be short. Monday’s events were mostly introductory negotiation sessions and the world leader’s summit. President Biden has not arrived yet, but former Vice President Al Gore was in full voice. Sharm-el-Sheik is, well, different. It is a purpose-built resort, and that is what it feels like. Some logistical things have gone smoothly - for example, security lines are not super long like in Glasgow (COP26), but eating places inside the UN space are few and far between. We are all hoping that things will improve as the side events begin tomorrow, and it will become even more crowded. Several LWV delegates have had the pleasure of swimming in the Red Sea, and we’ve tried the local seafood. In the negotiation space - The women and gender constituency, along with an NGO human rights working group, are making their voices heard, but whether action by member states will occur, who knows? I heard on a bus ride that progress has been made in the area of “loss and damage” in the form of an added agenda item being approved to push for specific ‘loss and damage” funding. It is the beginning but will take a while to get any funding in place. Loss and damage funding is money to address things like the floods in Pakistan. It is different from adaptation funding. I had a conversation on the walk and shuttle ride to COP with a former assistant to the UN’s secretary general. He and a group he is with are pushing to change how climate ambition gets achieved. He thinks we should have it like the Olympics and award prizes for who does the best in various areas. Not sure how that would work, but interesting idea. All for now. Robin Tokmakian & the rest of the LWVUS team 11/16: Day 9 of COP27 REPORT SUBMITTED BY ROBIN TOKMAKIAN, LWVUS UN OBSERVER FOR CLIMATE From my virtual view - a couple of things to note: • UN organizations are siloed and don’t speak enough to each other - but it’s better than it was. For example, UN Biodiversity talks only recently included climate discussions. • Women and Gender: 80% of the NDCs (Nationally Determined Contributions) mention gender and/or women, but it will still take 286 years to reach gender equality at the rate we are going. This is from a UNWomen report (don’t have a reference to report, yet). • On Carbon Dioxide Removals using the ocean - there have been several efforts over the years since 2009 to produce governing principles for ethical research in this area - for example, the Oxford Principles for Geo-engineering and Principles for research into climate engineering techniques. On the more COP-focused front, I joined my Indigenous sisters to stand against violence toward women and Indigenous peoples as a result of colonialism and extractive industry. We still do not have any concrete or substantive loss and damage finance from the negotiations. This is increasingly a hot topic, and it looks doubtful to me now. In the negotiations today, loss and damage finance was fiercely contested with some passionate and begging speeches by national representatives, yet the G20 and G7 have sought to protect their pockets, offering morsels for empathy that neither are financially sufficient nor would be controlled by the people in need of the funds. Here is one quote from Satyendra Prasad, Fiji’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to United Nations: “The world is barreling down the highway to climate hell, as the United Nations Secretary-General warned us. It isn’t Fiji’s foot on the gas pedal nor that of any Least Developed Country or Small Island Developing State. We are passengers – more like hostages trapped in a vehicle that is being recklessly steered by high emitters.” IN MEMORIAM Merilyn B. Reeves died peacefully in her sleep on October 7, 2022, with her daughter Julie by her side. She was born June 22, 1931, in her parent’s home in Idaho. In 1954, Merilyn earned her Bachelor of Science degree from Utah State Agricultural College in Logan. In 1962, as a mother of three small children, Merilyn earned her master’s degree in Science in Education from the Northern State Teachers College in South Dakota. Merilyn married Milt Reeves on June 28, 1952. For the next 30 years, they lived in Idaho, Utah, Texas, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Maryland and spent three summers in Saskatchewan, Canada, on a duck banding assignment. Merilyn created her own vocation as a tireless environmental advocate and visionary leader. As a member of the League of Women Voters (LWV) for 62 years, she advocated for clean water, safe drinking water, clean air, and other natural resources issues when she lived in Bloomington, Minnesota, and Laurel, Maryland. She served as Vice President of the LWVUS and lobbied the Legislature for 7 years on bills to strengthen pollution control. She was a leader in the needed management and protection of the Chesapeake Bay and served on several bi-state and Bay committees. In 1983, Maryland Governor Harry Hughes recognized Merilyn’s accomplishments by awarding her the title Admiral of the Chesapeake Bay. On March 7, 2020, on the very cusp of the COVID-19 pandemic, the family and many others gathered in Salem, Oregon, at the Century Celebration in honor of the 100th Anniversary of the League of Women Voters and Ratification of the 19th Amendment of the United States Constitution, where Merilyn was presented with the Carrie Chapman Catt Award. She enjoyed meeting LWV colleagues and gave her final public speech. VOLUNTEERS NEEDED ‘TIS THE SEASON! BY JACKIE CLARY What do the LWVOR and all local Leagues in the state have in common this time of year (aside from holiday gatherings and fundraising efforts)? Well, nominating committees around the state are beginning, in earnest, the process of finding candidates for the board and off-board positions for the following League year. Thus “Tis the season for making lists and checking them twice.” League members traditionally are busy, involved community members. But, if you ask any member of a League Board, they will say that they have added Board participation to all their other important commitments because they believe in our principles and have been able to find a meaningful niche to support the League while tapping into their own interests and skills. Could you challenge yourself to do the same? When approached by your local or state nominating committee, take a moment to think about it. Could you become part of the solution and satisfy your own sense of wanting to make a difference by saying, “Yes?” Or, at least say you’ll help find someone else? Each of us, as a member of the League of Women Voters, is an important part of any LWV nominating committee! At your next League gathering, be aware of candidate possibilities. Who asks the most comprehensive, interesting, thoughtful questions? Who has a good (appropriate, of course) sense of humor? Who stands out in a positive way? By the way, you can suggest yourself as a candidate just by contacting someone on your local committee (or the state committee using the email address below). Here’s to an incredible slate of candidates for 2023! Thanks to you all for your dedication to LWV and all that you do to support our state and local Leagues. From your LWVOR Nominating committee: Libby Medley, Diana Bodtker, Doreen Binder, Freddi Weishahn, Jackie Clary Please contact us through the LWVOR office: lwvor@lwvor.org or call 503-581-5722. We would be delighted to hear from you! Connect with us A printable version of this newsletter can be found on our website here. League of Women Voters of Oregon | 1330 12th St. SE, Suite 200, Salem, OR 97302

Date: December 6th, 2022 To: All League Members From: Rebecca Gladstone, LWVOR President Alice Bartelt, Action Committee Chair Claudia Keith, Social Policy: Immigration & Refugee Portfolio Call on Congress to Protect Dreamers in Lame Duck Session The League of Women Voters of Oregon strongly supports legislation that would permanently protect recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. Individuals who benefit from DACA live in every state around the country and contribute to their communities. For decades, they have lived in fear of deportation while hearing promises of reform. People who are protected by DACA deserve to have peace of mind regarding where they call home. House and Senate leadership have stated that protecting the Dreamers is a high priority for the remaining time of the 117th Congress. A true democracy includes fair and equitable immigration policies with a path to citizenship. With just a few short working weeks left this year, please call on your members of Congress to take immediate action to protect the Dreamers for once and for all. To take action: Copy and paste the following text into an email or letter. Then you will use this link to look up your legislator contact information. Simply type your name into the search bar under "How to Contact Your Member" to bring up their contact information. --- Subject: Protect Dreamers Dear [Recipient's Title and Name]: As a member of the League of Women Voters of Oregon, I was pleased to hear from Senate and House leadership this week that protecting Dreamers is a high priority in the remaining time of the 117th Congress. I urgently request Congress to pass legislation to protect Dreamers from future attempts to dismantle the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program and give these individuals the desperately needed security to plan productive futures in the United States. There should be no delay in taking action to protect the Dreamers. For far too long, these individuals who are part of the fabric of America have not been fully recognized. There should be no doubt that these individuals are worthy of protection from deportation and a path toward permanent status and citizenship. People who are protected by DACA, their families, and their communities deserve the peace of mind to build their lives and futures, which so many of us born in this country take for granted. I strong urge you to protect Dreamers in the remaining time of the 117th Congress. Sincerely, [Your Name]

Dear LWVOR Members and friends, We may aspire to a December of rest and rejuvenation from the busy elections, fall activities, and calm preparation for the 2023 legislative session. This would be like watching a Duck (or a Beaver 😊) serenely crossing a pond, not seeing the effort beneath the surface. We are busy in every committee, in every networking group, still looking for a better name for “lateral communication”! Given that, I want to encourage us all to take the time we need to replenish this month, to enjoy ourselves, our families and our friends. Many will be busy with League work, basically non-stop, and thank you for that. I’m probably addressing you most of all. Honestly, this is a large group! Please take care. You are making important differences in so many ways, Thank You! A big Thank You to outgoing VOTER Editor Terry Styner for her leadership this past year in setting an annual schedule, soliciting articles, and keeping us on track. Our quarterly edition of The VOTER is coming out shortly, with in-depth news on the 2023 LWVOR Convention, May 19-21, the Oregon Student Mock Election results, COP27 in Egypt, an In Memoriam for Merilyn Reeves, and a volunteer discussion from our new Nominating Committee Task Force. The board is looking for a volunteer to take the reins for this now well-organized process! We have a schedule, writers, a production team, and proofreaders. please let us know if you’re interested in this quarterly position, ask at: lwvor@lwvor.org. Have a lovely December, sharing virtual holiday cookies! Yours In League! Becky Gladstone LWVOR President THIS MONTH… Voter Service election analytics being reviewed LWVOR Studies’ status Youth Outreach, OSME wrap, moving forward LWV, Climate Change and the UN Action Recommended reading VOTER SERVICE The Vote411.org usage analytics are just in from LWVUS, so watch for more on that in the new year. Hats’ Off to our strong Voter Service network, with comprehensive coverage serving all of Oregon with Oregon candidate and ballot measure information, all the way down the ballots!* See our November newsletter for a full round of thanks to Voter Service Chair Peggy Bengry and her full network of subcommittees and local League VS Reps, for events, Vote411 data collection and management, the full portfolio of Voters’ Guides, including ballot measure analysis, and more! *About that down ballot Vote 411 coverage. We do not cover PCP (Precinct Committee Person) candidates. They run for political party positions and that part of our ballots is closed to party member votes only. Our coverage might arguably serve as an advantage to individual parties, not equally serving our minor parties and non-affiliated voters, who don’t have access. Watch for more on this in our upcoming state study proposals. STUDIES, UPCOMING AND ONGOING! In case you missed it, Annie Goldner is adeptly shepherding our study process. Now is the time to be reaching out to local Leagues to build support for strong study proposals to the LWVOR Board, due the week before our February board meeting. We have two proposals building steam, both for Governance, one to look at elected official recall processes and the other looking at the open primary process alluded to earlier, above. Our completed Biocides and Pesticides study awaits a member agreement committee to craft a position based on our member feedback already collated. Our Child Care and Election Methods study updates are both on final production steps, both informative and neither making position changes. For news on our studies, contact Annie Goldner, a.goldner@lwvor.org. YOUTH OUTREACH Congratulations to our team for successful LWVOR 2022 Oregon Student Mock Elections! As part of our invigorated youth outreach program, our Civics Education curriculum supporting the Mock Election is now ongoing year-round, currently looking at the May 2023 Multnomah Special Election and establishing strong relationships across Oregon with our schools. The committee is establishing a local League network of liaisons. To learn more, contact Diana DeMaria, youthoutreach@lwvor.org. See Diana’s full report in our November newsletter! LWV, CLIMATE CHANGE, AND THE U.N.! Our deepest gratitude this year to our Climate workers, persisting in the face of worsening global conditions. We ran daily LWVOR Newsroom reports from Robin Tokmakian, LWVOR 1st VP and LWVUS UN Observer for Climate at COP27. She reported heavy global industrial resistance to accepting the immediately necessary remediation actions. Read the latest UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports including LWVUS participation with Observer Status (IPCC roster). Thanks to Claudia Keith for ongoing Climate Immigration and Emergency status action, both in Oregon and nationally. Please contact us at lwvor@lwvor.org for more information and to help. ACTION Our action committee is ramping up for the 2023 session with December “legislative days” next week. Legislative packets have gone out to local Leagues for post-election outreach to Legislators with suggested interview guidelines and questions. We want to develop and reinforce working relationships. We hope the 2023 Session “Priorities” will help connect those working on specific issues. This powerful and energetic group of issue advocates needs support from organizers who can help with committee logistics. We continue to welcome volunteers who want to learn our process to observe and learn to cover additional specific topics. Subscribe for the really useful email Legislative Report summaries and see the comprehensive reports online. If you can help, please contact our staff, lwvor@lwvor.org. RECOMMENDED READING Very hot off the press, releasing on December 1st! A Question of Respect, from the Powell’s site, “ a political resource that depicts a compelling case for how the nation reached this moment and, more importantly, where it needs to go and what it might take. Though Ed is a Republican and Celinda is a Democrat, they have reached across the great divide to make the case that the only way for America to claw its way out of this mess is through mutual respect. They posit that respect is the foundation upon which we can again trust one another as Americans." Note, I could not have been more thrilled to hear this month’s author, Celinda Lake, President of Lake Research Partners, as keynote speaker at the 2016 LWV Convention! Thank You for reading! My warmest wishes to all of you this December! With 14 major international holidays this month, I hope we can all celebrate and have some fun! Here’s to managing COVID, taking stock of this year, and regaining our energy to vigorously address the 2023 tasks at hand! Happy New Year, almost! 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.

Photo by Marcus Siske on Unsplash. The annual UN Climate Conference, COP27, has concluded in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. Fifteen League representatives attended this year (in-person and virtually) as observers for the League of Women Voters of the U.S. The team reported daily for the duration of the conference. See the reports below. 11/28: Final COP27 Summary Report submitted by Robin Tokmakian, LWVUS UN Observer for Climate The rule book for the Paris Agreement was completed at COP26. There were a few leftover items that needed cleaning up at COP27, but, for the most part, COP27 was for planning to implement the Paris Agreement. But real-world events overshadowed much of COP27 - such as the ongoing droughts in Africa and the floods in Pakistan. The US, with the Biden administration, and Brazil with the newly elected Lulu de Silva, Russian and its invasion of Ukraine, and China still shutting itself off, created a new dynamic amongst the global powerhouses. The EU and USA found a way to support creating a financial structure to help less developed countries address their losses due to extreme climate events. The member states requested that the supporting agency make a new attempt at defining what counts as a carbon credit under the Paris rules, so as not to impact human rights and environmental justice issues and the carbon market can be put into place. In other areas, countries decided to “identify opportunities and gaps to reduce emissions” so that more ambitious emission reductions would occur. And there was progress made on a “Global Goal on Adaptation”. The “Sharm El-Sheikh Implementation Plan” retained the Glasgow call to phase out coal and “inefficient fossil fuel subsidies” and to call for reforming multilateral development banks. Outside of the negotiations, the LWVUS delegation of observers took a broad view of various events. We heard from people on the ground affecting change and powerful political people from Biden and Kerry, to Al Gore, the UN’s Secretary General, a UN Human Rights Special Rapporteur, and a UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women. We participated in actions to convince delegates to be more ambitious and respect the rights of us all and we meet activists from around the world — passionate to address and solve the climate problem in many ways. Here’s a sampling of what some of the LWVUS observers came away with: Food & Agriculture One observer focused on food. The Food Systems Pavilion provided much “food for thought”. Two facts were repeated multiple times. “1) 30% of climate issues are caused by agriculture, especially industrialized agriculture and therefore mitigation strategies must receive the proper attention;” and 2) “Since only 3% of climate change adaptation monies are directed toward food production and storage solutions, much more is needed to prevent mass hunger throughout many parts of the world.” “Governments, such as the United States and Israel, are currently funding research projects and indeed both have a soft call out for new initiatives. Research labs are busy growing crops by controlling all inputs, from seed to harvest, to create a “better tomato” so to speak. Producers, such as Unilever, Oatly, and Impossible Burger are taking very different approaches---Unilever is working with governments to increase the nutritional value of its products and better storage of its inputs with the goal of food security in these nations. Oatly is designing its production and distribution systems to be net zero from the start. And Impossible Burger is working towards net negative emissions by creating demand for alternatives to animal-based proteins. Other entities are working directly with farmers by changing farming practices to improve soil health, guaranteeing against losses for the first few years of these changes and stabilizing farmers’ year-round income by planting trees to earn carbon credits which can then be sold. Solutions will require substantial investments by all parties to affect change. However, innovation and fresh ideas abound in this arena as well. Plans are being discussed to replace food subsidies and target those monies towards adaptation. But even with adequate funds, key challenges include how to capture the true cost of food by factoring in impacts to health and the environment and how to scale up successful solutions yet at the same time recognizing that, in many cases, locally-led planning and execution is a must. Presentations at the LLA Pavilion (Locally Led Adaptation) reinforced the latter as a necessity. We are in the early days of recognizing the role of food in the climate equation. Both as a contributor to and potential casualty of the climate crisis. As I discovered, this aspect is not without areas of disagreement as to who should do what, when, where and how. As with all problems of great importance, strong opinions abound. For example, the ICCA (International Coalition on Climate and Agriculture) finds fault with the new USA AIM (Agricultural Innovations Mission) agritech program, where the focus is on biotechnology, nanotechnology, robotics and AI, claiming false solutions. ICCA’s focus is on ecological farming, not perpetuating industrial agriculture. And Impossible Burger squaring off against Oatley in a discussion claiming that net negative emissions, not net zero, should be the goal. But strong debate and discussions will lead to a much more food-secure world. “ Surveying delegates from various countries One of our delegates took a very personal approach to the conference. Here are his notes: “I decided to focus on personal interactions with people with whom I would almost never have contact. I began surveying countries with three questions: 1) what did they want Americans to know about their country and climate change; 2) what was their view of “loss and damages”; and 3) what did they think were the odds of keeping global warming to 1.5C by 2030? I spoke to folks from 21 countries and several NGO’s. The closest they came to an agreement was that in general folks felt it was unlikely that we can keep global warming below 1.5C by 2030. In the interest of time, I will summarize my impressions with some generalizations. In general, African countries, and some Pacific Island countries, consider themselves on the front line of climate change. Their reasons were quite compelling, from food shortages and deaths to civil unrest. They desperately need loss and damage money to help adapt to climate change. Middle eastern countries (oil producers) generally focused on their virtue as future producers of hydrogen. They did not anticipate using their sovereign wealth funds to assist other countries. They were vague about loss and damages. (The Kuwaiti that I spoke with did point out that their country would be uninhabitable by 2035 and that sand storms reduced the viability of solar panels.) The developed countries talked about their mitigation efforts and technological talents and were ambivalent about loss and damages The odd two out were China and India both of whom are huge emitters. Their emissions are growing. They spoke about all that they were doing to develop alternative energy with vague promises about carbon neutrality in the far distant future The country that gave me the most personal angst was Qatar. I asked them if it was true that Qatar was the largest carbon emitter in the world per capita. The person said it was insignificant. If carbon emissions are a cup, their emissions are a drop. The reason for my angst was that their logic is largely my logic when I travel to COP or drive a gas-powered car, clearly, I am part of the problem. I am convinced that the single biggest thing the U.S. can do (and it will not solve the problem) is to put a rising fee on greenhouse gas emissions, rebate the proceeds monthly to everyone and implement a border carbon adjustment. This is not an original idea, but it requires political will that has not yet been demonstrated by the U.S.” Robin Tokmakian, LWVUS UN Observer for Climate 11/17: Day 10 of COP27 Report submitted by Robin Tokmakian, LWVUS UN Observer for Climate Getting to the end. Some items: 1. The Emissions Report from the UN Environmental Program; addresses the gap between how much emissions have been reduced or are addressed in current plans and how far we have to go. 2. Side event: HRW, TI, GAIA: Climate Justice, Civic Space and Public Participation One takeaway: Some countries have suggested that a Conflict of Interest form is needed. Maybe by COP28 or ban corporations (happens in WHO) Continued to listen to negotiations on a cover decision. There is a split in the delegations - many (including the US) want to reinforce the Glasgow Climate Pact and state a goal of reaching emissions peak by 2025. Also, including a phase out of coal and new fossil fuel incentives. Lots of push back on this last point. US would also like a statement relating to oceans and biodiversity. There is a concern that parties are going backwards, rather than forward. Barbados made an interesting comment - originally the UNFCCC treaty was all about reducing greenhouse gas emissions (mitigation), then it morphed to include adaptation, now it has had to include discussions on “loss and damage”. If we had only taken care of the mitigation part early, we would have reduced the cost of addressing climate change and would not be addressing the latter two. Barbados always puts things very succinctly. Someone asked me about what positives have come out so far from COP27. Here’s what I can say so far: 1) US and China are again negotiating on climate. 2) The Santiago Network implementation was agreed to (The network is for “Catalysing technical assistance of relevant organizations, bodies, networks and experts, for the implementation of relevant approaches for averting, minimize and addressing loss and damage at the local, national and regional level, in developing countries that are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change.”) 3). Lots of interesting and exciting ideas from an engaged global civil society. 4) The US delegation is saying a lot of the right things on gender, indigenous rights, and human rights. I have some other notes to share, but will require some summarizing … maybe early next week. Robin Tokmakian, LWVUS UN Observer for Climate 11/16: Day 9 of COP27 Report submitted by Robin Tokmakian, LWVUS UN Observer for Climate From my virtual view - a couple of things to note: UN organizations are siloed and don’t speak enough to each other - but it’s better than it was. For example, UN Biodiversity talks only recently included climate discussions. Women and Gender: 80% of the NDCs (Nationally determined Contributions) mention gender and/or women, but it will still take 286 years to reach gender equality at the rate we are going. This is from a UNWomen report (don’t have a reference to report, yet). On Carbon Dioxide Removals using the ocean - there have several efforts over the years since 2009 to produce governing principles for ethical research in this area - for example, the Oxford Principles for Geo-engineering, and Principles for research into climate engineering techniques. Susana’s take, on the ground: My introduction to the League happened as a result of my interest in education, and one of my main interests in climate work (apart from the science/research/expedition skis I do) is in educating. This morning started with me attending a discussion on the role of informal (ie, not in school), locally-grounded climate teaching. We spoke about the role of culture and language, and my sociolinguistic background was wriggling with excitement. This also supports a program I have been trying to get off the ground, so I left the session with ideas, enthusiasm and a cast of global advisors! On the academic front, my goal today was to attend two pavilion events led by a specialist in Antarctic and Greenlandic ice sheet destabilisation. I work with this man, but we had never met in person! As an Arctic researcher, one of my key interests is how the climate crisis in the Arctic is both a harbinger and a catalyst of global disaster. These two sessions focused on the dynamics of committed sea level rise and the shortcomings of ice models, which fail to show the rapid degree of ice loss seen in observations. For the record, Greenland has been averaging a loss of 14 million litres of water per second, so tally that up! Sea level rise from the poles is concentrated in the tropics, and we're seeing now resulting disasters, especially in the low-lying and small island developing states. On the more COP-focused front, I joined my Indigenous sisters to stand against violence toward women and Indigenous peoples as a result of colonialism and extractive industry. We still do not have any concrete or substantive loss and damage finance from the negotiations. This is increasingly a hot topic, and it looks doubtful to me now. In the negotiations today, loss and damage finance was fiercely contested with some passionate and begging speeches by national representatives, yet the G20 and G7 have sought to protect their pockets, offering morsels for empathy that neither are financially sufficient nor would be controlled by the people in need of the funds. Here is one quote from Satyendra Prasad, Fiji's Ambassador and Permanent Representative to United Nations: "The world is barreling down the highway to climate hell, as the United Nations Secretary General warned us. It isn’t Fiji’s foot on the gas pedal nor that of any Least Developed Country or Small Island Developing State. We are passengers – more like hostages trapped in a vehicle that is being recklessly steered by high emitters." Imagine listening to these pleas all day!! It's heartbreaking for me. As a fighter for climate justice, I just want to rattle people into sense! My other growing fear, especially with the UAE hosting COP28 next year and the 70 oil magnets comprising a core cohort of its constituency here, is that the Paris Accords may be dropped. 1.5 degrees has never been an arbitrary target!! It's a legit tipping point, a point at which disasters escalate exponentially. I am terrified the petro lobbyists here are getting the upper hand. So with that, I guess it's lucky I'm still running 18h days--fewer hours in bed to panic at night. Guess we need to add ‘international climate negotiators’ as a target audience for education… ____ Robin Tokmakian LWVUS UN Observer for Climate 11/15: Day 8 of COP27 Report submitted by Robin Tokmakian, LWVUS UN Observer for Climate The negotiations are now on a fast track to the end of the week and the parties are trying to address all the items which were left over from last week. Let’s see if the high-level ministers can get the job done on Article 6’s problem with removals, loss and damage funding, and addressing human rights issues. You never know who is riding the shuttle buses. On one ride last week, I met one of the commissioners from the California Public Utility Commission, Commissioner John Reynolds. On another ride, Kimberly met a woman from Minnesota, who we ended up having dinner with. She ended up joining her local league in the Twin Cities because of Kimberly’s conversations with her (Kimberly is from Cincinnati). In one side event on finance, the panelists spoke about the difficulty of women getting access to funding for local projects — For example, funding may be provided to improve major roads in an area, but the local roads, to get food or other items locally distributed do not get funded. The same thing applies to climate programs - funding is available for large projects that may or may not reach local people, but not for small local projects that may be significant on the small scale. Here are Susana’s comments: Sunday was supposed to be a rest day, but I was at the first of the two-day World Climate Summit to which I had been invited to further negotiate climate finance and Loss and Damages (ed. note - this is not the official UN negotiations]. In the evening, I attended UNDP's Frankie the Dino's birthday party on the beach--really good fun, and possibly my first dino-themed birthday party since the mid-1990s! You can check out Frankie's #DontChooseExtinction campaign here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9eFABJqGTM. Even though it made for another 16h day, it was great to be able to converse with a small group of fellow activists and researchers in a more casual environment over a (ha, some) piece(s) of cake. However, not having rest on Sunday meant Monday hit me like a lead hammer. Given Monday was gender (and water) day, I had been invited to be on several panels and interviews about gender equity, advancing women in research, and the voices of women during COP proceedings and negotiations. After several of these, I was properly toast and again had an evening invitation with a preview of one of my climate films, so I didn't make it to any panels today. Today, the UN Women Executive Director, Sima Bahous, cited that we're not on track to meet gender equality by 2030. In fact, not by 2050 or even 2100! Bahous cites a date 300 years into the future!! Partially as a result of the lack of meaningful action on themes of loss and damage, climate implementation (this is the "Implementation COP") and the compounding effects on gender, we have some spillover events for tomorrow that will continue these threads. There are only four more days of COP, and I am definitely starting to feel the pressure! We have yet to have the emergence, or even partial emergence, of key conference plans (again, notably surrounding themes of loss and damage, and implementation), which hints at some seriously late nights in meeting rooms this week. Germany, on behalf of global partners, launched a Global Shield Against Climate Risks today as a mechanism of funneling money into particularly vulnerable areas, but the financing pledged by the G7 is a "drop in the bucket," according to Rachel Simon, the policy coordinator for Climate Action Network Europe. Wealthy countries know what is needed and they can very well afford it, but it isn't their priority. Instead, the climate crisis is a threat multiplier, particularly for climate vulnerable countries, women, and other marginalized territories and groups. Robin Tokmakian, LWVUS UN Observer for Climate Change 11/12: Day 6 of COP27 Report submitted by Robin Tokmakian, LWVUS UN Observer for Climate End of the first week, and work of the negotiators is partly done, but they haven’t finished the job. The closing plenaries of the two subsidiary bodies say too many agenda items incomplete including not having a draft text for funding “loss and damage” and not resolving the questions of whether or not to reopen the Article 6 (carbon market) text about what constitutes a “removal” or credit. Let’s see if the ministerial level negotiations can get it done. Civil society held a big demonstration inside the UN space. The space includes streets that could accommodate the loud and powerful voices of activists. Unlike in previous years, demonstrations were not allowed outside the UN space. I’ve left Egypt and will now follow virtually…. Below are a copy of other reflections from LWV delegates inside and outside the UN space. From one of LWVUS’ young delegates —- a junior in high school, Sumedha: “I was particularly interested in the Africa Climate Week Side Events and the Presidency events relating to Africa, like “Africa: From Needs to Access” and the official launch of “A Climate Resilient Africa Initiative.” Studies presented at the conference noted that Africa requires $190 billion of investment a year, with two-thirds of this going to clean energy, in order to meet its climate and energy goals. As it stands, according to the Sustainable Development Goal 7 tracking report, Africa is unlikely to meet the SDG7 targets. In order to address and work towards diminishing economic and sociopolitical inequities within Africa, universal access to electricity is essential — a study done by the Bank’s New Deal on Energy for Africa also exposed a financing gap that stands between $17 billion and $25 billion, with the continent’s large economies like Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa accounting for around 33 percent of this deficit. I was also able to check out the SBI-SBSTA special event on the gender-related aspects of IPCC AR6 (WGII and WGIII) and look at some of the related documents (“Implementation of gender-responsive climate policies, plans, strategies and action as reported by Parties in regular reports and communications under the UNFCCC”). There was recognition of how women across the globe are more vulnerable to climate-related risks (economic consequences, further domestic and educational inequity) and yet are imperative to the climate solution (as agricultural workers, household managers, and frontline leaders). Presenter Minhal Pinak noted that there exist gendered differences in energy and consumption choices — women use less energy (even in more developed countries). She also noted that (particularly in less developed countries without reliable access to education, medical assistance, and social protection), environmental degradation leads to asymmetrical health consequences that primarily harm women. “AIPP: Indigenous Peoples' Assessment: Our contributions to the National Climate Plans and Policies” was another standout. The meeting mostly focused on exploring the question of whether and how Asian governments are recognizing the rights, roles and contributions of Indigenous Peoples. The Chairman presented a study focusing on Thailand that focused on a long-term climate master plan (up to 2050). Some of the key findings they noted were that Indigenous communities have already been suffering from climate change (decrease in water sources and natural food sources), but Indigenous people have knowledge of the natural landscape and how to accommodate such changes. However, equitable climate change mitigation is essential to sustainability in Asia — increasing forest cover, in particular, is vital for Indigenous communities and for the continent of Asia.” And from Susana Hancock, LWVUS climate observer: “Today was another one for soul rejuvenation, which provided a bit of breathing space for me. Late morning, I joined the Global Climate March within the UN-controlled Blue Zone. With Egypt’s laws prohibiting free speech, nearly all forms of protest have been isolated to an off-site zone. We, however, received official permission to have this event on-site. It was empowering to march, rally, and cheer with several hundred other Blue Zone participants. The march ended with speeches, mostly from African activists questioning the legacy of colonialism in the current COP dialogue. I also had the opportunity to meet with Dr Vandana Shiva, whom I met as a kid when I first learned about the role of agriculture in addressing the climate crisis. After my last session, I made my way to the Green Zone, the section of the COP run locally. It was full of a different kind of life, art, music, and a lot of creativity. Very few Blue Zone delegates even go to the Green Zone and probably fewer global leaders. I wish more delegates would go, it is a showcase of how the climate crisis affects more local communities. “ Robin Tokmakian - LWVUS UN Observer for Climate 11/11: Day 5 of COP27 Report submitted by Robin Tokmakian, LWVUS UN Observer for Climate Started the day in the Women and Gender Constituency meeting. After updates on various states of the negotiations, we had a surprise visit from the sister of the prisoned UK/Egyptian, Alaa Abdel-Fattah. He is on a hunger/water strike. She informed us that the Egyptian government said that his attorneys could see him, but in the end, they weren’t allowed in. I hope that while President Biden was in Egypt, he had strong words about the situation with the Egyptian President. Talking about security —men in suits EVERYWHERE, on the street, in the UN, in your hotel. That is on top of men with AK47s (only a few I’ve seen), regular police, traffic police, and private security in hotels (more than one and on the road to hotels.Leaving Egypt yesterday, at the airport — two airport-like security checks, and multiple passport checks, including right before getting on the plane, where the policeman wanted to see the Visa stamp on our passports. When I went through one security check, the man with a “bomb squad” label on his shirt checked my bag to see what a small metal thing was. … It was my favorite collapsable pen. But seeing it, opening it up to where the cartridge was — was not good enough for him. He put it through the scanning in a big bin all by itself! Maybe he thought it was a James Bond camera or something! Very strange. Three US Senators spoke at the US Pavillion, Cardin(MD), Whitehouse(RI), and Markey(MA). They spoke about all the work done in the Senate, the problems with cloture, and the difficulty of getting things done with the powerful fossil fuel lobby. All things we know about. Emphasized that there are still things the Exec. Dept. could do in the area of the regulation. Markey thinks we need a World Climate Organization like the World Meteorological Org that handles the coordination of weather operations. Whitehouse spoke about efforts to crush democracy around the world and also about independent PACS. All things we know can harm civil society interaction with getting things done. Last, with the human rights working caucus, we had a visit with the Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in the area of Climate, Ian Fry. He was a former negotiator for Tuvalu and was surprised now that he is in the side event space that there is a vast disconnect between civil society and the negotiators. The negotiators are not showing up to side events to hear from civil society. It is much different from what happens at the biodiversity COPs where there is more sharing between civil society and the parties. Susana Hancock, LWVUS climate observer: I needed some personal care today after a few recent tough days. So I slept in (til 8am) and had a good meal. I also gained energy from some protests on loss and damage funding. The afternoon was capped off with a speech by President Biden. Overall, he spoke with passion and conviction, and he said the ‘right’ things. However, I have heard these words before. This COP is said to be the Implementation COP—the time for promises is over, and I find myself disenchanted by anyone offering further pledges when not backed by action. Unfortunately, while I know the US recently passed its largest-ever climate act with the IRA, the fact is we have a dire track record, and even if completely upheld, the IRA only covers a fraction of our commitments to the Paris Agreement. As a country, we have only actually paid up 5% of the financing we’re promised in the green transition, and I need time to digest Biden’s words, time to see that his Administration is for implementation. — Signing off - Robin Tokmakian LWVUS UN Observer for Climate 11/10: Day 4 of COP27 Report submitted by Robin Tokmakian, LWVUS UN Observer for Climate It was, unofficially, human rights day at COP27. Many people wore white, the color of imprisoned people in Egypt. Several silent protests were held - but unsure if member states were moved. One highlight of the day was a group of US NGOs being able to meet with the official US delegation, that is, the negotiators. They were fairly frank in their views (but off the record) and we can take hope that the outcomes will be positive, but there is still a ways to go. On the negotiation front - things are moving along. The parties have essentially agreed to start the process to create a fund for addressing loss and damage caused by climate events. It will probably take several years to complete. This is a major accomplishment because it was not even on the agenda for this COP and was added at the beginning of the negotiation process. And progress is being made to implement the rules for Article 6, the carbon market. The parties have expressed concern over the language concerning “removals”. That is what counts as removing carbon from the atmosphere. Civil society is very concerned that the proposed language is harmful to many communities and is too broad. It appears that the US also sees this as a problem. One consequence of the implementation rules that will be put in place, is that many voluntary/non-Paris Agreement markets will follow these same rules. We don’t want bad rules, such as what happened with the Kyoto agreement. Susana Hancock, LWVUS climate observer, has this to add about what she’s been up to: Today was a toughie for me. To have been an activist since elementary school and a frontline scientist, I want to believe we host these events for progress in tackling the existential threat of the climate crisis. Yet, 636 lobbyists are here from the petroleum industry—70 are part of the UAE delegation, which is particularly scary given the UAE is hosting COP28. There is so much greenwashing in their material—each of their displays highlights how fossil fuels are necessary to our future with some fictitious net-zero pledge. Around midday, I was invited to address this on a broadcast, which had several million live views. I spoke about speaking to power, both as a young activist and also as a scientist in the fastest-warming region in the world and the global disasters triggered by this region’s rapid change. I wrapped up my evening with an IPCC colleague from Kyiv. I had the chance to learn about Ukrainian polar research projects and then had the opportunity to hear how the war has changed the research landscape. Luckily, I also ran into an amazing friend from school—unexpectedly, and it was incredibly reinvigorating. We do this work for a reason. It is worth it. Check out my social media for more—each evening I am sharing a short wrap-up in a video taken from a different part of COP. www.twitter.com/susanahancock_ and www.instagram.com/susanahancock_ Signing off -- Robin Tokmakian LWVUS UN Observer for Climate 11/9: Day 3 of COP27 Report submitted by Robin Tokmakian, LWVUS UN Observer for Climate Today was an odd mix of things. Tried to listen to some of the negotiations. On the carbon market implementation, there was disagreement between parties on whether or not there should be a “coordination and working group”. Once again parties disagreed with the developed countries (US, Canada, EU for example) not wanting extra bureaucracy and the developing countries (for example the Africa Group). One positive note - Brazil has changed its tune this year with the recent outcome of their election. Because of the transition process in Brazil, it seemed to happen overnight — with much more progressive statements coming from the Brazil delegation. Not surprisingly, the Brazilian NGOs are overjoyed. In the US Center, Kerry announced an “Energy transition accelerator” - basically a voluntary carbon market with the Bezos Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation behind it. Some of the concern I heard was that it might trample on human rights, and allow double counting — all the problems found in the Kyoto Protocol. Here’s a look at COP from LWV observer Susana Hancock: One of my highlights(?) today was partaking in the Earth Information briefing at the large plenary hall. The World Meteorological Organization, Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission-UNESCO and other scientific expert teams presented to the UN to give an update on our planetary status, and in particular, our so-called carbon budget. However, in a significant oversight, nowhere was permafrost thaw mentioned as a greenhouse gas source. Permafrost holds 4x the carbon that has been emitted by modern humans!! Its thaw accounts for as much as 40% of our remaining carbon budget and the UN leaders continue to act as if it doesn’t exist. As a polar specialist, this is a topic I was able to raise, and I was backed by research institutions around the world afterward. Accounting for permafrost completely destroys our global calculations and drastically cuts any permissible emissions. Still waiting for answers…. Robin Tokmakian LWVUS UN Observer for Climate 11/8: Day 2 of COP27 Report submitted by Robin Tokmakian, LWVUS UN Observer for Climate COP27 is underway in earnest. The US opened their pavilion with John Kerry talking about - what else - the Inflation Reduction Act. The highlight, though, was not the bigwigs, but Janene Yazzie of the NDN Collective, an enrolled Navajo. What a dynamo! She spoke from the heart about how the indigenous peoples of the world have taken care of the land and it is their soul to do so. She spoke of how hard it is to repair damages done by big corporations and big governments. Human Rights are front and center at COP27. Both from the climate perspective and from the perspective of political prisoners held in Egypt. There is a working group for Human Rights to advocate and push delegates not to trample on them as the Paris agreement moves toward full implementation. One aspect is that in creating the rules for the market mechanisms, there is a fear that anyone and everyone will be able to claim carbon credits, even if human rights are trampled upon. For example, if a geoengineering scheme, such as fertilizing the ocean to take up carbon, is allowed and is not verified not to impact the rights we have as humans, then fishing as a basic food source may be harmed. There are many more examples. I also listened to several sessions on the IPCC. One on how climate scenarios are determined and the outcomes, in terms of mitigation. A new article to appear in Science in the next few days talks about the economic growth is much better for developing countries under scenarios that reach net-zero. The other IPCC session was on how gender issues have been addressed in the three reports along with the 1.5°C report. No surprise, women are affected by climate change in ways that men don’t face, much having to do with cooking and growing food. But one of the IPCC reports has evidence that overall, women’s carbon footprint is much smaller than men’s. This is not only in how we use energy or the traditional jobs associated with each gender but that women make better sustainable choices when it comes to energy use. Interesting, I say. One big or little positive, depending on how you view it — Scotland pledged money to a “loss and damage” fund. The logistics still are difficult. It is a miracle each day that I can get off a crowded bus at the right stop as the drivers don’t seem to want to stop anywhere along the way. And food is still not to be found easily. Here is a brief report from our delegate from Maine, Susana Hancock: I had a 15h day, and I am properly spent—needed my first cup of caff midday! I started at 7am with breakfast meetings on climate finance, before the small invite-only First Movers Summit on implementation of policy. I then took a bit of time to check out the NY Times Climate Hub to which I had been invited (attending it otherwise a costs more than I am paying in accommodation!!) and met neat people developing climate education practices, which ties into some of my specific League interests. Afterward, I returned to talk about loss and damage financing in high-level panels and had the opportunity to speak with the present and past COP presidents and Egyptian leaders. Lastly, I spent some time planning for one of my upcoming panels and linking up with some of my IPCC colleagues and drafting responses to several world leaders on integrity, action and the gross lack of action to which I am accustomed. Robin Tokmakian, LWVUS UN Observer for Climate 11/7: Day 1 of COP27 Report submitted by Robin Tokmakian, LWVUS UN Observer for Climate COP27 has begun. This first report will be short. Monday’s events were mostly introductory negotiation sessions and the world leader’s summit. President Biden has not arrived yet, but former Vice President Al Gore was in full voice. Former Vice President Al Gore speaks at COP27. Sharm-el-Sheik is, well, different. It is a purpose-built resort and that is what it feels like. Some logistical things have gone smoothly - for example, security lines are not super long like in Glasgow (COP26), but eating places inside the UN space are few and far between. We are all hoping that things will improve as the side events begin tomorrow and it will become even more crowded. Several LWV delegates have had the pleasure of swimming in the Red Sea and we’ve tried the local seafood. In the negotiation space - The women and gender constituency along with an NGO human rights working group are making their voices heard, but whether action by member states will occur, who knows? I heard on a bus ride that progress has been made in the area of “loss and damage” in the form of an added agenda item being approved to push for specific ‘loss and damage” funding. It is a beginning but will take a while to get any funding in place. Loss and damage funding is money to address things like the floods in Pakistan. It is different from adaptation funding. I had a conversation on the walk and shuttle ride to COP with a former assistant to the UN’s secretary general. He and a group he is with are pushing to change how climate ambition gets achieved. He thinks we should have it like the Olympics and award prices for who does the best in various areas. Not sure how that would work, but interesting idea. All for now. Robin Tokmakian & the rest of the LWVUS team

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 11/02/2022 CONTACT Rebecca Gladstone, President 503.581.5722 www.lwvor.org lwvor@lwvor.org Results are in! Students across Oregon participated in OSME, the 2022 Oregon Student Mock Election for a realistic voting experience endorsed by Governor Kate Brown and Secretary of State Shemia Fagan. The League of Women Voters of Oregon created a mock ballot, with SoS review, mirroring the General Election ballot with three contests for all Oregon students: US Senator, Oregon Governor, and Measure 114 (gun safety). We honored educator requests for mock ballots with some local races. Multnomah County students voted on Measure 26-232 (ranked-choice voting), Clackamas County students voted on County Clerk, and Deschutes County students voted on Measure 9-148 (nonpartisan county commissioner elections) and Measure 9-155 (a Bend-La Pine School District bond measure). Several regions voted on US Congressional Districts 5 and 6. Every public school district and private/charter/homeschool educators across the state were invited to register for ballots, instructions, and a lesson plan. Over 5500 students were registered from an impressive 18 different communities, all around Oregon: Astoria, Bend, Boring, Camas Valley, Crane, Days Creek, Hood River, Irrigon, Klamath Falls, Lake Oswego, Medford, North Bend, Portland, Salem, Sandy, Springfield, Tigard, Troutdale, West Linn, and Wilsonville. Oregon Statewide Student Mock Ballot results: Ron Wyden won US Senator with 53%. Tina Kotek won Oregon Governor with 54%. Measure 114 (gun safety) passed with 73% voting yes. Local Student Mock Ballot results: US Congressional District 5, Jamie McLeod-Skinner won with 73%. The new US Congressional District 6, Andrea Salinas won with 59%. Multnomah County Measure 26-232 (ranked-choice voting) passed by 75%. Clackamas County Clerk Clackamas students elected Catherine McMullen by 59%. Deschutes students passed Measure 9-148 (nonpartisan county commissioners) by 88%. Deschutes Measure 9-155 (the school bond) also passed by 86%. The award-winning LWVOR OSME student voting experience is supported by YEAR-ROUND access to our free Civics Education curriculum and materials. ###

Date: 11/1/2022 To: All League Members From: Rebecca Gladstone, LWVOR President Alice Bartelt, Action Committee Chair Marge Easley, Gun Safety Portfolio Chair ACTION ALERT: Measure 114 needs your help! The latest polling shows that Measure 114 is too close to call, and the League has been asked by the Vote Yes on 114 campaign to spread the word to our members, friends, and families that the League, along with scores of other organizations, have strongly endorsed the measure. Measure 114 requires a permit-to-purchase a firearm and bans the future sale of large capacity magazines, with certain exceptions. Nine other states have enacted similar laws and have seen a reduction in firearm homicides and suicides. Amidst a barrage of campaign rhetoric about the rise in crime in our state, it is important to note that gun violence is not just a Portland problem. A recent firearm injury report issued by the Gun Violence Prevention Center at Oregon Health and Science University points out that gun violence is a public health crisis affecting both urban and rural areas across Oregon. It found that “firearm injury emergency department visits increased from 459 in 2019 to 873 in 2021, a 90.2% increase. For people living in Oregon, as in the U.S. more broadly, the devastation of the COVID-19 pandemic was magnified by the worsening impact of the firearm injury crisis.” No single law can stop all gun violence, but Measure 114 is a proven way to save lives in our communities. VOTE YES ON MEASURE 114!

Dear LWVOR Members and friends, Welcome to November, in the election home stretch for one more week! Please spread the word to help to GOTV! Get Out The VOTE! After the election, please thank all of our election workers, volunteers, and candidates who ran for office! Kudos to our Voter Service! We all care about the election outcome. Our Action Committee is getting ready for 2023, aware that legislative committees will look different with many incumbents choosing not to return. Let’s share Thanksgiving gratitude and pace ourselves, balancing virtual and in-person outreach. My best to all of you, with gratitude for your efforts! Yours In League! Becky Gladstone LWVOR President ONE WEEK BEFORE ELECTION DAY... THIS MONTH… Voter Services This Last Election Week: GOTV, Vote411.org & LWVOR Election Resources LWVOR on our Elections New Youth Outreach at LWVOR Oregon Student Mock Elections LWV UN Observer status: Congratulations! & COP 27, Nov 13-14, in Egypt Recommended Reading Membership Forms! Thank you to creative staff energy and quick turn around! VOTER SERVICE For this final election 2022 week, share League Election Resources, for comprehensive online voting information, events and videos! Remember, Vote411.org, represents candidate and measures in all Oregon counties, about 10 times more information than in our print guides. We appreciate all members’ work, especially Spectacular Elections’ efforts! Local Leagues! I see google alerts *every day* for League work around Oregon! Voter Service Chair Peggy Bengry and her Team, the Local League Reps The Voters’ Guide production team: Vote411 data collectors, ballot measure researchers, editors, and Speakers’ Bureau! LWVOR Staff for candidate Vote411 support and fielding public questions Our long-time friends at the Oregon State Library, Talking Book and Braille Library, for sharing with their registered clients LWVOR ON OUR ELECTIONS The Secretary of State Press Office has called on the League, as a “Trusted Voice," to add our strength for this election: Voter Registration (Deadline Oct 18th) GOTV (Get Out The VOTE!) Ask your local League how you can help! Election Integrity (Boost understanding, share our Oregon VBM Best Practices page!) INFORM VOTERS! We have the most secure elections in history. Oregon has a solid track record of verified voting with high voter turnout using our secure and popular Vote-by-Mail ballots. Find voting info you need at Vote411.org, on our Elections Resources page, and use the SoS Dropbox Locator to deliver your ballot! See Oregon Vote-by-Mail Best Practices, explaining VBM in Oregon, with County Elections offices video guided tours, and links to procedures’ manuals and FAQs. $300 PR GRANTS! Have you heard or seen League election PR locally? LWVOR has continued the $300 PR local League press visibility grants, began when COVID lockdowns cut our in-person outreach. Now with virtual hybrid events saving commuting time and cost, and workplace culture changing, we want to hear how these are working around Oregon. Please let us know! ELECTION ADVOCACY LWVOR Action is anticipating 2023 legislation, to improve statute in ways we didn’t foresee last spring, to protect voters, drop boxes, and elections offices from deluges of public records requests. Share your experiences? How are events going? Etc.? YOUTH OUTREACH LWV Convention 2022 delegates Diana DeMaria, Mimi Alkire, Chris Cobey and Becky Gladstone have revitalized the OSME as a vigorous youth outreach first step. This year’s focus is on future improvements and expansion toward developing year-round relationships with our local schools. This from Diana to the board: Thank you for the honor of serving as Off-Board Youth Outreach Chair for LWVOR and all Oregon Leagues and Units. If you would like to be on the LWVOR Youth Outreach committee, you are very welcome! Email dianademaria4@outlook.com, more after the election. Youth Outreach is not likely to be a traditional committee, in terms of scheduled meetings. Committee members will need a cell phone and a Google account. Conversations will proceed via a cell phone and WhatsApp group, collaboration via Google Docs. Email will only be used for long or text substance and photos. Although we welcome skillsets, there is no workload expectation. Joining this committee for information only is completely acceptable. I learn something every single day, and just yesterday sent my first press release! Sharing knowledge and building connections is the primary committee goal. For instance, Y-Essay contests (Y= Yes, Youth & Why?) ran in October in LWV Deschutes County of Clackamas County, with very generous awards. See the LWVOR Oregon Student Mock Election page. The Youth Outreach Committee is beginning with these goals as an initial wishlist: Encourage LWVOR Child Care Study to expand focus on 20-30 something parents, our best new membership source, so affected by childcare costs and the vast burden of childcare falling on women during the pandemic to detriment of long-term career decisions. Under the League Resources Tab, create a Youth Outreach Resource with online toolkits, timelines around school calendars up to and including young adult families with young children, a work in progress, suggestions are welcome. Work with LWVOR Staff to improve communication and resources for all Oregon Leagues and Units - the present Google Group format and member-only sign-in Who's Who resource which may not get updated quickly due to slow or absent local league submission on the LWVOR site and neither is user-friendly for finding historical info resources and does not foster inclusive teamwork for comprehensive contact information and collaboration The LWVOR staff is exceptional, and Abigail (Abby), Rae and Sarah can perhaps assist in supporting ideas to present to LWVOR Board for approval Mentoring youth-led leadership to become youth-led League partners. See https://www.mainestudentsvote.org/ Oregon Youth Organizations and Clubs relationship-building guidance for state and local leagues in communities Perhaps Youth Outreach Workshops via Zoom for specific skills and successful strategy sharing OSME - Oregon Student Mock Elections The LWVOR 2022 Oregon Student Mock Election results are in! Hearty Congratulations and thank you to Oregon teachers and students who participated from all around Oregon! Thank you to Governor Kate Brown, Secretary of State Shemia Fagan, President of the Oregon Association of County Clerks, Tim Scott, for endorsements. Thanks to the Oregon Dept. of Education Social Science Specialist, Amit Kobrowski, for outreach support, continuing a decades long Mock Election working relationship. LWV, CLIMATE CHANGE, AND THE U.N.! The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, elevated LWVUS to Observer Status! Congratulations to LWVUS, with direct personal thanks to LWVOR First VP, Robin Tokmakian! The IPCC roster has added LWVUS to their NGO (non-governmental organizations) roster. LWVOR is proud to have Robin working at the international level! We look forward to COP27 news in Egypt, November 13-14, the 30th anniversary of the adoption of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. This from Robin Tokmakian, LWVUS UN Observer for Climate: Yea!! LWVUS now has observer status at IPCC. RECOMMENDED READING Guess what! Our Recommended Reading this month is our Voters’ Guide and Resources, with links throughout this newsletter. Treat yourself and look at our Civics ED Curriculum for the Oregon Student Mock Election MEMBERSHIP FORMS Here’s to the pumpkin pie of this newsletter, a little extra! Thank you to our Washington CO Unit for asking for Membership brochures! And Thank you to Staff, who put together a timely handout that was emailed as a PDF and printed locally for their event! It highlighted news that is already outdated but was up-to-the-minute for the purpose! Let’s talk about this! Thank you! I am so very grateful for so many of us contributing to Making Democracy Work! Your League work is making big differences. Just look at what we are accomplishing together! Don’t minimize the value of being informed and thinking carefully about ballot choices. 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.

Dear LWVOR Members and friends, Welcome to October! With fall, Oregon Leagues are FULLY engaged! We’re sponsoring and sharing more informative events than ever. Our Deschutes League registered voters and the Portland League registered and welcomed new voters at the Naturalization ceremonies. Thanks to our Voter Service Team, read below for details, including a call for help from the Secretary of State. The biggest news this month from LWVOR is our vigorous Oregon Student Mock Elections! Yours In League! Becky Gladstone LWVOR President Please send your pictures from your League activies, too! THIS MONTH… Oregon Student Mock Election! Voter Services! Speakers’ Bureau, a Voter Service LWVOR Advocacy, Ballot Measure positions Volunteering news Recommended reading: Keli Osborn, 10 Things to Defend Democracy OSME 2022 Oregon Student Mock Election launch October 1st! Take this to a school near you! When teachers REGISTER, they will get access to the Lesson Plan, Instructions, the Civics Ed and Mock Election Curriculum, flyers, and Student Ballots. The October 1 launch allows time for students to learn about voting, current races, and ballot measures before early Student Mock Election voting on October 11 - 17th, with final Mock Election Day on October 18th. The 18th is the actual Oregon Voter Registration deadline for the November 8th election. October will be an exciting month for civic youth education in your communities! LWVOR will connect local Leagues to participating schools in your area! Your Membership, Voter Service Rep, and/or other resolute volunteers can help! We are already connecting schools as they ask for info and our LWVOR Committee wants to help you network! There is no required work for your already busy local Leagues, just opportunities to connect with your schools to build Youth Outreach as your local educators register for the OSME. Here are some ideas: Spread the word to your schools then Thank them for reaching out to run a Mock Election! Offer to help your Voter Service Rep. If they know you can help, they can expand their goals! Spread the word that students are welcome to join the League, from age 16, for FREE! Check with your Voter Service Rep if you can help to drop off printed state Voters’ Guides with school receptionists, with a flyer on top for their libraries and Social Studies, History, Spanish, or other classes during OSME. They have full digital access, too. Boost awareness on your social media. Share ours! Registration, the FREE Curriculum (newly updated!), Lesson Plans, and flyers are online. We will share Mock Election results with participating educators and the press! Teachers report that their students share what they learn with their families and communities, building civil discourse. All Oregon students can be encouraged to ask their schools to vote in the Mock Election and raise awareness for voter resources, especially Vote411.org, in both English and Spanish. Please refer educator and parent questions to MockElection@lwvor.org. We are replying now! Your questions or feedback to improve OSME from any Oregon local League is also welcome. Our committee volunteers in Deschutes, Multnomah, and Clackamas are already reinforcing outreach boosted for us from the Oregon Dept of Education, with nine schools asking for a Mock Election before registration opened! Let us be sure all our schools know the League can help! Thank you! Let's help our Youth learn, Your VOTE is Your VOICE! VOTER SERVICE! The Secretary of State Press Office has called on the League, as a “Trusted Voice”, to add our strength for this election: Voter Registration (Deadline Oct 18th) GOTV (Get Out The VOTE!) Ask your local League how you can help! Election Integrity (Boost understanding, share our Oregon VBM Best Practices page!) Ask your candidates to be sure they have filed for our free nonpartisan Vote411.org coverage! The Oregon Vote411.org online candidate deadline is Monday, Oct 3 (earlier is better!). Questions? Ask vote411@lwvor.org. Note, the deadline for state and federal candidates in our limited print edition has passed. See our Voting in Oregon website. Thank you to our extensive Voter Service volunteer network! Our full range of Oregon candidates and ballot measures should be live soon along with Voting information, Video Voters’ Guide events, and interviews. I encourage you to send thanks to Peggy Bengry, Voter Service Chair, and her team! We have a full range of volunteers who produce our Election Resources and you can help! Our Vote411 researchers connect candidate filings, via county and municipal elections’ websites with personal follow-up where needed, to Vote411.org. Our Voters’ Guide production team assembles numerous versions, in English and Spanish, in audio reader compatible format and actual audio files read by a live Oregonian! Our Video Voters’ Guide interviews and event recordings will be posted as they are conducted – Watch for them! Thanks to several local Leagues for coordinating with local studios for these. Speakers’ Bureau– a Strong Voter Service! Our local Leagues have a legacy of providing speakers as a public service to help explain state ballot measures. Our General Election 2022 Speakers’ Kits are complete and available to League speakers. Thank you to LWVOR ballot measure researchers for analyzing this fall’s four state measures for our Voters’ Guides and the 2022 Speakers’ Bureau, for public presentations. My home League in Lane County knows that League members’ families, neighbors, friends, and community groups all count on us to help them be well-informed! For info, email Peggy Bengry, LWVOR Voter Service Chair. Oregon Student Mock Elections! This is growing so fast this fall that it gets separate billing! LEGISLATIVE ACTION - WATER It is time to check your LWVOR subscription preferences. The Action Committee will send an LR, or Legislative Report, soon for the Oregon Legislature’s September Legislative Days, held to prepare for the 2023 session. Our action committee is now working consistently around the yearly calendar. We can use help in many areas. Look through our list and see where you can help! This is from Peggy Lynch, for recently reported well-water issues. Morrow County residents with domestic wells are dealing with contamination from excessive nitrates (Residents in Morrow County demand urgent aid from the state for contaminated water). LWVOR continues to work to address this issue with support for many legislative actions using our Water Quality and Quantity positions. We also supported the creation of a new Environmental Justice Council in hopes that underserved communities' voices will be heard more loudly by state agencies responsible for protecting public health. In this case, we look the Dept. of Environmental Quality, the Dept. of Agriculture, and the Oregon Health Authority. ACTION - OREGON BALLOT MEASURES 2022 The League studies issues reach member consensus, and then adopts positions. Read About Our Positions! We do not support or oppose measures if we have not studied the issue. These four measures will be on all Oregon ballots this November. The board voted to accept the Action Committee recommendation for these League positions: # 111 Oregon Right to Health Care Amendment SUPPORT Legislative Referral 111 (read the text) Amend the Oregon Constitution: the State must ensure affordable healthcare access, balanced against requirements to fund schools and other essential services #112 Remove Slavery and Crimes from the Oregon Constitution SUPPORT Legislative Referral 112 (read the text) Amend the Oregon Constitution: Remove language allowing slavery and involuntary servitude as punishment for crime. This legislative referral applies to prisoners working without getting paid. #113 Oregon exclusion from re-election for absenteeism. [no position] Ballot Measure 113 (read the measure) Amend the Oregon Constitution: Disqualify Legislators with ten unexcused absences from floor sessions from holding the next term of office. #114 The Reduction of Gun Violence Act SUPPORT Ballot Measure 114 (read the measure) Requires a permit to acquire firearms; police maintain a permit/firearm database; criminally prohibits certain ammunition magazines. Find a full list of supporters and get your questions answered at VoteYesOn114.org RECOMMENDED READING This month’s feature is excerpted from the LWV Lane CO Argus, September 2022, prepared by Keli Osborn. For more, see: "On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century," by Timothy Snyder; Brennan Center for Justice; and League of Women Voters (Lane County, Oregon, USA). TEN THINGS YOU CAN DO RIGHT NOW TO DEFEND DEMOCRACY Define your democracy and get clear about values and boundaries. The majority rule can leave some people unprotected. Focusing on one right ignores other critical liberties. Simply voting is not enough to create and sustain responsive, thriving inclusive communities. Consider what it means for you and others to be full global citizens with rights and responsibilities. Decide what matters and how you can contribute. Talk about democracy in governance with family, friends, and colleagues. Tell them you are committed to fighting voter suppression, expanding voter ballot access, improving elections, reducing money’s political influence, and promoting fair redistricting. Be a resource and a beacon. See these LWV Making Democracy Work talking points. Be a better-informed democracy defender. Use reliable, credible sources. Want more on voting methods? What about wildfire recovery, childcare, equitable internet access, or hate crimes? Read League studies from Lane County and LWVOR, and the LWVUS Study Clearinghouse. Maybe you like podcasts or newspapers, radio or TV news, internet writers and thinkers. Providers should own their biases, be transparent about funding and sourcing, and fact-check their content. See League member Donna Cohen’s resources and How Reliable is Your News Source, from the LWV of Torrence Area. Demand better from your organizations—and show up to help. Whether it is the League of Women Voters, your faith organization or neighborhood association, a service club, or other group, support the change you want to be. Want your organization to be more inclusive and welcoming? More transparent about decision-making or financial matters? Include perspectives, needs, and contributions of Black people, Indigenous people, and people of color; low-income people; and people with dis/abilities. Do businesses more sustainably? Speak up, with conviction and consideration. Promote respectful dialogue. Democracy withers when people are unable or unwilling to understand the viewpoints and choices of those with whom they disagree. Allowing for disagreement does not mean tolerating hate speech and threats of violence. Incivility affects the creativity, productivity, buy-in, and well-being of those who experience and observe disrespect and hostility. Seek dialogue in which people have a right to speak and be heard respectful participation, equitable time-sharing, attentive listening, and balanced discussion. Civil discourse promotes informed discussion for better public issues decisions. Check your voter registration. Plan to vote ahead of each election. If you’ve moved (even across the hall), CHECK your Oregon voter registration online or visit your County Elections office. Make a plan for informed voting ahead of elections, (coming soon!): Voters’ Guides and checking for your ballot issues in Vote 411.org. Be sure to help your family and friends stay in the loop on elections, too. Connect with your elected officials about the issues that matter most to you. Use your voice. Send emails, postcards, or letters to your local, state, and federal elected officials supporting specific legislation and action. Stick to one issue at a time. Use a clear email subject line or first sentence in your letter. Identify yourself as a constituent. State your views and support them with expert knowledge. If there is a specific bill, rule, or code amendment, name it. Work to GOTV and increase voter turnout. You can volunteer with your League’s Voter Service and other groups that educate potential voters about the voting process and the issues at stake. More people vote when it is easy, and they believe it will make a difference. Help make it so. March, rally, and just BE with others. Solidarity and visibility matter. Through our messages and organizing, we can build friendships and alliances—and support people who need to know we have their (our) backs. If marches and protests help change hearts and minds, bonus! Run for office or join an advisory board. If you care about improving our community, consider campaigning for public office or applying for a board or commission seat. Your experience and expertise, community ties, and commitment may be just what is needed. Multiple organizations help prospective candidates prepare. Local agencies periodically invite advisory group applications. Follow your interests to a rewarding position and be part of a community team. For more, see: "On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century," by Timothy Snyder; the Brennan Center for Justice; and LWV Lane County. Thank you for reading, for being informed, and for helping where you can! This month your help can make a bigger difference than usual! I am so incredibly grateful that there are so many of us pitching in to help. Thank You! 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.

IN THIS ISSUE... PRESIDENT'S COLUMN ENDOWMENT FROM OREGON COMMUNITY FOUNDATION GRANT FROM OREGON STATE CAPITOL FOUNDATION TOP LWVUS PRIORITIES LWVOR & WOMEN'S RIGHTS LWVOR BOARD OPPORTUNITIES OREGON GENERAL ELECTION LOCAL LEAGUE UPDATES PRESIDENT’S COLUMN By Becky Gladstone, LWVOR President Please read for full news from our board. I would like to add, as we also enter this back-to-school season, that I am thrilled with our new Youth Outreach Membership group pushing for a Student Mock Election again this fall. We will reach out in fresh ways to connect with Oregon’s students. Civics Education is so important to our mission. One student said that voting feels like taking a test you haven’t studied for! This is a call to action for us! We have many volunteer opportunities! Please look at the LWVOR Newsroom and find something you’d enjoy helping with! My home League, Lane County, feels that our communities and our families all depend on us as League members to inform them about ballot issues. So they make the Speakers’ Bureau training available to all! We had seven various requests in August, from Ballot Measure Research to helping prompt our study development for next May’s LWVOR Convention! Please share this newsletter, read and forward the email Let’s all consider this, and keep our League work manageable and rewarding. Thank you, it is a pleasure to work with you! Yours in League, Rebecca Gladstone LWVOR President ENDOWMENT FROM OREGON COMMUNITY FOUNDATION By Rebecca Gladstone As we enter another election season, we are very grateful for the donations that help to pay for our operations to provide our Voter Services. It has only been a few years since we billed our local Leagues for our printed Voters’ Guides. Now we are able to give them to local Leagues to distribute, in English and in Spanish, along with League publicity grants. This summer, we are celebrating getting two youth outreach grants for Civics Education and our Mock Elections programs. We also give thanks for legacy donations, yielding roughly $5,000 annually from investment proceeds. These pay for a small portion of our annual operating budget. You can make a legacy donation with a perpetually protected gift, paying out only from the market gains. League legacy donation assets are administered by OCF, the Oregon Community Foundation. The OCF averages their market returns over 13 quarters, for stability and they are paying roughly 4% returns. The rule of 25 helps; invest $25 for every dollar you’d like the League to get annually, in perpetuity, as a legacy. This is a standard 4% annual return. The vast majority of our work is done by volunteers so we are very grateful for your gifts! GRANT FROM OREGON STATE CAPITOL FOUNDATION By Freddi Weishahn On July 13, 2022, LWVOR received a $4,000 grant for the 2022-2023 school year from the Civics Education Initiative established by The Oregon State Capitol Foundation (OSCF). The grant will help fund LWVOR’s commitments to the Case Method for teaching civics and the Student Mock Election program. Local Leagues will receive $200 each to publicize and host community discussions for up to 20 teachers trained by the Case Method Institute at Harvard University. The community discussions have been popular and local Leagues are invited to reach out to previously trained teachers, as well as new recruits, to lead future discussions. On July 28th, the Angell Family Fund of Oregon Community Foundation approved an Advised Fund grant in the amount of $6,500 for LWVOR to hire a Mock Election Coordinator. The coordinator will help choose the materials for the program and work with the Oregon Department of Education and the Youth Outreach Committee to publicize the program to local Leagues and school districts around the state. LWV Deschutes member Mimi Alkire will be a communications coordinator for the program. ELECTORAL COLLEGE ELIMINATION By Robin Tokmakian At the LWVUS 2022 Convention, President Turner announced that it would be the vision and goal of LWVUS to help eliminate the Electoral College, a position of the League since 1970. In her speech to the delegates in Denver, she emphasized that funds and staff will be committed to doing this work in the next fiscal year. Look for more information about this focused effort after the midterm elections. RESOLUTIONS PASSED AT LWVUS CONVENTION 2022 By Rebecca Gladstone All five of the resolutions recommended by the LWVUS Board (of ten submitted) were adopted at Convention. See the LWV Convention Resolutions Committee report here. In brief, we endorsed these: 1. Immigration reform for a path to citizenship to VOTE 2. Climate emergency 3. DC Statehood 4. Missing & murdered Indigenous people 5. Abortion Emergency for Reproductive Choice. This passed as an emergency on Friday, just after the SCOTUS Dobbs ruling was announced. LWVOR & WOMEN'S RIGHTS By Trish Garner The Supreme Court’s decision Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health overturned 50 years of precedent and deprives women of the ability to participate equally in our Nation’s economic and social life. Its disregard for women’s health, privacy and reproductive rights is shocking and untenable. What can we do? Demand that Oregon enact a state Constitutional Amendment guaranteeing reproductive rights. Support the Women’s Health Protection Act, which would provide federal protections to reproductive health services. Be vigilant and make our voices heard. SCOTUS reasoning to justify this decision? The word “abortion” isn’t explicitly stated in the Constitution. In 1868 when the 14th Amendment was ratified by “the people,” it wasn’t “deeply rooted” so it can’t protect the right to abortion by its guarantee of liberty. Justice Sonia Sotomayor noted by dissenting, of course, that in 1868 ”people” didn’t include women. The fact that the right to an abortion has long been the law of the land also failed to convince the Court to adhere to “stare decisis,” Latin for its own doctrine that court rulings should remain as decided unless there is a very good reason for change. The doctrine’s rationale is that the people need to be able to rely on consistency and integrity in judicial decision making. Justice Samuel Alito summarily dismissed concerns that the Dobbs ruling jeopardizes other decisions based on the 14th Amendment right to liberty. Justice Sotomayor characterized this assurance at the level of ”Scout’s honor.” In fact, the Dobbs ruling thrusts many previous decisions onto precarious ground: marrying a person of a different race (Loving v Virginia, 1967); making decisions about your children’s education (Pierce v Society of Sisters, 1925); obtaining contraception (Griswold v Connecticut, 1965); living in nontraditional family units (Stanley v Illinois, 1972); not being sterilized without consent (Skinner v Oklahoma ex rel Williamson, 1942); marrying a person of the same sex (Obergefell v Hodges, 2015); and more. Justice Thomas is more forthright, at least in his concurring opinion. He indicates the Court should reconsider all these precedents. You can be assured that the League is prioritizing this advocacy! LWVOR BOARD OPPORTUNITIES By Rebecca Gladstone The LWVOR Board is thrilled with the birth of a new Youth Outreach Committee which has already met several times since the LWVUS Convention. Committee members are welcome for just about everything we do. There are several openings; write to Becky Gladstone at rebecca.gladstone@gmail.com for more information. • Study Chair. Our biennial study calendar is starting now. We need a Chair to follow and implement calendar guidelines leading to current study(s) production and new study adoption at the LWVOR Convention in May 2023. This is a “nudge” position. We have clear guidelines and need a Board liaison to help. We also have exciting ideas to revamp the study process! • HR Chair. Several experienced HR Committee members need to bring in a Chair to convene periodic committee meetings. • Nominating Committee liaison. The board appoints two members to the Nominating Committee. Jackie Clary is continuing from the board and Sheila McGinnis, recently off the LWVOR board, is continuing as an off-board committee member so we need another liaison. NOMINATING COMMITTEE TASK FORCE REPORT By Rebecca Gladstone As directed at LWVOR Council 2022, a Task Force to reform our Nominating Committee process has been convening. We are basing this work on recommendations from both the LWVOR and LWVUS Nominating Committees and want to bring in participants from all of our local Leagues to address our shared goals. CHILD CARE STUDY UPDATE By Terry Styner The Child Care Study Update team has completed the draft document. We are in the process of recruiting expert reviewers to provide feedback on this version. With that feedback we will complete the editing process before moving to the action planning step. STUDIES AND CONCURRENCES By Rebecca Gladstone LWVUS State Leaders have been in discussion about updating the current process and timeline for studies and consensus documents. Watch for more information about this effort; volunteers will be needed to help with this update! OREGON GENERAL ELECTION 2022 By Rebecca Gladstone Welcome to the busiest Oregon mid-cycle election in our memory. Our November 2022 ballots are unusually important despite lacking the Presidential race. Oregon has arguably the hottest Governor’s race in the country with the incumbent term-limited out, projected to be a $40 million contest. Unfortunately, neither the campaign finance reform nor the redistricting initiatives made it to November 2022 ballots but they are poised for 2024. Our newly redistricted six congressional districts are getting national attention with the important partisan margin very narrow. We have unusually high incumbent turnover in the Oregon legislature, partly influenced by the new redistricting, including important leadership races with a new House Speaker, Senate President, and unusually contentious local races. Thanks to local and state Voter Service Teams for informing voters this fall! MEMBER UPDATE FROM MARION-POLK LEAGUE By Sally Hollemon Bea Epperson died on August 6 after a long illness. She was an active League member, including LWVMPC president in 1976-7. Her service included many years of Voter Service locally and at the state level, including many years of helping to edit state ballot measures for the Voters’ Guides that has informed many Oregon voters. Bea was a member of the Marion-Polk League book group, at which she always had thoughtful comments. Professionally, Bea was a science tutor at Sprague H.S., then a chemistry teacher at McNary H.S. She and her husband Earl had three children. She enjoyed playing tennis and walking in the wildlife refuges near Salem. Connect with us A printable version of this newsletter can be found on our website here. League of Women Voters of Oregon | 1330 12th St. SE, Suite 200, Salem, OR 97302

The League of Women Voters never supports or opposes candidates or political parties. Our Voters' Guide information invites all filed candidates that we are able to reach by email. We strive to also present ballot measure information, pro and con, with the impact of a yes or no vote, the measure's fiscal impact, and more, without reference to any League advocacy positions. The League does, on occasion, take positions on ballot measures. The League studies issues, reaches member consensus, and then adopts advocacy positions; read about our positions! The League of Women Voters of Oregon board has voted to accept our Action Committee positions' motion for these Oregon's November 2022 ballot measures : #111 SUPPORT – Oregon Right to Health Care Amendment (#111 full text). #112 SUPPORT – Removing Slavery and Crimes from the Oregon Constitution (#112 full text). #113 No position – Exclude legislators from re-election for absenteeism (#113 full text). We refrain from supporting or opposing measures if we have not studied the issue. That is the case with Measure #113. #114 SUPPORT – Reduction of Gun Violence Act (#114 full text). We have worked in coalition to support M #114 and have submitted a statement for the Oregon Voters' Pamphlet in support, including a Spanish translation, by temporary administrative order from the Oregon Secretary of State.

Dear LWVOR Members, September means back to school and continuing election prep! Please read for our state ballot measure positions, Oregon Student Mock Elections news, Volunteer Opportunities, and ongoing Columbia River Treaty work from Action. Please be sure everyone you know is aware of our work to include all Oregon candidates in our Vote411 and various Voters’ Guides! As we face the pressing issues coming for this fall’s elections, I am so proud of our members for stepping up and Making Democracy Work! Yours In League! Becky Gladstone LWVOR President Thank you to the LWV of Coos County for the invitation to join their first board meeting of the fall, with many board members meeting each other for the first time, as new members and in-person! The two photos on the right are from LWVPDX, on Women’s [In]Equality Day, August 26, 2022. Please send your pictures from your League activities, too. THIS MONTH… Oregon Student Mock Elections (LWVOR OSME) Speakers' Bureau, A Voter Service Action - Ballot Measure Positions, LWVOR Advocacy Volunteering News Recommended Reading OSME, OREGON STUDENT MOCK ELECTIONS Coming to a school near you! The 2022 Oregon Student Mock Election Day will be October 18th, with ballot choices from Oregon’s exciting November 2022 mid-term elections. We are so grateful to the Oregon Department of Education, long-time OSME friends, for forwarding information to Oregon educators. The League will provide Mock Election Tool Kits including a Google Form to tabulate results. We will share the Mock Election results with schools and the press! If you are available to drop off Voters’ Guides at your local school in October, please email Diana DeMaria. Teachers Love the Oregon Student Mock Elections: ∙ “The students felt like they were part of something bigger than just a classroom activity or assignment. They felt it was important. They felt like they had a voice, one of the most important aspects of being a citizen.” ∙ “Well done Mock Election. I feel it is very important to model our democratic system to our youth. We can hope that by giving them a "feel" for the importance of voting and having their individual voice heard as a young person that they will continue that lesson into their adult life.” Everyone CAN HELP! Click on Student Mock Elections with Civics ED curriculum for more information to talk to students you know and their teachers! They may not be aware that an Oregon law passed in early 2015 lowered the Oregon voter registration age to 16! Oregon’s voter registration deadline is 21 days before election day, on October 18th, 2022 for this year's mid-term elections. Voter registration criteria are: Be a United States citizen Be a resident of Oregon Be at least 16 years old to become eligible to receive your first ballot in the mail when you are at least 18 years old. SPEAKERS' BUREAU - A STRONG VOTER SERVICE Contact your own League to pitch in and help, close to home and for the state! Your needs may vary but you can help! Our local Leagues have a legacy of providing speakers as a public service to help explain state ballot measures. LWVOR ballot measure researchers are analyzing this fall’s four state measures for our Voters’ Guides and the 2022 Speakers’ Bureau, for public presentations. The Speakers’ Bureau Handbook will be available with everything members need to know to make the 2022 presentations. My home League in Lane County knows that League members’ families, neighbors, friends, and community groups all count on us to help them be well-informed! Lane asks all members to attend the Speakers’ Bureau orientation. You can also help by following ongoing press coverage to update our Speakers’ Bureau up to the November 8th election. For info, email Peggy Bengry, LWVOR Voter Service Chair. ACTION - OREGON BALLOT MEASURES 2022 Contact your own League to pitch in and help, close to home and for the state! Your needs may vary but you can help with collecting candidate and local ballot measure data for Vote411.org. The Lane County League decided a few years ago that since everyone depends on League members for voting information, they offered Speakers’ Bureau training to ALL MEMBERS! These four measures will be on all Oregon ballots this November and this is where the League stands (our positions). The League studies issues, reaches member consensus, and then we adopt positions. Read About Our Positions! We refrain from supporting or opposing measures if we have not studied the issue. The board voted to accept the Action Committee recommendation for these: #111 Oregon Right to Health Care Amendment - SUPPORT Legislative Referral 111 (read the text) Amend the Oregon Constitution: the State must ensure affordable healthcare access, balanced against requirements to fund schools and other essential services. #112 Remove Slavery and Crimes from the Oregon Constitution - SUPPORT Legislative Referral 112 (read the text) Amend the Oregon Constitution: Remove language allowing slavery and involuntary servitude as punishment for crime. This legislative referral applies to prisoners working without getting paid. #113 Oregon exclusion from re-election for absenteeism. [no position] Ballot Measure 113 (read the measure) Amend the Oregon Constitution: Disqualify Legislators with ten unexcused absences from floor sessions from holding the next term of office. #114 The Reduction of Gun Violence Act - SUPPORT Ballot Measure 114 (read the measure) Requires permit to acquire firearms; police maintain permit/firearm database; criminally prohibits certain ammunition magazines. LWVOR has purchased space in the state Voters’ Pamphlet to enter a statement of support, including, for the first time, sending the statement in Spanish, with thanks to our translators, Cross Cultural Now, for translating quickly to address the Secretary of State rules notice, with a next day deadline. The League will also be listed on this list as a supporter for Measure 114, which may be the only gun safety measure on November 2022 ballots around the country. Plus hundreds of religious leaders, hunters, gun owners, District Attorneys, police chiefs, military veterans, and many, many more… Find a full list of supporters and get your questions answered at VoteYesOn114.org VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES Last month we included this request for data processing volunteers and it inspired us to start revamping our website! We will start listing Volunteer Opportunities, short-term, committee openings, etc. This is a work in progress and we expect it to be constantly changing! For example, Congratulations to Voter Service Chair, Peggy Bengry, for recruiting researchers for the four state ballot measures! Thank you, the positions have been filled! Meanwhile, help is still needed: The LWVOR is part of and is a leader of the People Not Politicians coalition. You may already know that PNP is planning to refile its redistricting initiative for 2024. We need volunteers to help add signers of the previous redistricting initiative petitions to a database that can then be used for mailing new petitions and other purposes. You can do this volunteer work from home using your home computer and a website. Very little computer skill is needed for this work, and you may do the work as you have time available. If you want to help, please contact Chris Cobey or Norman Turrill. COLUMBIA RIVER TREATY LETTER Did you know that the state Leagues from Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Montana have been working together since 2013 to influence cooperation on Columbia River issues? We have just confirmed another joint letter, sent to officials in the US State Dept., the Bonneville Power Administration, the Chief Negotiator for the Columbia River Treaty, and the Commander of the Portland District, US Army Corps of Engineers. Here's the first paragraph: The Columbia River is one of the most important trans-boundary rivers in the world. Although the river has been heavily developed for hydropower and flood management, including by dams built pursuant to the U.S.-Canada Columbia River Treaty, it still functions as a single system, within a single watershed. The League of Women Voters of Oregon, along with the Leagues of Washington, Idaho and Montana, adopted a position on the Columbia River Basin in 1979: “In order to meet the present and future water needs within the Columbia River Basin, the League of Women Voters believes comprehensive planning on a basin-wide basis for conservation, development, and management of the water is essential to the optimum utilization of our water resources.” LWVOR TASK FORCE - NOMINATING COMMITTEE The Task Force we began at the LWVOR Council, to address shared nominating committee concerns, has not met since our last newsletter. In some ways, August was a good time to take a breath! We do want to share leadership recruitment and membership, the value of our MLD Committee, and look forward to news from this group soon. Watch for an invitation and send your Nominating Committee and Membership folks to join this group. RECOMMENDED READING For readers of American History, the death of David McCullough in august deserves a nod of appreciation for his accomplishments, including two Pulitzer prizes. Read through this homage from The Post and consider which of these you might like to put on your reading list. David McCullough, master chronicler of American history, dies at 89, The Washington Post, August 8, 2022. Thank you for reading the state League update. Thank you for being informed, and here’s to doing what we can for these issues we care so deeply about! Our strength is in working together and I am so very grateful that there are so many of us pitching in to help. Thank You! 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.

We are looking for an experienced nonprofit campaign coordinator with a passion for youth and community engagement. Successful candidates will be knowledgeable about best practices in program and event management. The League of Women Voters® of Oregon (LWVOR) is a grassroots, nonpartisan civic organization that encourages informed and active participation in government in order to build better communities statewide. LWVOR’s purpose is to influence public policy through education and advocacy and to provide support for League members and the League organization. The League seeks to empower citizens to understand governmental issues and to engage in the political process. We provide balanced, accurate, nonpartisan information to all Oregonians. The LWVOR Mock Election program encompasses multiple civics education services provided across Oregon. These include planning and hosting Student Mock Elections, both virtual and in the classroom, updating and distributing curriculum material, planning voter education events and more. Role The role oversees the entire LWVOR Mock Election program, including planning, community outreach, publicity coordination, and program execution both virtually and in person. The Mock Election Coordinator is expected to maintain documentation, update materials for distribution, and generate reports on program success. Key Responsibilities Confirm and establish partnerships with Oregon associations. Update (or oversee update) of website and materials for new election cycles. Notify teachers of available materials, attend workshops, visit schools. Work with Youth Outreach Committee, staff, and LWVOR Board to update the Civics ED curriculum, establish school contacts, identify potential public officials and locations for program participation. Communicate with local Leagues on outreach for their local schools. Oversee production of any printed material to be distributed to participating classrooms; awards for teachers, students, and volunteers. Coordinate with Voter Service Reps for Voters’ Guide use. Coordinate or oversee Mock Elections, track voting activities, and distribute and review evaluations. Plan and prepare for events at participating schools. Prepare final report and share with LWVOR Board. Who are you? To excel in this position you must have at least 3 years of experience in nonprofit campaign management or similar roles. This multi-tasking position requires excellent organizational and interpersonal skills; attention to detail and time management; independent and team work; written and verbal communication; business and technical writing; strong computer, data, and content delivery skills; and commitment to the League of Women Voters mission. A successful candidate will be flexible, cooperative, self-directed and able to set priorities to reliably follow through in a timely manner. Experience essential in this role: Organization and the ability to set priorities to complete a wide variety of tasks. Attention to detail to ensure tasks are completed thoroughly, correctly, and within deadline. Experience managing all aspects of event planning and execution. High integrity - you need to be responsive and service-oriented and simultaneously able to make your own decisions. Technically savvy in operating event equipment and using other common digital tools. A keen understanding of the political process in Oregon and experience with voter engagement and education is a huge plus. LWVOR is an equal opportunity employer. Diversity, equity, and civility are among our core values. We encourage members of traditionally underrepresented communities to apply for these jobs, including people of color, LGBTQ+ people, and people with disabilities. This is a contract position, approximately 20-30 hours per week from September through November 1. Monthly rate is $3,250. Review of applications will start on August 17. Position open until filled. Please submit a cover letter and CV to hresources@lwvor.org. We look forward to hearing from you!

Dear LWVOR Members, August means Election Work! Oregon’s 2022 general election is a major one, despite not being a Presidential election year. Everyone agrees that holding an Oregon Student Mock Election this year would be an important service from LWVOR, given the unusual features of this election: the most important governor's race nationally, already projected at >$40M, extremely high state legislative turn over intensifying voter engagement, and the newly redistricted CDs, with nationally targeted seats. By the way, we’ve filed 2024 Campaign Finance Reform initiatives with the LWVOR President signed as a Chief Petitioner. I hope you are all keeping cool in this further alarmingly hot summer. Please take care! Becky Gladstone LWVOR President THIS MONTH… Youth Outreach! Mock Elections and More! LWVOR Board Openings, LWVOR Nominating Committee Task Force Voter Service Climate Change Ballot Measure News, Local Help and Events Staff Transitions Action Recommendations, Redistricting Volunteer Recommended Reading YOUTH OUTREACH Our Youth Outreach group is moving forward! Contact Mimi Alkire to get onto our list. Projects are advancing! Student Mock Elections with Civics ED curriculum – We got an OCF Grant last week to fund a Mock Election Coordinator this fall! We will post the opening but send a resume ASAP to Becky Gladstone if you’re interested! We have superb materials and networking via the OR Dept of Education, used by K-12, citizenship classes, also community college and even a university Poli Sci class. The Coordinator can help update materials and our Spanish translation service is standing by! Youth Election Observer Training – This PSU project, with LWVOR endorsement, is hoping for an NSF grant to pilot in Multnomah County and provide a template for training around the state. Students – Send Your Forum Questions! – Local Leagues hold candidate and ballot measure events, including candidate video interviews. Send questions you’d like to ask and we’ll add them to the lists we share! There may also be volunteer opportunities - ASK! Youth Liaison on the LWVOR Board – The LWVOR Board is establishing a Nominating Committee Task Force. A Youth Member would be very helpful for the task force and also on the LWVOR Board! Girl Scout Outreach – We understand that the Girl Scouts have or are developing a Civics ED badge! Let’s work together! P.S. Boy Scouts? Let us know how you’d like to help pitch in, too! LWVOR TASK FORCE: NOMINATING COMMITTEE The LWVOR Board has openings. Aside from the Program / Studies Chair, these are positions developed recently and we would welcome volunteers with experience: Program /Studies – OPEN! We need a program chair to promote the timeline for competitive local League study proposals for next May’s LWVOR Convention. HR Chair – OPEN! Ideally, experience with managing employees would be a real plus. Nominating Committee – We need a 2nd rep from the LWVOR Board. Communications – OPEN! Youth Liaison Our LWVOR Council in May 2022 was directed to convene a task force to examine our Nominating Committee process. The Board has discussed this and a group will convene August 1st at 10am. We will consider the guidelines from the LWVUS Convention presentation. They changed their process and were faced with the enviable problem of evaluating 100 applications, ranging from Excellent to Very Excellent. Send your Nominating Committee and Membership folks to join this group. VOTER SERVICE Contact your own League to pitch in and help, close to home and for the state! Your needs may vary but you can help with collecting candidate and local ballot measure data for Vote411.org. The Lane County League decided a few years ago that since everyone depends on League members for voting information, they offered Speakers’ Bureau training to ALL MEMBERS! CLIMATE CHANGE Thank you to LWVOR Climate Change Advocates! Arguably, they are the driving force behind the! Join by clicking the QR CODE: Take a look and consider joining one of the 10 “Issue Teams”! Tell them Oregon is proud of pulling our weight! Click on the Issue Teams thumbnails to learn more: BALLOT MEASURE RESEARCH Ballot measure researcher assignments will be made this week, not too late for you to help! There are only four state measures this fall, so hop to it and email Peggy Bengry, Voter Service Chair, for an assignment before they’re all taken! We encourage teamwork, so new researchers are very welcome - join in and help. Follow the instructions provided to assemble information from official postings, get pro and con statements, then assemble for our online Vote411.org and Voters’ Guides. This is ideal for students, before school starts! You can also help by following ongoing press coverage to update our Speakers’ Bureau up to the November 8th election. These have qualified for Oregon state ballots this November. # 111 – Oregon Right to Health Care Amendment Legislative Referral 111 (read the text) Amend the Oregon Constitution: The State must ensure affordable healthcare access, balanced against requirements to fund schools and other essential services. #112 – Remove Slavery and Crimes from the Oregon Constitution Legislative Referral 112 (read the text) Amend the Oregon Constitution: Remove language allowing slavery and involuntary servitude as punishment for crime. This legislative referral applies to prisoners working without getting paid. #113 – Oregon Exclusion from Re-election for Absenteeism. Ballot Measure 113 (read the measure) Amend the Oregon Constitution: Disqualify Legislators with ten unexcused absences from floor sessions from holding the next term of office. #114 – The Reduction of Gun Violence Act Ballot Measure 114 (read the measure) Requires permit to acquire firearms; police maintain permit/firearm database; criminally prohibits certain ammunition magazines. OREGON PROPERTY OWNER WILDFIRE RISK MAP Take another look – This important real-time Oregon Wildfire Risk Explorer Map can help Oregon communities to decide and plan for mitigating wildfire risk. Read about the wildland-urban interface (WUI) and statewide wildfire risk map through the Oregon Explorer, as required by Senate Bill 762 (2021). STAFF TRANSITIONS Welcome Raezhelle Madison, on the left, as Office Support Specialist to join Office Manager Abigail Hertzler, on the right! We bid farewell to Amanda Crittenden, center, leaving to expand to full time computer science studies. ACTION Oregon Ballot Measures 2022 The League studies issues, reaches member consensus, and then adopts positions; read about our positions! We refrain from supporting or opposing measures if we have not studied the issue. The board will vote, likely to accept an anticipated Action Committee motion for these: #111 SUPPORT – Oregon Right to Health Care Amendment #112 SUPPORT – Removing Slavery and Crimes from the Oregon Constitution #113 No position – Exclude legislators from re-election for absenteeism. #114 SUPPORT – Reduce Gun Violence Act Redistricting Volunteers Needed for Summer Work at Home! The LWVOR is part of and is a leader of the People Not Politicians coalition. You may already know that PNP is planning to refile its redistricting initiative for 2024. We need volunteers to help add signers of the previous redistricting initiative petitions to a database that can then be used for mailing new petitions and other purposes. You can do this volunteer work from home using your home computer and a website. Very little computer skill is needed for this work, and you may do the work as you have time available. If you want to help, please contact Chris Cobey or Norman Turrill. RECOMMENDED READING I am now into my fourth year as LWVOR President and I’m getting ducks in a row for a smooth transition at our LWVOR Convention 2023. I am looking forward to having a little more time on my hands and want to get back to reading more, including Warren Easley’s Cal Claxton mystery series. Yes, that name may sound familiar, Warren is married to Marge, past LWVOR President and hot-button issue advocate for LWVOR! Thank you both! For this month’s recommended reading, I have to admit that I’ve been swamped and will just share some pleasure reading with you. I’m reading for the upcoming 2023 legislative session and I’m comparing notes on the LWV study process with leaders around the country discussing a study of energy sources with Climate Change pressing on us. I really appreciate seeing the improvements in “lateral communications”, like the LWVOR Development Committee reaching out to host quarterly chats with local fundraisers. Sharing the work can make it easier, more efficient, and even FUN! More time for leisure reading, too. 😊 Thank you for reading the state League update. 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.

Spring Voter 2022 IN THIS ISSUE PRESIDENT’S COLUMN UPDATING LOCAL LEAGUE POLICIES AND PROCEDURES JOSEPHINE COUNTY CHARTER UPDATE LWVOR CONCURRENCE FOR LWVUS CONVENTION 2022 1ST CALL TO COUNCIL ELECTION THREATS NEED LWVOR’S EXPANDED ADVOCACY IN MEMORIAM: REMEMBERING BARBARA ROSS, A PILLAR OF OUR COMMUNITY PROFILE OF NEW LWVOR OFFICE MANAGER, ABBY HERTZLER PRESIDENT’S COLUMN By Becky Gladstone, LWVOR President LWV grassroots work begins with you! Please reach out to friends and colleagues and invite them to step up! DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) is a League priority. We want liaisons to bring their voices to the League. We need to expand our diversity from local grassroots up through boards. Native outreach is a focus for a grant we’ve crossed our fingers for. We would like a Youth member on our board. Now is the time! Please contact us! Voter Education Reps and LWVOR staff, with hired LWV Mississippi support, are hard at work organizing VOTE411.org for the Primary Election, including our various Voters’ Guides! Be sure you send your campaign events to LWVOR at lwvor@lwvor.org. Encourage your local candidates to look for their Vote411 invitation emails and to write to Vote411@lwvor.org with any questions. UPDATING LOCAL LEAGUE POLICIES AND PROCEDURES – PORTLAND CHAPTER By Debbie Kaye Separate from our Bylaws, the LWV of Portland has a “Policies and Procedures” document. Other League chapters around the state may have a similar document. Our “P & P” document starts by stating, “Policies as used here are procedures or practices that become established through experience and usage and are subsequently adopted as the best means of carrying out the purposes … as stated in its Bylaws”. Because our League is both a 501(c)(3) and a 501(c)(4), we have two sections: General Policies and Education Fund Policies. Examples of sections within the General Policies include the Nonpartisan Policy and how it pertains to specific roles within the League; Action, including who may speak for the League; Financial Controls; Reaching Member Agreement; Interest Groups; Diversity; and Anti-Discrimination. The Education Fund sections include rules about Recording League Meetings and Sponsorship of Candidate Forums. Read the full article here. JOSEPHINE COUNTY CHARTER UPDATE By Dorothy Yetter The Commission was created on 28 April 2021 by the Board of County Commissioners with Order No. 2021- 018. Nine members were appointed and our first meeting was held on 9 September 2021. We set ourselves up for business, electing officers and hammering out bylaws, by 1 December 2021. After a few attempts to wrap our arms around the enormity of the task, we settled on a read-through and ‘mark-up’ of the existing document. Even as we do that, we have discovered that we need to invite experts to provide us with their observations in their areas of expertise such as finance (for instance, what is the actual budget process in use?) or administration (for example, what recourse do exempt personnel have to political reprisal?) Read the full article here. LWVOR CONCURRENCE FOR LWVUS CONVENTION 2022 By Rebecca Gladstone LWVUS Convention is scheduled for June 23-June 26, 2022. LWVOR is taking our Privacy and Cybersecurity advocacy position (in segments) for adoption by concurrence at the 2022 LWVUS Convention. Their priority is to relate “recommended items” to elections so we are presenting with that perspective. Photo by Lewis Kang’ethe Ngugi on Unsplash Cybersecurity races to keep up with increasingly sophisticated and challenging threats. When LWVOR adopted our “election security” position in 2021, we didn’t foresee the need to link cyber warfare or other critical infrastructures like power and communications to elections. LWVOR advocated in February for elections workers and candidates’ personal privacy and harassment protection. Now we need to promote our position to protect elections from social media “MDM” interference, with thanks to the CISA MDM for the “Mis, Dis, and Mal-Information” social media campaign applied to Election Security Infrastructure. Read the full article here. 1ST CALL TO COUNCIL By Robin Tokmakian Every even-numbered year, The League of Women Voters of Oregon holds their required state- wide council meeting. In addition to the LWV Oregon Board, each local league sends two delegates and each member-at-large group sends one delegate. The business of the council includes the election of the 2nd Vice President, the treasurer, and three at-large members of the board as well as a budget for the upcoming year. A quorum of 15 delegates, in addition to the LWVOR Board of Directors, is required for all decisions on the agenda. Only emergency changes to the program may be considered and such changes require eight weeks of notification to the membership. This year, the LWV Oregon Council will be during the week of May 9-14 and will be virtual. The business portion of the meeting in the afternoon of May 14, 2022. If you are interested in volunteering to help with Council, please contact Robin Tokmakian at rtokmakian@lwv.org. ELECTION THREATS NEED LWVOR’S EXPANDED ADVOCACY By Rebecca Gladstone LWVOR is advocating adoption of our privacy and cybersecurity position for elections. We have applied our position to protecting election workers’ privacy and to Legislative reports of crippling cyber-attacks. Social media’s “liar’s dividend”, which causes doubt in real news, calls for our attention, as well. Election cybersecurity is based on emergency preparedness. For example, an Oregon wildfire burned down a USPS site, affecting vote-by-mail there. Oregon’s power grids and transportation infrastructure are all vulnerable. Cyber attacks can disrupt elections by disrupting airports, GPS networks, traffic signals, bridges and dam-water controls, services from special districts, state agencies, and many businesses and organizations. We must safeguard cell and internet access. Democracy depends on us protecting all of our critical infrastructures. More information about LWVOR’s cybersecurity position can be found at LWVOR Cybersecurity and Privacy Today. IN MEMORIAM: REMEMBERING BARBARA ROSS, A PILLAR OF OUR COMMUNITY By Marion McNamara Our devoted and beloved League member, Barbara Ross, died April 4, on the 54th anniversary of the death of Martin Luther King Jr. Like Dr. King, Barbara’s life work focused on making the world more just and compassionate, albeit on a smaller canvas. She began her career as a social worker, and by the late 1970’s added public service to her resume, serving as a Benton County Commissioner, a Corvallis school board member, and a state representative. She brought her passion for fairness to every job she undertook. Barbara‘s family has always been a support to her, and she to them. Her children, grandchildren, and greatgrandchildren were an important part of her life, and were able to be with her in her last days. Barbara was mentor to many of those she met throughout her long career. She had a reliably good sense of spotting talent and introducing people to opportunities for service and growth. Several current state legislators got their start in politics with Barbara’s advice and occasional gentle pushes. The gift of her guidance was not limited to those who were up and comers. Read the full article here. PROFILE OF NEW LWVOR OFFICE MANAGER, ABBY HERTZLER Greetings! My name is Abby Hertzler and I am thrilled to be joining the League of Women Voters of Oregon as the new office manager. Although I was born in the Midwest and raised on the East Coast, I have called Oregon my home since 2014 when I moved to Salem and fell in love with the beauty of the state and the wonderful community I found here. Living in the state capital afforded me the opportunity to live and work in the “room where it happens,” and I loved seeing the view of the Capitol building framed by the blooming cherry trees every spring. My first event at the Capitol was Oregon’s birthday bonanza, a lively and cheerful event that sparked my interest in the processes that are undertaken in those hallowed halls. I find the League’s work in building more informed communities, empowering citizens and utilizing education and advocacy to influence public policy in Oregon to be of the utmost importance in these uncertain times, and I have a deep admiration for the work that the League does to work towards building a better Oregon. The passion and dedication I have seen in my first weeks here has been inimitable, and I am thrilled to be joining such a wonderful group of talented and kind individuals. I look forward to using my years of administrative, communications and organizational experience to support the League in its laudable mission. Connect with us A printable version of this newsletter can be found on our website here. League of Women Voters of Oregon | 1330 12th St. SE, Suite 200, Salem, OR 97302

Dear LWVOR Members, Oregon’s LWVUS Convention 2022 delegation saw the SCOTUS Roe v. Wade repeal coming and rallied in Denver last week. This profound abortion rights loss threatens to topple a stack of other rights that, frankly, threaten our democracy, especially chilling with J6 insurrection news. Don’t take this sitting down! We have more information about what you can do here. There’s plenty to do, keep reading! This 4th of July weekend is Critical for IP 17 signatures! (DEADLINE July 7!) Summer used to be slow for League work. Make it a Happy 4th of July! Be well, stay safe, and pace yourselves for the busy fall elections ahead, with so many important races! THIS MONTH… LWVOR Board Openings, LWVUS Convention! 😊 Ballot Measure News, Researchers Being Accepted Action, Read About Just-Posted Oregon Wildfire Risk Map LWVUS Oregon Delegation Comments and Photos CASE Method Teacher Nominations Accepted till July 15 Recommended Reading LWVOR BOARD The board is short-handed and setting up for the Nominating Committee revamp Task Force requested at our LWVOR convention. The LWVUS Nominating Committee shared their successful best practices. They reconfigured to assess needs, with detailed recommendations we will share with local League leaders. Contact us if you have skills to offer for these LWVOR OPENINGS: Program/Studies–OPEN! We need a program chair to promote the timeline for competitive local League study proposals for next May’s LWVOR Convention. HR Chair–OPEN! Ideally, experience with managing employees would be a real plus. Communications–OPEN! BALLOT MEASURES Read about why League volunteers matter more than ever, from PEW: Pandemic Petition Woes Derail Candidates, Ballot Initiatives, June 28, 2022. Retirements Cut Ranks of Scarce Frontline Workers, Feb 4, 2022. Want to DO SOMETHING?! There will be more volunteer opportunities in the August newsletter. You don’t need to wait! Here are volunteer opportunities: This weekend: Collect IP 17 signatures, deadline, July 7th. Research Ballot Measures: The Secretary of State has sent FEC (Financial Estimate Committee) news with four ballot measures, a good indication of strong footing for November elections. Researchers could start now. Contact Voter ED Chair, Peggy Bengry or staff, to apply. IRR 401, a constitutional amendment related to affordable healthcare access, school funds and essential services. IRR 402, a constitutional amendment related to removing language allowing slavery and involuntary servitude as punishment for a crime. IP 14, a constitutional amendment related to legislator unexcused absences. IP 17, related to firearms permits, firearm database, and ammunition magazines. ACTION League Action and Voter Education intersect with Ballot Measures! ACTION (for some): Collect petition signatures Endorse Ballot Measure V Fight for abortion rights! VOTER EDUCATION: Research state Ballot Measures Produce Vote411 & Voters’ Guides Speakers’ Bureau OREGON PROPERTY OWNER WILDFIRE RISK MAP This important real-time Oregon Wildfire Risk Explorer Map was released June 30. Expect slow download times given the heavy usage. Read about the wildland-urban interface (WUI) and statewide wildfire risk map now available through the Oregon Explorer, as required by Senate Bill 762 (2021). The map can help to decide and plan for mitigating wildfire risk for communities throughout Oregon. Oregon State University produced the map based on administrative rules adopted by the Board of Forestry at their June 8 meeting. The rules—developed in consultation with a rulemaking advisory committee comprised of 26 members representing a wide variety of stakeholder interests—outline: boundary criteria for the WUI, how each of five wildfire risk classes is assigned to individual properties how property owners in the extreme and high risk classes are to be notified how property owners may appeal their assigned risk class. LWVUS CONVENTION 2022 The LWVOR delegation organized with prep ZOOMs and group messaging, attended both virtually and in-person, and marched to the Denver state house to protest the SCOTUS repeal of Roe v. Wade. See our Facebook for the video overview from first-time attendee, Amber Nobe from Portland. We presented a caucus and concurrences for Privacy & Cybersecurity, partnering with LWV Colorado, who presented an election security concurrence, derived from our position. Neither was recommended by the LWVUS Board, nor did they pass, among 67 non-recommended items. The LWVUS Structural Transformation Plan was adopted, see full coverage in an upcoming edition of The VOTER. We are collecting delegation comments to share in The VOTER, watch for it! CASE METHOD The Case Method Institute’s August 20th Workshop for League-nominated teachers is still open for teacher nominations, welcomed on a rolling basis. The FINAL deadline to nominate teachers is 5pm Friday, July 15th 2022 (Eastern). To nominate teachers, send teachers’ names, email addresses and school affiliations to Deirdre Kamlani at: civics@lwvgreenwich.org. The team at the Case Method Institute will be in touch shortly thereafter to set up an introductory phone call. Leagues should look for enthusiastic teachers of US history, government, or civics (grades 9-12). We can only consider active high school teachers in these subject areas. This unique and exciting program includes: An afternoon of live, online training with Harvard Business School Professor David Moss on Saturday, “History of American Democracy” course and the case method teaching approach. A full curriculum of Harvard cases free of cost from “History of American Democracy.” An 4-hour training program, case method teaching. A certificate from the Institute detailing 32 hours of professional development, delivered upon successful completion of the course and related training and implementation. The training is the entry-point to a sustained partnership with the Case Method Institute for Education and Democracy, which aims to help teachers more effectively deliver on the democratic promise of a high school education. By completing the training, teachers gain access to the full curriculum of cases (which can be taught individually or as a stand-alone course) as well as ongoing support from the program staff to help with implementation. The Case Method Institute provides everything entirely free of charge. RECOMMENDED READING The LWVUS Convention 2022 Keynote Speaker, Valerie Jensen, JD, is the VP of DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) for Planned Parenthood North Central States. She talked about CRT (Critical Race Theory) and recommends a book she loves: Inclusion On Purpose It sets out a DEI journey with a roadmap for each of us as individuals. From the author, Ruchika Tulshyan: “My focus is always on understanding and dismantling systems of oppression, rather than blaming individuals. The problem isn’t men, it’s patriarchy. The problem isn’t white people, its white supremacy. The problem isn’t straight people, it’s homophobia. Read this book to learn cutting-edge inclusion best practices.” Thank you for reading the state League update. 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.