In this issue:
- Co-Presidents Message
- October 28 General Meeting: Affordable Housing - Issues and Solutions
- Critical Dates and Information for November 7 Election
- Vote Center Information
- Voter Services - Increase Senior Voter Turnout
- Annual Luncheon Award Announcements - Keynote Speaker and Emcee
- Annual Luncheon Silent Auction Opportunities
- New Members
- Opportunities for Member Engagement and Donations
- Calendar
- LWVD General Information
| CO-PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
From the Desk of Sandy Thornton
I am looking forward to our first General Meeting of this fiscal year on October 28. See details below. I am hoping to see many members and new people that are interested in our topic and learning more about our League.
Check the Events calendar on the website for our unit meetings This Week on School Vouchers. This is a timely subject that deserves our attention and actively letting our legislators know our position. The League is not in support of public school monies going to private schools.
It is too late to register for the November 7 election, but not too soon to check your registration or register for the important primaries that will be coming next spring.
The Voter Guides for the upcoming election are in the Dallas Library branches. In addition to the state’s election on propositions to the state constitution, there are several local municipal elections in Cedar Hill, Duncanville, Lancaster, Mesquite, and Rowlett. Encourage your neighbors to vote in these often low turnout elections. Both state and local elections affect your daily lives.
Don’t let others speak for you. Vote!
Thanks to the board and volunteers for helping make democracy work.
In League,
Sandy Thornton
Co-President – League of Women Voters of Dallas
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Critical Dates for the November 7 Election
Too late to register to vote in November 7 election
October 23 - First day to vote early in person
October 27 - Last day to apply for vote by mail ballot
November 3 - Last day of early voting in person
November 7 - Election Day and vote by mail ballot receipt deadline
Go to LWV Dallas Website Home Page Click Here to view copies of the Voter Guides for local municipality elections in Cedar Hill, Duncanville, Lancaster, Mesquite and Rowlett and well as the Voters Guide for the constitution propositions in English, Spanish, Vietnamese and simple Chinese.
Printed copies of the Voters Guide in English and Spanish are in our local libraries now.
For information about the Texas Amendments on the ballot for November 7 election, go to the home page of League of Women Voters of Texas and scroll down to the videos that have the pro and con information about the propositions. Click Here
According to U.S. Census data from 2020, as many as 1 in 4 eligible Americans are not registered to vote. Every year, millions of Americans find themselves unable to vote because they miss a registration deadline, didn’t update their registration, or aren’t sure how to register. Click here to check status, register to vote or need more information. It's your voice; don't give it away.
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Vote Centers – New Lists, but Not Much Change
The November 7 election on constitutional amendments is projected to be low turnout. If you plan to vote in person, please check the Dallas County Elections website for the Vote Center nearest you. It can be found under the Early Voting tab. Most early voting and election day locations did not change, but some did. Good news – if you see an early voting Vote Center you can be confident it will also be open on Election Day.
The Voter Center Advisory Committee met often from February through April 2022 and then 14 times from January through August of 2023. The committee accomplished three important objectives. Phase 1 resulted in Commissioners Court adopting a low turnout list. Phase 2 resulted in Commissioners Court adopting a high turnout list and an updated list of early voting locations.
There were several LWV Dallas members representing various organizations who participated. For LWVD I offer thanks to Dorie Cranshaw and Carol Farquhar, who attended and voted on items when I couldn’t be there. Two members who also serve on CEAC (Citizen’s Election Advisory Committee) attended – Elaine Campbell and Gwenda Lowe. Andrea Barriero represented SMU and worked with their data team. And Kebran Alexander represented NAACP Dallas Branch.
Background: The VCAC (Vote Center Advisory Committee) is a subcommittee of CEAC (Citizens Election Advisory Committee). Representatives from community organizations, city secretary offices, school districts, political parties and all members of CEAC were invited to participate in the VCAC.
In 2019 Dallas County was approved to have Vote Centers by the Secretary of State. At the time our county commissioners ensured we have as many vote centers as existing precinct voting locations. About the same time the legislature eliminated the temporary Vote Center option and some local temporary Vote Centers were urged to become regular Vote Centers. Over time the list has changed slightly due to building ownership preference, demolition, new construction, and renovations.
Before and during the VCAC meeting all the existing vote centers were visited and assessed by DCED (Dallas County Election Department) staff. The assessment included the guidelines for accessibility from the federal Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA). Other evidence-based criteria were assembled by the GIS technology team headed by Kevin Burns at Dallas County Elections. Some examples of the data assembled included the history of usage of each Vote Center location and the residences of registered voters.
There has been some recent press about the loss of Voter Center locations due to legislation this year. This is not an issue for Dallas County. Before the VCAC began its work, Dallas County had about 3 times as many vote Centers per person as Collin County and about 2 times as many per person as Harris County. After our work the number of Vote Centers for high turnout elections actually increased to 460 locations. (We started with 450 functioning centers.) However, there were some location changes due to accessibility guidelines from the ADA, a focus on filling holes around the county where distances to a Vote Center were higher than average, and in some cases strong community advocacy for neglected areas such as the Joppa community.
Thanks to Diane Tasian for submitting this article. | Voter Services
Looking Ahead to 2024, Increasing Senior Voter Turnout!
Our senior citizens have a unique set of challenges when it comes to voting. When you add vision, mobility, motor skills, and transportation issues to the recent confusion and frustration surrounding voting by mail, many seniors wonder how to get their vote in and counted.
Knowing this and anticipating the need to get our seniors ready for the highly anticipated 2024 election cycle, Voter Services has been engaged in a pilot program during September to learn how best we can serve this ever growing, and eager to vote population.
We started with a hard look at rules surrounding assistance when filling out forms and Ballot by Mail, because working with seniors is almost completely different from working with teens and young adults! Next, we set up visits with the independent living and assisted living groups at both CC Young and Presbyterian Village North. The activity directors gave the residents plenty of notice and they arrived ready with IDs, voter cards and lots of questions. We helped confirm registration online for many, registered 11, changed addresses for 12, and guided almost 60 people towards getting their application sent off to request a Ballot by Mail for the upcoming November election. Reminding them, of course, that they need to apply to vote by mail each year!
In these troubled times, the enthusiasm and gratefulness we experienced from these experienced voters has given each of our volunteers a true morale boost! Our goal is to expand our reach in 2024 to prepare seniors for the presidential election cycle. In early January, once applications for Ballot by Mail for 2024 can be received by Dallas County Elections, we will need many volunteers to join this effort. Please watch the Friday Updates for reminders to sign up or go to the website’s Participate/Volunteer page to see the opportunities available.
You can also email Kelly Martin at kelly9510@gmail.com if you would like to join our team!
In League, Kelly Martin and Diane Tasian | League of Women Voters of Dallas 27th Annual Luncheon Awards
We are pleased to announce our Keynote Speaker and Mistress of Ceremonies to our annual luncheon which will be held on Friday, February 9, 2024 at the Marriott Quorum Hotel. Our Awardees for 2024 were announced last month in the Voter. The Making Democracy Work Awardee is the Honorable Margaret Keliher. The Eleanor Sutherland Volunteer Award is Cristal Retana.
|  | | Our Keynote Speaker
Barbara M. G. Lynn has been a U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of Texas for twenty-two years. In 2016, she became the Chief Judge, the first female Chief in Texas.
A summa cum laude graduate of UVA, Judge Lynn graduated first in her class from SMU Dedman School of Law. She then joined the Dallas firm of Carrington, Coleman, where she remained until she took the bench.
Judge Lynn is the Vice-President of the American Inns of Court Foundation. She is a member of The Honorable Barbara M.G. Lynn American Inn of Court, and two other Inns. She has served as Chair of the ABA’s Section of Litigation and Judicial Division.
She received the Distinguished Alumni Award from SMU in 2021. She was listed in the Best Lawyers in America in Business Litigation and was designated by the National Law Journal as one of the fifty most influential women attorneys in the country. Judge Lynn has been named Judge of the Year by the Dallas Chapter of ABOTA. On November 3, she will receive the first Jurist of the Year Award from the Dallas Bar. The award will be named in perpetuity for Judge Lynn. She has been recognized by the International Women’s Forum with the Women Who
Make A Difference Award. Judge Lynn was the recipient of the Dallas Bar Foundation Fellows Award, and the Athena Award from the Dallas Regional Chamber. She received the Morris Harrell Professionalism Award and the Texas Bar Foundation Samuel Pessarra Outstanding Jurist Award. Judge Lynn is a Judicial FACTL. She is also a judicial advisor to the patent projects of the Sedona Conference. Judge Lynn is married to Michael Lynn, a Dallas trial lawyer at Lynn Pinker Hurst & Schwegmann LLP. They have two daughters and three grandchildren. | | |
Our Mistress of Ceremonies
Sylvia Komatsu is Chief Content and Diversity Officer for KERA and KXT. She oversees news, radio, television, digital media, community engagement and educational services.
An award-winning journalist, she began her career as a reporter for a nightly news analysis program. Later, she produced and executive produced documentaries and specials on a wide range of social, political and cultural issues. Among her national public television credits as program executive are The U.S.-Mexican War (1846-1848), Sweet Tornado: Margo Jones and the American Theater, JFK: Breaking the News, Matisse & Picasso, For A Deaf Son and After Goodbye: An AIDS Story. Sylvia and her colleagues have received numerous honors for their work, including national and regional Emmy Awards.
She is a graduate of Harvard University and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. Sylvia and her husband, George, live in Dallas.
| | | | Annual Luncheon Silent Auction
Each year the League holds a successful silent auction to raise funds. We are looking to you for items for the auction. That beautiful item in the corner that you're tired of seeing, tickets to plays, sporting events, the opera and the symphony are always welcomed donations. Share your favorite restaurant by donating a gift card. More information will be coming about the auction as well as the forms for donations and the tax-exempt letter to give to businesses who donate. | | | Help us to make this a Successful Silent Auction
The best “sellers” in a Silent Auction usually are the gift cards and items recruited
from area businesses. And how do we gather these great items from businesses?
We ASK! We visit the business or we send a letter or e-mail with a request.
I invite you to become a Silent Auction “warrior”. Print out the business letter and the
donation form attached to this VOTER and plan a visit to one of your favorite businesses. It is more fun if you invite a friend to join you. It is best to find a time when the manager
is not busy. Introduce yourself and the League and explain the ask. Then hand the
manager the letter and the donation form. If inclined to donate, they may give a donation
immediately or they may keep the forms for later.
You may be a bit surprised as to how enjoyable this can be. It is fun to visit area businesses
and engage in conversation with the owner or manager.
And you as a potential customer will always be treated with courtesy.
To avoid duplicate visits to businesses, please let one of us know who you will be asking
for donations. Also ask us if you any information about the Silent Auction.
Contact Becky Brakke (bbindal@aol.com), Cecilia McKay (cemck@currently.com), or Sandy Thornton (tubbsl@swbell.net).
| WELCOME TO OUR NEW MEMBERS
Kathy Alvoid
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| Opportunities for Member Engagement
Click on Volunteering below to see opportunities to participate!
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Opportunities to Donate
Click on Donate Below to see opportunities to donate in various ways!
| Calendar
Click Events for the latest information
Regularly Scheduled Meetings
Advocacy Interest groups: On Zoom - see Events calendar to register for link.
Texas State Education Issues Advocacy Meeting - Third Thursday at 6:00 p.m. when new information
is available
Housing - Third Tuesday at 7:00 p.m.
Voter Service and Voter Rights - Fourth Tuesday at 6:00 p.m. (currently suspended)
Membership Connections - Opportunity for new and existing members to meet some of the board to learn about the league every other month - this month October 28 at Mountain View College - See Event Calendar for this
Neighborhood Unit meetings - members discuss issues: on Tuesday and Thursday of the third week of the month, 11:30 am to 1 pm, and on Wednesday of the third week, 5:30 to 7 p.m. The locations of the meetings are on the calendar.
To calculate which week of the month - if the month starts with a day in the week that is the first week. Example: If March 1 is on a Wednesday, then that is Week One.
The above meetings occur from September through May.
Observer Corps
DISD Board of Trustees meet once a month on the fourth Thursday
Dallas City Council briefings are on the first and third Wednesday
Dallas City Council meets on the second and fourth Wednesday
Dallas County Commissioners Court meets on the first and third Tuesday
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LWVD General Information
LWVD Office Hours
Monday – Friday 10 am to 2 pm
Please call Sandy Thornton at 214-827-1988 or text to 214-415-1801 for
office access
LWVD Office
6060 N. Central Expwy, Ste 500
Dallas, TX 75206
214-688-4125 email: info@lwvdallas.org
Office Physical Location
If you don’t know the location of our office on the second floor, see the Receptionist on the 5th floor. They will direct you to our office.
To view the LVWD Board Of Directors go to Home - About Us - Board of Directors
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