Do you ever feel your vote really doesn't matter or it’s too much work to figure out what’s true?  With the widespread distribution of misinformation coming at us, we can develop fatigue from trying to figure out what is true and what is misinformation. The firehose of lies is designed to make it impossible for voters to figure out the truth. The technique is designed so that eventually voters give up trying to engage. Voters conclude everyone is lying, throw up their hands, and stop voting. Finding factual information combats the effects of the misinformation 

We need to resist the fatigue and find the facts.  This is where our League is a big help.   https://www.vote411.org/ provides up-to-date information on candidates. Our League YouTube channel provides an opportunity to watch the candidate forms for local city council races.  Our League also has YouTube videos on all the local & state ballot measures. https://www.youtube.com/@leagueofwomenvoterssonomac9305/playlists 

Vote Smart  https://justfacts.votesmart.org/  is another place to do research about your representatives.  After you type in your address to see a drop down list of who represents you, select one of your representatives and  a wealth of information is available.  See their bio, voting record, positions on issues, ratings from a variety of organizations, major campaign contributors and more.  Become informed on who is representing you and where they stand on issues you care about.

The bottom line is that every vote counts.  There have been many contest where one vote made all the difference.  Vote and make a difference.  Then share this article with a friend or family member who is considering not voting.

Below are some examples of decisions that changed history and were determined by just one vote:

1800: 1 VOTE made Thomas Jefferson president instead of Aaron Burr

1850: 1 VOTE admitted California and Oregon into the United States

1920: 1 VOTE in the Tennessee legislature ratified the 19thamendment and gave women the right to vote!

Below are several examples of where ONE vote made a big difference in State elections:

1968 1 Vote decided the state House election in Wisconsin

1978 1 Vote decided the state Senate election in North Dakota

1980 1 Vote decided the state House election in New Mexico 

1982 1 Vote decided the state Senate election in Massachusetts

Our Democracy depends on us voting in every election.

Your Vote is Your Voice – Be Heard!

There are several very simple things you can do to help us Get Out The Vote (GOTV). It's as easy as 1,2,3.

1. If you have a Facebook or Instagram account, please go to the League page through your account and like and share our posts about the upcoming election.  This will make our posts more popular and increase how often they are viewed.  ( TIP: If you are not sure how to do this, ask  a young person or grandkids. 😁)

2. Even if you don't have a Facebook account, you can still help us spread the word.  Go to our Facebook page (there is a link on the home page of our website www.lwvsonoma.org.)  Copy the wording in a post you like, paste it into an email, and send to friends and family.  (See the tip for help in 1 above.)

3. Or share this message with family and friends:

"Watch for your ballot this week. Then watch the League's non-partisan city council candidate forum for your city or town and watch the Pros & Cons on ballot measures at https://www.youtube.com/feed/playlists. The videos are in both English and Spanish."

If your time is limited, please just try one of these.

If you have a little more time, you can write letters.  Vote Forward will provide a list of names and addresses in selected battleground stages, along with a form letter to which you can add a personalizing sentence or two.  The deadline for letters, October 29, is fast approaching.  You can get to the special page for LWV Sonoma at https://votefwd.org/lwvsonoma.

Ballots for the November 2024 election have now been mailed to all registered voters in California.  If you have not yet received yours, it may be a good idea to check on your registration.  You can do that be going to https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/voter-registration. You can also find information about the upcoming election on the Sonoma County Registrar of Voters site www.SoCoVotes.org.

Once you have your ballot, you can use the League tool, Vote411 at https://www.vote411.org/  to help you make your decision.  And of course, you can find many videos and documents on our Voter Information Page Voter Information, including candidates’ forums and information about ballot measures, as well as links to all the tools mentioned above.

Be an Informed Voter

And Spread the Work to Family, Friends, and Neighbors

Looking for the facts behind Sonoma County Measures I, J & W?

Wondering what is the unbiased story around the ten CA State Propositions?

Check out our 3-5-minute videos about the pros and cons of each of these measures on lwvsonoma.org. 

Know someone who could use all this information in Spanish? There are links to all of this on our home page.

Help us accomplish our goal of educating voters and defending democracy!

LWV Sonoma Website

Our election season is winding down, and it has been a busy one. We conducted five city council forums and co-sponsored one in Petaluma with AAUW. Lynn Dooley will continue doing her pro & con presentations throughout the county this month. Our Vote 411 team has added more candidates and ballot measure information to our site. Now it’s time to celebrate and reflect on what worked and where things could be better. 

I want to thank all those that responded to our survey asking if our League should take a position on any of the three local ballot measures. It was very helpful. But in the end the board decided after a lively discussion not to take a position on any of the measures since we are still involved with our non-partisan pro and con effort. 

What’s next for Voter Service? Chris Riezenman and I are stepping down now that the election season is soon to be history. The nomination committee will be looking for someone to step up. While things will be quiet for a while, there is always more to do: citizenship classes, update our training videos, youth outreach and more. Interested? 

As the countdown to the November 5 election continues, ballots are on the way and Sonoma County voters will be faced with a multitude of choices.  In total for all districts there are:

38 candidate races, 10 state propositions and 24 local measures

The League is dedicated to providing thorough, accurate, nonpartisan information so the voter can make an informed decision.  This year the California League is using the LWVUS Vote411 system to help the voter navigate that information.  

One big advantage to Vote411 is that the voter can focus on just what is on their own ballot.  By inputting their address they can retrieve information on the candidates and measures in their district as well as the state races, propositions and national races. 

Locally, our Vote411 team has been managing 73 candidates, invited 60 candidates (some candidates have not offered contact information), and have 30 participating to date.   The local measures have all been populated with basic information, linked to our Pros and Cons videos, and are linked to the Sonoma County Registrar of Voters Voter Guide.   Information on the State propositions is populated by the State League and we have asked them to also link our Pros and Cons videos. 

The League encourages every voter to take the time to make an informed decision.  Go to Vote411 California, scroll down to Get Ready...Preview Your Ballot Info and get started! or the link to Vote411 will take you there.

After listening to the thorough research done by the Pros and Cons committee, the Board also asked for members to weigh in on their thoughts about the three local measures I, J and W. Only about 15 members gave us some feedback which we appreciated. A few asked us not to take a stand on one of the measures. The Board discussed all of this and specifically the process of endorsing or rejecting a ballot measure.  The result was a commitment to develop a process and timeline so that all the information can be weighed and studied in depth.

You can see decisions the LWV California Board has made about statewide initiatives on their website.

 Ballot Measure Recomendations

Please help spread the word about access to the Pros and Cons video (both English and Spanish) as well as the past city council candidate forums. Help us educate voters. Thanks to all the volunteers who made these activities so successful! See you at the party on Nov. 18^th.

WE NEED NOMINATING COMMITTEE MEMBERS!!

The Nominating Committee is responsible to the League membership, not the board. Its composition is determined by our bylaws; therefore, we have five members. The Chair and two members are elected by membership yearly, two others are appointed by the board. This way there is an established channel of communication about league needs. We strive to recruit for leadership positions to synchronize identified needs with the talents and abilities of our membership.

Among many other things, this is why it is so important for members to engage as much as possible, and attend League events, and social gatherings, to connect with others, hear and be heard, become even more motivated, and keep making our League the best it can be.

Like every League, we have Bylaws which are the rules and principles that define the organization’s governing structure.

The positions that make up our board are specified in the bylaws: All serve a 2-year term.

President, Vice president, Administrative vice president, Vice President of advocacy, Treasurer, Secretary, and up to nine directors 

Toward the end of each year as terms end the Nominating Committee begins seeking out members who are inspired and motivated to bring their experiences, and desire to grow to our board to fill the positions that become vacant. Like everything that is worthwhile doing in life, being a League leader is both rewarding and challenging,

September:

Strategic Plan Review: Pending action items from the strategic plan were reviewed and board members gave updates. 

Treasurer’s report:  Linda Rosen reported that as expected we have a deficit for the year, but that was anticipated, and the expenses were covered by our reserves.

Membership:  We are now at 154 members.  Gayle Mc Kinney-Peterson held a new member orientation.  She will hold them quarterly and has scheduled one for November.

Payments:  Credit card service is up and working.              

What’s Up:  This new email feature is being mailed to members two times a month with the latest activities                 

Discussion about requests for information: The Gazette has requested that we submit an article each month. 

Source of Information:  We want the League to be an accurate source of information on elections and how to vote issues.  When we get questions we will check the facts, and if we need to, we will go to an expert such as ROV to get the answer before responding.

Voter Service: Our teams are very actively engaged in putting on the candidate forums and Pros & Cons videos this month. Karen Weeks has been working with a graduate student to help us develop candidate questions. 

Youth Committee:  We are now scheduled for 6 schools and 32 classrooms.  Our partnership with the libraries are going well.  The Library had a lot of the material in Spanish which we may use. Robyn & Chris are working with the SRJC on ambassadors.  We are also working with SSU.  We signed up 20 new ambassadors. 

SSU students:  We are co-sponsoring “It Matters’  The message is that voting matters.  There is a series of events between now and the election.  It kicks off on Wed 9/11.  We are a sponsor, and we have made a donation.  Link is  https://www.sonoma.edu/updates/2024/it-matters-voter-engagement-series

Post Election Social is Nov 18^th 4 – 6 pm at the So Co Children’s Museum. 

Tabling opportunities: Donna Roper reported that there is tabling at the So Co Children’s; Museum through September.  We have experienced volunteers willing to train new people. Donna Roper  is sending out emails on tabling opportunities and listing them in the events.  Those interested should send an email to Donna.

Nominating  Committee:  Donna Roper reminded the Board members that we need a Chair and committee members. 

Fundraising:  We are applying to be a recipient of the proceeds from a Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence Bingo Night and perhaps this could be a League social.

6th Street Playhouse is offering  a play titled “What the Constitution Means to Me” in January.  We are exploring being a sponsor of the premier and offering this as a social to our members.

Advocacy:  The committee is waiting for information on how the Board of Supervisors will respond to the lawsuit over the well ordinance and the judge’s ruling on the Sonoma Development Center.  The next meeting has been moved to the second Wed in November  (11/13) due to the date of the general election.

Local Ballot Measures:  Our local league may only take a position of support or opposition if the issue is one our local league or the state league has studied and on which the League has formulated a position.  There also needs to be a consensus of the Board as to whether to support or oppose, which is different than a simple vote.

There was no consensus to support or oppose any of the local ballot measures. Debbie Mc Kay will write up a procedure which may be used in the future for local ballot measures, and will bring it back to the board for discussion and approval.

Membership:  We now have 184 members, including several students. Currently students are not required to pay dues.

National Dues Structure scheduled for Jan 2025:  Under the new National Member system there will no longer be a “student” member category and student dues will not be waived.  The new minimum dues will be $20. “Student membership” will be a topic on a future board agenda for a discussion on whether or not or local wishes to subsidize student dues.

New Member Orientation:  The next orientation is scheduled for Nov. 13^th at 5:30 pm at the League Office 555 Fifth St. SR in the Conference room.

Gazette Articles:  The Sonoma County Gazette is currently welcoming articles from the League.  Leona had a great article in the October issue.  Debbie Mc Kay will write an article for the November edition with a focus on the electoral college.

Radio Interviews:  Robyn Bramhall recently did an interview with KOWS, a local radio station, and she will do another interview with Women’s Voices in October.

Voter Services: 

Candidate Forums: A debrief on the forum process is scheduled for Monday, October 7^th.  Feedback will be used to update the candidate forums manual.  Leona & Chris are stepping down from coordinating the candidate forums once the manual has been updated.  The Board thanked Juanita Roland for the great job of posting the links to all the candidate forums on our webpage. All the forums are now on our YouTube channel.

Pros and Cons:  Lynne Dooley reported that she has done 15 presentations and has 17 more to go.  So far 515 people have attended.  We have had more requests for presentations than we can fill.  All the pros & cons video are on our YouTube channel in both English & Spanish.

Youth Committee:  We expect to reach 1300 students this fall. The partnership with the Library is going well and they are providing tote bags and bilingual materials.  We have enough volunteers to cover the scheduled classrooms.  We may do more training for volunteers in the spring.

Tabling opportunities:  Lynn Dooley suggested we consider developing a tabling plan for recruiting young people to join the League, rather than just focusing on Voter registrations because most eligible people in Sonoma County are already registered to Vote.