| October 2021
Editor Jennifer Bales
communications@lwvbc.org | | | |
President's Letter
for October, 2021
By Elizabeth Crowe | | | |
Election Season 2021: All Hands on Deck! | League has a busy few weeks in store, with ten local candidate forums, two ballot issue presentations, launch of VOTE411.org, more voter registration drives and all the outreach that goes with it. Again this year, ALL League election season events will have Spanish language interpretation, to help make the process accessible and inclusive for Latinx League members and community members. Many thanks to all of our Voter Service volunteers and our Operations Director, Mandy, for making it all happen!
Now we need YOUR help to make sure our election season events have voter education and engagement impact! Here's what you can do:
1. Visit League's Election 2021 webpage webpage and register to participate in candidate forums and ballot initiatives.
2. Submit questions for any or all of the upcoming candidate forums.
3. Share election event information with your friends! One easy way to do this is through our LWVBC Facebook posts, which you can share on your own page and with friends. You can also paste links to our webpage and Facebook page on other social media sites like Nextdoor, or neighborhood email lists, or platforms like Twitter or Instagram.
4. Are you a member of another local organization that cares about voter engagement or voting rights? Ask them to help promote the League's bilingual VOTE411 site, which will be live next week through election day.
5. Last but absolutely not least, help secure Election Season Sponsorship to meet our $4,000 fundraising goal! Make a donation yourself, or contact your favorite business or organization to ask for their support as we empower voters and defend democracy. All the information is in the Election Season Sponsorship article in this issue of the Voter.
| Election Season Sponsor Opportunity! | |
LWVBC is working to raise $4,000 to meet our Voter Services costs, and you can help! We are approaching individuals and businesses to consider sponsoring our election season activities at a level of $250 or $500. This will get the business' logo in front of thousands of voters throughout Boulder County between now and November 2, while supporting voter engagement with factual, bilingual, nonpartisan voter information. Please share the following flyer with any businesses you know. For more information please contact our Operations Director, Mandy Nuku at mandynuku@lwvbc.org or 303.499.4544. | | | March for Citizenship
by Peggy Leech
On September 25, Hannah Rain Crowe and I represented LWVBC in a “March for Citizenship” in Denver. LWVBC is a member of CIRC (Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition), one of the sponsors of the march.
People came from all parts of the state to participate, and we heard some heartbreaking stories. Many of the speakers had been in the U.S. since the 1990s or early 2000s, and it was clear that they are tired of being a “political football”. Congress has not passed immigration reform since 1986 (35 years ago!). They were urging Congress to use all available tools to get immigration reform done this year, as this seems like the best chance for the foreseeable future.
Please contact Senators Bennet and Hickenlooper and let them know how important this issue is to you and to so many in our immigrant community.
Photos by Hannah Rain Crowe
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As year-end approaches, it’s time to think about charitable giving, an opportunity to support LWVBC while possibly reducing taxable income for 2021 – a benefit for both you and the League.
All League members who have an Individual Retirement Account and will be affected by a Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) this year should consider directing that distribution to the League of Women Voters Boulder County, a qualified 501 (c) 3 charitable organization.
In 2019 Congress made changes to the rules about RMDs in response to the Covid pandemic, so many people were not required to receive their RMDs in 2020. League members should consult the financial manager of their retirement accounts for professional guidance, but here are some Important facts about your RMD from the Internal Revenue Service website:
“If you reached the age of 70½ in 2019 . . . you must take your first RMD by April 1, 2020. If you reached age 70 ½ in 2020 or later you must take your first RMD by April 1 of the year after you reach 72.”
“Taxpayers who donate to a charity may be able to claim a deduction on their tax return. These deductions basically reduce the amount of their taxable income. Taxpayers can only deduct charitable contributions if they itemize deductions.”
You can see more detail at irs.gov.
There are many vehicles, including charitable remainder trusts, bequests, and gifts of stock that may provide tax benefits to you while supporting the LWVBC financially. Consult your financial advisor to make sure that your gift is handled correctly to provide the tax benefit available.
If you’d like to have a visit to talk about some of these ideas, and about all the League activities in this election season, call Anne Bryan at 720-273-8602 or email anneabryan@gmail.com
| Should Broomfield Adopt Instant-Runoff (Ranked) Voting?
by Voting Methods Team
Broomfield voters will be deciding this November whether or not to replace plurality voting in their municipal elections with ranked voting. Since all of Broomfield’s elected positions are filled in single-winner contests (unlike Boulder and Lafayette), the form of ranked voting under consideration is the instant-runoff voting (IRV) form of “ranked choice voting” (RCV). This is the same form that the city of Boulder will be using for mayor beginning in 2023.
The LWVBC Voting Methods Team created a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document to educate voters about IRV. Our team supports better voting methods such as IRV, but much reporting and campaign information about IRV-RCV are not entirely accurate so we felt a duty to set out the facts and correct misconceptions. Please continue reading to see our Broomfield Question 2A FAQ here.
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LWVLC Partners with RCV Fort Collins to Educate Citizens about Ranked Voting
Photo at right: (L to R) Robbie Moreland and LWV of Larimer County’s Kathleen Schmidt, both of RCV Fort Collins, and LWVBC’s Celeste Landry asked voters to fill in postcards at the Fort Collins Farmers Market on Oct 2, 2021.
| | | The postcards, collected over several weeks, will be delivered to the Fort Collins city council and ask council to refer a question to the Nov 2022 ballot seeking adoption of instant-runoff (ranked) voting for mayoral and council elections beginning in April 2023.
Fort Collins has a lot of energy for adopting a better voting method. Fort Collins’ April election had 5 candidates vying In District 4; the winner prevailed with only 30% of the vote! Also, until Jeni Arndt became the newly elected mayor, she was a prime sponsor of (now CO statute) House Bill 21-1071, which facilitates the process of municipalities implementing instant-runoff voting.
| Money-in-Politics Team Wants You!
Do you like to investigate who is donating money to what candidate or political cause? Do you find you frequently think, “Just follow the money.” Do you wonder, “Where is that candidate getting the money, and who is influencing the person’s politics?”
Then you just might enjoy serving with the Money-in-Politics team, and even as the chair or co-chair!
The team investigated “For the People” Act, which was introduced into the U.S. House, and is stalled in the Senate, even though it is an excellent piece of legislation, proposing to eliminate a lot of the corruption in campaign financing at the federal level.
For further reading, check out these two links.
https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/people-act-separating-fact-fiction
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/06/22/senate-to-vote-on-s1-for-the-people-act-bill.html
Tracking campaign donations for our state legislators consumes some of the time of the team too; as well as beginning to investigate publicly financed elections (PFE’s) for Boulder County municipalities, something Seattle does.
Since Carolyn Elliott, and Mary Anne Davitt, co-chairs of the team, had to step back from responsibilities because of other obligations, the team is on indefinite hiatus until someone, or several people would like to step forward to chair the team. Elliott and Davitt said they wish to remain active participates, however.
Chairing the team would involve writing the agenda, based on the minutes from the previous meeting; posting reminders of the meeting in the LWVBC forum; moderating the meeting while keeping notes, along with someone else taking more thorough minutes; and posting the latest minutes in the forum, along with the next agenda.
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Welcome to our New Members:
Two new members joined our League in September: Sherri Price and Ray Bambha of Boulder. Welcome to Sherri and Ray!
Member Coffee
The next Virtual Member Coffee, which is for all members, is scheduled for October 16th. Our main speaker for this coffee will be Marcus Ogren, from the Voting Methods Team, who will be speaking to us about Proportional Representation and we will have members of the Voter Service team available to answer any questions about the upcoming election.
If you have feedback on the Virtual Member Coffees or have an idea on what we should cover, please reach out to me at jean.mcguire7777@gmail.com.
Renew Your Membership
Don't forget to renew your membership!
You may pay your annual dues of $80 either on the website by credit card, an easy way for you to renew, or by mailing a check payable to LWVBC to P.O. Box 21274, Boulder, CO 80308. Your dues of $80 include $20 for dues to the LWV of Colorado, $32 to the LWVUS, and $28 to LWVBC (Boulder County).
Detailed instructions for renewing here.
| Longevity Awards Announced at Fall Kickoff Meeting
by Jean McGuire
As part of the Fall Kickoff Meeting, the following members were recognized for their longevity with the League.
50 Years
| | Judith Reid
Judy joined the LWV in Window Rock, Arizona, the capital of the Navajo Nation. They started a member-at-large unit and took on solid waste disposal as one of their projects which focused on the large problem of trash on the highways and roadsides. When Judy and her family moved to Boulder, Judy joined the local League right away. She began working with other League members on retaining the State’s Equal Rights Amendment which had come up for a vote to be removed and the League succeeded! Judy was also active in the Schools Committee for years, and other various committees. She has always enjoyed the collegiality of the League. Congratulations to Judy and thank you for being a League member for 50 years!
| | | | Nancy Allen
Nancy and her family moved to Boulder in 1967 and at the urging of Grace Osgood, her high school history teacher from Thayer Academy in Braintree, Mass., and Dorothy Hill, another Massachusetts tansplant, Nancy joined the League of Women Voters. Nancy was active in the fund-raising committee to support the work of the League. In the late 80’s, Nancy and others had an idea of raising a large tent on the Crossroads walkway to sell lunch to busy holiday shoppers and educate them about the League and candidates running for office. They offered hot soup, salad, & sandwiches and many took flyers home to help them make a choice of candidates. They offered this service for two weeks and it was so successful, they did it again the next year. Congratulations, Nancy for your contributions as a League member for 50 years!
| | | Judy and Nancy will be joining 20 other Lifetime members of the League. They include:
Louise Lindsey Joanne Turner Laurene Thompson Leatrice Segal
Joyce Davies Virginia Boucher Janet Gollin Alice Wallace
Anne Norwood Anne Holmes Louisa Young Ellen Gille
Flodie Anderson Marsha Caplan Karlene Ferguson Joan McConkey
Betty Wickstrom Deborah Hayes Lynn Whitman Lois Linsky
Also recognized were: | | 45 Years
Richard Collins
15 Years
Jodell Chiles
Carolyn Elliott |
| 35 Years
Elizabeth Black
Linda Hultman
Marion Selbin
10 Years
Susan Thomas
Marky Lloyd
Richard Holley |
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| 25 Years
Josephine Porter
Maryann Balassa
5 Years
Annie Lessen
Geof Cahoon
Gretchen Minney
Catherine Brown
Judy White
Brian Long
Denice Walker
Jennifer Bales
KC Robbie
Cindy Outlaw
Holly Monkman
Ann O’Brien
Kathryn Meyer
Julie Zahniser
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CONGRATULATIONS AND THANK YOU TO ALL OF THE HONOREES! | |