On August 26, please grab your favorite drink and join Planned Parenthood Votes! South Atlantic for their Cocktails for a Cause: Celebration of Suffrage. Panelists include: South Carolina State Senator Margie Bright Matthews; Executive Director of the New North Carolina Project, Aimy Steele; and Effie Kallas, Co-President of the League of Women Voters of West Virginia. Register for FREE today.
Thursday, August 26, 2021
6:00 – 6:30 p.m. via Zoom
As we commemorate the 101st anniversary of suffrage for many American women, we also recognize the ongoing fight for voting rights. States across the country have introduced a surge of legislation that would make it harder to cast a ballot, particularly targeting people of color, people with low-income, and young people. Voter suppression directly impedes our ability to control our bodies and plan our futures. These political attacks are a tremendous threat to what we stand for.
Cocktails for a Cause will feature an exciting panel discussion on Planned Parenthood Votes! South Atlantic’s role in getting out the vote in 2022, and standing against voter suppression. Register today!
Your support makes it possible for Planned Parenthood Votes! West Virginia PAC to expand and protect reproductive health and rights in West Virginia.
Today kicks off a Week of Action organized by Young West Virginia. They are hosting rallies across the state to help garner community action in support of the For the People Act, John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, and D.C. Statehood. These pro-democracy reforms are our once in a generation opportunity to protect our freedom to vote, end partisan and racial gerrymandering, and get dark money out of politics. Join a rally near you. Events are happening in:
Join Young WV’s week of action and play a part in fulfilling the promise of our democracy.
This week is also the start of a series of listening sessions hosted by the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Redistricting, with public hearings in Winfield (Tuesday 7/27) and Logan (Thursday 7/29). All 12 in-person public hearings will take place from 6 to 8 PM, with doors opening at 5:30 PM to begin the sign-in process. Anyone who would like to be guaranteed an opportunity to speak during the hearings will need to be present to sign in by 6 PM.
Let’s take advantage of the upcoming hearings to let legislators know that when it comes to our districts, we want a transparent process we can trust, where communities remain whole and where voters have an equal voice.
CHARLESTON, WV – With the Senate set to vote on the For the People Act (S1) in late June, this week the League of Women Voters of West Virginia launched a campaign to promote the bill’s passage. On Sunday, June 20th, the League placed full-page ads in the Charleston Gazette-Mail and the Huntington-Herald Dispatch, alongside digital ads on the publications’ respective homepages, urging West Virginia senators to vote for the For the People Act.
“It is clear that the pro-voter policies put forward by S1 are supported by the majority of West Virginians,” said Effie Kallas, co-President of the League of Women Voters of West Virginia. “We are hopeful that this campaign will inspire people to reach out to Senators Manchin and Capito to demand that they vote ‘yes’ on this essential bill.”
The For the People Actpassed in the U.S. House on March 3, 2021, and now awaits a Senate vote. The bill, which aims to make the promise of democracy real for all Americans by securing the right to vote, increasing government transparency and accountability, and eliminating dark money from elections, is widely supported by the American public.
The League of Women Voters of West Virginia supports:
Strengthening West Virginia’s water quality to reflect EPA recommended human health criteria as well as measures to ensure West Virginians have access to clean, quality drinking water.
Strengthening disclosure requirements for the sources of political campaign expenditures, including dark money.
Establishment of an independent commission to draw up redistricting plans for representatives to the US House of Representatives and the WV Legislature.
Measures that encourage investment in renewable energy and energy efficiency in West Virginia’s homes, non-profits, businesses, and industries.
Maintaining expanded Medicaid coverage for the hundreds of thousands of West Virginians who rely on it for health care.
Measures that will assure that all West Virginia children have access to adequate nutrition in their homes and schools.
Measures to eliminate discrimination and to ensure equality of opportunity for education, employment, and housing for all West Virginians regardless of their race, color, gender, religion, national origin, age, sexual orientation, or disability.
In keeping with its goal of encouraging participation by citizens in their government, the League will continue to monitor election laws and oppose measures which limit access to voting.
Our members will be following action on these and other issues during the 2020 session. We appreciate your willingness to undertake public service and work toward our shared goal of creating a better West Virginia for all of its citizens.
Already in this important election year, new Super PACs are flooding elections with huge expenditures from million-dollar donors. Because they are supposedly “independent” from the candidates, and with new loopholes from the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision, Super PACs can raise and spend unlimited amounts from corporations and individuals, and they can do so with limited disclosure.
While there are different avenues that can be taken to fight back against Citizens United and cut the influence of special interests, you can join us by taking the first step today by urging President Obama to appoint new commissioners to the FEC. Among other duties, the FEC can define what election efforts are “independent” from the candidates.
The FEC is supposed to be the agency that enforces campaign finance laws, but it is dysfunctional. Of the six commissioners at the agency, three of them staunchly refuse to enforce the law, and five of the six are serving despite expired terms. It is time to clean house.
Don’t just sign it yourself; post the petition on Facebook, Tweet about it and forward this note to all of your friends. Together we can make sure that the citizen’s voice is heard.
For extra reading, click here for an interesting discussion of the new Super PACs presented by PBS.
