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About the 2020 Census

The U.S. Constitution mandates a census of the population every 10 years. The 2020 Census counts everyone who lived in the U.S. on April 1, 2020. Census statistics help determine the number of seats each state holds in the U.S. House of Representatives and how billions of dollars in federal funds will be allocated by state, local, and federal lawmakers every year for the next 10 years.

The Dallas League of Women Voters was with Ashley Moss from Texas Metro News on Facebook Live today! If you missed Diane Tasian, President of the Dallas League, answering lots of voter questions, you can call our Voter Hotline today: 2-4 pm and 6-8 pm: 214-688-4125 and we will call you right back!

"From the Dallas Observer, ""Crying and Screaming Won't Fix Anything, but Voting Early Might"" by LAUREN DREWES DANIELS | OCTOBER 8, 2020 |
...Also, Larkin implores everyone to do everything early, “The vast majority of vote-by-mail ballots that are disqualified in Dallas County are due to lateness. And please vote early instead of on Election Day. If something goes wrong with your check-in process on Election Day, it may be too late to fix it.”

The Dallas County Commissioners Court has received grant money to support the elections office voting processes and includes funding for a Public Awareness Campaign. Diane Tasian, urged the commissioners to quickly produce a Public Awareness Campaign as voters have many questions. Add your voice and email your County Commissioner and Judge Clay Jenkins. Voters need answers to safely voting in a pandemic from our elected officials.

Sydney Blalock Richie, an editor at DFWCHILD magazine, a parenting magazine that focuses on the DFW area, reached out to Grace Chimene, President of the League of Women Voters, Texas and Diane Tasian, President of the League of Women Voters Dallas for their input to an article on how to raise a voter.

The article shares advice on how to raise a future voter and support your kids’ understanding of their role in democracy.

Read the article here: https://dfwchild.com/2020/09/24/how-to-raise-a-voter/

DTalks podcast for dads from Dallas area where Grace Chimene is interviewed about VOTE411 and other things!

Here is the link to listen: https://bit.ly/2G8rO4r

"The League of Women Voters of Dallas has a new website in place offering voter tools and information for Dallas County residents for the November election, and, according to a press release, “In this year of voting in a pandemic, vote by mail interest and need for poll workers, we are taking painstaking efforts to ensure the information is accurate.”

While League of Women Voters of Dallas does not endorse any particular candidate or party, we are encouraged to see this joint statement from the major political party chairs in Dallas.

Watch the recording of the Dallas College Board of Trustees Candidate Forum

For the Future Virtual Forum is part of a series of over 15 public education candidate events that the Raise Your Hand Texas Foundation will be hosting across the state prior to the 2020 general election on November 3.

This forum is for HD 115.

LWV-Texas has a list of suggestions for how you can help Texas Voters.

Dallas County Elections is hiring Poll Workers and Student Poll Workers.

Please see the latest resources and upcoming sessions on the election and building trust from the LWV coalition member, the National Institute for Civil Discourse.

City of Dallas Memorandum of October 23, 2020 to the Honorable Mayor and Member of the City Council

Watch the video here!

In case you missed it, click here to watch the presentation by LWVD on voting!

The League of Women Voters of Texas in partnership with Dallas County Community Colleges is providing this voter education series to help young people better understand their role as citizens in our state.

Blog describes how three League members got the Legislature to record their votes. https://lwvdallas.org/content.aspx?page_id=2507&club_id=341406&item_id=3160&pst=14704

Texas Politics Project manages three to four non-partisan, statewide polls of registered voters each year in conduction with the Texas Tribune. See statistics about Texas public opinion on voting, election, guns and more.

Jesse Wegman, Editorial Board Member
Nitashia Johnson for The New York Times
April 6, 2021

League of Women Voters Testimony, House Elections Committee, April 1st

"All Texans deserve a free, fair, and accessible elections system. And even though Texas politicians have been hard at work for years to build barriers to the ballot, voters have shown they won’t be stopped: Texans registered and voted in record numbers in 2020 ... Indeed, an analysis of Texas’s voting laws in 2020 concluded that it is harder to cast a ballot in Texas than in any other state across the country."

Read the full article here.

Recommended reading for some excellent election administration solutions to issues revealed in the pandemic.

See answers to FAQ about the election crises

Senate Reveals District Maps and Announces Opportunities for Public Comment

Add your name to an online petition demanding a fair redistricting process

Every 10 years after the new census count is complete, lawmakers draw the state’s political boundaries, a process known as redistricting.

Usually the task — which one expert described as “the most purely political” job of legislators — is done earlier in the year. Because of COVID-19-related census delays, legislators are scheduled to oversee redistricting during a special legislative session that starts on Monday. It’s then they’ll craft Texas’ state legislative, U.S. House of Representatives and State Board of Education districts.

Here’s what to know about redistricting in Texas.

Read the rest of the article here.

Changing the trajectory of the coming redistricting train wreck for communities of color will require bold action by Congress by Michael Li

"Public Hearing Schedule and very important procedural recommendations from the Fair and Open Campaign, developed by the Fair Maps Texas Coalition. These procedural recommendations were developed in light of the problems that we saw in the 2011 and 2013 round of redistricting. We must let the Legislature know that we demand a Fair and Open process, just like a federal judge has called for."

Texas will have 38 congressional seats as a result of the latest U.S. census. The state’s political heft has been growing steadily for decades, gaining at least two seats after every census since 1980.

by Alexa Ura April 26, 2021 Updated: 3:26 PM Central

How to write a letter to the editor of a newspaper.

Reporting by Jesus Jimenez, Staff Writer, Dallas News, on the response rate from Dallas County on the 2020 Census. Please think about joining our Advocacy Committee on the Census and Redistricting as we prepare for activities in 2021 in coordination with the Texas State League and our partners.

Protect the state and stop this high-level radioactive dumpsite in Texas. House Bill 2692 is supposed to ban the radioactive waste coming to Texas, but due to loopholes and federal preemption, the bill fails to halt high-level radioactive waste from coming here, but gives benefits to the for-profit company while Texas loses money. HB 2692 goes to the Texas House floor on Tuesday.

Article by Haley Samsel

A hazardous waste disposal company in Andrews County wants to handle more dangerous levels of nuclear waste. Federal agencies are pondering new rules that could allow more of it to come to Texas.

BY ERIN DOUGLAS

In case you missed the Environment Committee meeting on January 27th, you can click here to watch on YouTube the presentation by Kelly Longfellow, sustainability expert, on the City of Dallas Climate Action Plan. And review her presentation here. Kelly explains the plan and how to implement at home.

Mar 29, 2021 | DACA, Immigrants' Rights

100 Since Women Won the Right to Vote, a Woman Is Elected to White House Office

Teens encourage voting through their rap video filmed at Desoto Public Library.

La fecha límite para registrarse para votar se aproxima. Cecilia Silva de la organización Liga de las Mujeres Votantes informa quién es elegible y donde encontrara la solicitud de registro electoral.

Como Me Registro Para Votar Durante Una Pandemia? Video (Un Minuto)

One-minute video on Registering to Vote during a Pandemic by LWV-Texas and DCCCD

Podcast on LWV-Dallas's new website that has everything you need to register to vote, to find information on candidates (Vote411.org), and to prepare to vote in person or by mail. You are also shown how to join the League. Richland Student Angela Ly interviews LWV-Dallas member Kimberly Stanton Bowe in this 3rd part of a four-part series.

Podcast on how to research your ballot before you vote, the importance of the "down ballot" and the many resources available to people getting ready to vote, featuring Richland Student Media's Angela Ly and the LWV Dallas's Kelly Drablos in this 2nd part of a four-part series.

Podcast on (1st video). Richland Student Media's Angela Ly and the LWV Dallas's Barbara Larkin in this 1st video of a four-part series.