| The last day to request a Vote-By-Mail ballot is this Saturday, AUG 8 for the AUG 18 Primary election. Click for answers to your Vote-By-Mail FAQs Remember, early voting is OPEN 9am-7pm until Aug 16 at 18 different locations; you can also deliver your signed/sealed VBM ballot to a staffed box at any of these early voting locations or the Supervisor of Elections office. We recommend that everyone check their voter info/status at the link below.
|  | | Make a note, next week's Special Edition HOT TOPICS will be on Tuesday, AUG 11 @ 6-7:00 PM instead of our usual Wednesday lunchtime event.
Please join us for our FREE Hot Topics next week, “Racial Wealth Gap Learning Simulation,” as we work together to better understand the racial bias in our governmental policies and step into the shoes of people of color as they strive for racial equity. This interactive online session will be delivered and facilitated by Bread for the World www.bread.org #BlackLivesMatter
The simulation is an interactive tool that helps people understand the connections among racial equity, hunger, poverty, and wealth. It is a good first step for people unaware of structural inequality, a support tool for those who want a deeper understanding of structural inequality, and a source of information for experts who want to know the quantifiable economic impact of each policy that has widened today's racial hunger, income, and wealth divides.
[Shown below, various members attending past events...a reminder that we will be together again one day.] | VBM Education Signs Available
The spirit of Carol Davis (shown above right during a keynote speech) infuses LWVOC's Vote-by-Mail campaign, thanks to a generous donation in her memory by member Barbara Granade. Carol was our beloved Co-President 2016-2018, and her consuming passion was voting rights as evidenced by a state League award for collecting so many voter registration forms.
We've taken "grassroots voter education" to the grass roots...literally! (Shown left, member Tamaira Rivera and her future voter) The LWVOC is dedicated to empowering voters with knowledge and providing information for Vote-By-Mail
Help us fund ALL our voter education goals and DONATE to our efforts. Without our regular programming, budgets are tight but getting out the vote and empowering voters through knowledge is how we will DEFEND DEMOCRACY. Be sure to keep scrolling to see our APPRECIATION to the many donors who have stepped up to help us, just as Barbara Granade did.
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August is National Women's Suffrage Month. The US Women's Suffrage Centennial Commission invites everyone to see "One Woman, One Vote" on Fri, Aug 7, 8pm on YouTube Live. WSCC teamed with the One Woman One Vote Film Festival to create a revamped version of this classic documentary, complete with a new introduction by Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. To register, visit womensvote100.org/onewomanonevote
| | Dr. Gloria Pickar, Co-President, is shown in period garb being interviewed for our LWVOC 80th birthday celebration (2019) at the Angebilt Hotel, site of our first League informational in 1939.
It's an excellent time to catch up on our own LWVOC history by reading "Warriors for Democracy" written by Leaguer Ann Patton
MEMBERSHIP has been essential to our success these past 8 decades. Read a bit more about ours on pgs.104-5 in our history book, including why our own Gloria decided to join. "By the spring of 2015, the chapter had 550 members, making it one of the largest Leagues in the nation." (Psst...we've surpassed that by 100 since then. Join us below)
And in the category of "It's never too late to join the League," see our member below who joined in 2014 and is celebrating 100 this month! 1920 was a great year!
| | |  | | Be a social media League volunteer and SHARE the information and graphics below on the platforms where you post! | | COVID-19 has created challenges for the League’s voter registration efforts. Nationally and locally, Leaguers are busy working on a Vote-by-Mail campaign. Social media is one of the strategies we’ll utilize. We’re asking members, who are Facebook and Instagram users, to help increase our social media presence by interacting with the League's posts. Interacting with our posts is where the magic happens. Every time you do, our voice is amplified. The more interactions we have, the more people will see our message and the greater our impact. A “like” is good, a “comment” is better and a “share” is best of all. ~ R. Pando
GET CLICKING and SHARE! Hover over one of our graphics, right click to save, and then follow your normal routine to upload the image to your social media accounts. | | | | Theo Webster serves as our
Transportation Committee chairperson and is often called upon to be a liaison for the LWVOC at local events concerning all modes of transportation. Be sure to scroll all the way down to see an upcoming Metroplan Orlando event where you, too, can have a voice about how people and commerce may be moving in 2045.
Beyond her many volunteer efforts in the League, Theo is also engaged in multiple community groups. Recently, she was appointed to serve on Orange County's Sustainability and Resilience Committee representing the Arts & Cultural Affairs Advisory Council's Sustainability Committee. | | | | Our Statewide Census Committee is in need of volunteers to assist in a special Census outreach program for undercounted communities in Florida. It’s easy, virtual work: texting people in undercounted communities and encouraging them to answer the 2020 Census.
This project requires a commitment of 3-5 hours over the course of a 5-7 day window. The texting is done through a computer or tablet with a number provided by the program. An accurate and complete 2020 Census count is critical to ensuring Florida receives its fair share of funding and representation.
To participate:
Sign up for a Texter Training. (Trainings take place on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays).Lastly, complete this form to let us know you are signed up and ask any questions you might have. | | | | Lauren Zelek
Katherine Scott
Mary Munroe
Jane Heppner
Julie Muser
*Remember, students join for free!
Invite your family, friends, neighbors, and colleagues to JOIN US | | | | Your contributions help us continue the powerful work of the League, especially during these pandemic times when our normal operations have been curtailed. THANK YOU to the following generous contributors:
Teresa Salazar generous donation to the Education Fund
Anita and Lou Williams generous donation in honor of all the brave men and women who made the “get out the vote” campaign possible.
Kathleen Skambis generous donation in gratitude of thankless Volunteers.
Therese Osborne generous donation in memory of Lorry Delfosse
Nicki Creatore generous donation to the Education Fund
James W. Gantt generous donation to the Education Fund
Gloria Pickar generous donation in honor of the History and Voter Services Committees for tireless work of members to turn out the vote
Theo Webster generous donation in memory of Carol Davis for her tireless devotion to Voter Services
For those of you who would like to donate "to honor" or "in memory of" someone or to support our voter education efforts,
| | | Newsletter Checklist
- Did you join the League for volunteer opportunities? Do so by sharing our Voter Services graphics, attending the Metroplan webinar or participating in the Census 2020 Text Banking...YOU can make a difference.
- VBM signs are available on a first come/first served basis
- Follow our social media platforms to see our 100 Days to The Vote history trivia. Look at the TOP of all our newsletters and simply click on an icon to go directly to Facebook, Instagram, etc.
- Questions about Vote-by-Mail? Visit Voting Info on our website for answers.
| Groundwork is being set for a NEW sub-committee for DEI...Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Perhaps you've seen our recent diversity collages recognizing the many faces that make up the League and its supporters. Our diversity policy can be found HERE Contact our members, Virginia Meany or Alisha Taylor if you're interested. Start-up conversations begin this month! | | MEMBERS ONLY
This week we will welcome Common Cause Florida State Chair Liza McClenaghan to discuss poll protection efforts amidst COVID-19 for the August primary and November general elections.
Common Cause Florida and the League of Women Voters of Florida are both a part of a nonpartisan Election Protection Coalition, which Liza facilitates, that seeks to ensure that every eligible voter who wants to vote can and that every vote is counted accurately.
| | | Info and Registration
Now is the time to pose your questions about how Orlando will literally MOVE in the future. Click above and join one of the upcoming sessions.
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