Support our Democracy with League of Women Voters
The League of Women Voters has two events of interest to our members Wednesday:
At 2:00, join an important discussion on redistricting
On August 10th, a federal court ordered that Washington redraw Legislative District 15 in central Washington including parts of the city of Yakima and Pasco. The decision in Soto Palmer v. Hobbs is a decisive win for Latino voters in the Yakima area who do not have equal opportunity to elect candidates of their choice. You can read more about this at Crosscut.
This decision bolsters the LWVWA’s position that Washington’s bipartisan commission needs major reforms. Primarily, WA needs a new people-focused commission. A commission like in California or Michigan would represent people better and avoid costly legal battles like this one. You can read more about the League’s positions on fair redistricting at their issue page here.
The League of Women Voters Redistricting Reform Campaign Task Force meets Wednesday, August 16th @2pm for their regularly schedule Task Force meeting.
First on the agenda is a discussion of the implications of the LD15 decision and a plan for monitoring the progress of a reconvened commission. The second part of the meeting will focus on building a FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) list. Attendees will work in teams to determine what other information would be helpful for taking action for better redistricting in Washington: What is stopping you from reaching out to other people and asking them to support a new type of commission? What tools or templates would be helpful?
Here is the Zoom Link for the Redistricting Task Force meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81891734717?pwd=UDd5dk5hK0Y0ZlhoUGM1QkRkaitSQT09
Then at 5:00, learn how to protect credible, reliable local journalism
Later in the day, the League of Women Voters has teamed up with our friends at Fix Democracy First to discuss how the decline of local news is impacting our democracy, and what policies should be put into place so that credible, reliable local journalism not only survives, but thrives in our state.
The presentation will be August 16th at 5:00 pm. You can join by registering here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/uJAlc-yppjstDIEL3JGv7m62A9TlapYR6g#/registration
The League of Women Voters has spent two+ years on their Local News and Democracy Project and produced an extensive report and recommendations. Expect a highly informative and actionable presentation!
Fix Democracy First holds informative weekly online happy hours on a variety of topics related to a thriving democracy. When you register for this meeting, you will have the opportunity to register for the series, or unsubscribe whenever you want.
