GENERAL ELECTION BALLOT MEASURES – PROS AND CONS

A terrific team of 40 volunteers from both the Marin and Sonoma Leagues are hard at work creating non-partisan, unbiased scripts for each of theten state and three Sonoma County-wide measures.This information helps the public demystify their ballots so they can become informed voters.

Thank you to all involved!!You are making a difference!!

We will be presenting recordings of our scripts to the public through in-person and zoom presentations throughout both counties.

League members are invited to see the presentation on

Monday September 23^rdat 11:30am via zoom.

Look for the zoom link on the calendar at SonomaLWV.org.PLEASE JOIN US!!You are also invited to attend any of the public presentations that will be listed on the calendar as well.

To date we have 30 events scheduled at places like Spring Lake Village, Varenna, the Sonoma County Downtown Library, the Unitarian Universalist Church and more.If you know of an organization that would like a presentation, please contact Lynn Dooley atProsandCons@SonomaLWV.org.

There is a lot going on in this busy election season. The good news is that we have made it easy for you to keep track of all that is happening here in Sonoma County. Our webmaster, Juanita Roland, has created a link to all election related news and resources in one place on our website. Go to lwvsonoma.org . There you will notice a link called Voter Information Page. Click on that and you have all upcoming events and important dates listed on the left side. You will also see links to city council candidate forum recordings as well as other past interesting election & civics related videos. Then on the right side you will see a link to Vote411.org. This app will allow you to see what will be on your ballot including candidates and ballot measures. Other useful resources there are:

• Track your ballot
• Easy Voter Guide- a publication produced by the State LWV
• LWVC Recommendations- Vote with the League

While you’re checking out our website, try the Civics Game--Verify. This is an online game to test your civics knowledge that was produced the Alameda LWV.

LWVUS Commitment to Protecting Democracy in 2024

WASHINGTON – The League of Women Voters of the US president,Dianna Wynn, issued the following statement about the state of American democracy ahead of the 2024 general election:

“For more than a century, the League of Women Voters has stood as a trusted, nonpartisan source of election information for voters across this nation. Since our founding, our organization has been dedicated topreparing voters to cast their ballot in each election and to exercise their right to participate in democracy.

“We stand firmly against policies and actions that threaten the integrity and inclusiveness of the democratic process. White nationalism and efforts to move our government toward authoritarianism threatens the very foundation of our democracy. The League will use our power and resources to combat any attempt to undercut the values of free and fair elections, and our democracy of, by, and for the people. Through protests and advocacy we will challenge any policies, laws, and regulations that propose restrictive measures that undermine our nation's progress toward ensuring every citizen’s right to vote.

“Our country is at an existential crossroads, and voters must make a critical decision about the direction of our nation. The League remains committed to providing nonpartisan election information for voters atVOTE411.organd empowering voters to send a clear message about the future we want. We urge American voters to turn up and turn out in November to ensure our democracy reflects the will of the people.”

Vote Forward

Vote Forward is an organization that promotes GOTV letter writing campaign to reluctant voters. During the last general election League members wrote literally hundreds of letters. We organized several group letter writing sessions.This is one election activity one can do at home in your own time, and it’s a way to influence voter turnout in other states.

This election season, our League doesn’t have the resources to organize group sessions. So, we are encouraging members to take the reins and work on your own or form your own letter writing party among your friends and neighbors. It’s easy, just go to our webpage athttps://lwvsonoma.org. Scroll down to the Vote Forward button. Click on the button. Here you can log in if you have created an account previously or create an account. Vote Forward has all the information you need to get started. If you have questions, contactvoteforward@lwvsonoma.org

Tabling with the League can be a very rewarding experience (although it also has its boring moments). Theodora Pollack and Nancy Lewis have been doing tabling around Sebastopol and Theodora reported the following:

If you ever get discouraged and think that the work we do doesn’t matter, think again!

Nancy Lewis and I are tabling at the Sebastopol Farmers Marketon Sundays. Being present at our table on Sunday, July 21when the news broke of President Biden’s gracefulbow out of the presidential race was a bit of extraordinary.Instantly we became ‘Election Central’.

So many people flocked to us, wishing to share the excitement. It followed that we were able to inform and educate somany people about the full voting process. (Never make the mistake of thinking everyonein Sonoma County fully understands the voting process). Youngand old left our table full of enthusiasm and determined to vote in November.

Thatday fell into thecategory of the question that will forever be asked,“Wherewere you on that sunnySunday morning in July 2024?

There is absolutely no place on earth either of us would rather have been.

Last month several members and their guests gathered at the Iron & Vine restaurant, Bennett Valley Golf Course to honor the outgoing Civil Grand Jury headed up by Rob Hunter, chair of this year’s Grand Jury. Rob started with an overview of how the Grand Jury works pointing out that they can only work on operational aspects of government, not policy. He said that is the purview of elected officials. Their function is to recommend actions to improve outcomes.

It turns out that the League was not the first party to submit a complaint about fire safe roads in rural Sonoma County. The issue was not taken up previously because of a lack of resources.The Grand Jury member who did much of the research on the fire safe roads thought the matter was far from settled and will likely end up in the courts. The League complaint was one of five investigations including some all too familiar ones: the County Jail and the Dept of Health Services. An investigation was also done on the Registrar of Voters ahead of this year’s election. The ROV, not surprisingly received high marks.

The work of the Grand Jury is a powerful tool for making democracy accountable and transparent. It was an honor to meet these ordinary citizens who put in an average of 20 hours a week doing the research and interviews necessary to create a comprehensive review of some aspect of our city or county agencies. They do this work with surprisingly little support from the County. They deserve a shout out for their hard work.