THE LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS IS A NONPARTISAN, GRASSROOTS NONPROFIT

DEDICATED TO EMPOWERING EVERYONE TO FULLY PARTICIPATE IN OUR DEMOCRACY.

July 2025 Sarasota Voter

Presidents' Message

BEWARE WHAT YOU SHARE

The League of Women Voters recently launched Democracy Integrity Briefings to cover growing trends in mis-and-disinformation. The briefings will highlight disinformation that has made the headlines and explain how to track and address it.

In today’s fast-moving “breaking news” cycle, it’s easy—even with good intentions—to contribute to confusion by spreading misinformation. Early reporting is often incomplete, facts can shift quickly, and emotional content spreads faster than verified information.

These moments create the perfect environment for rumors and misleading content to take hold.

To navigate breaking news responsibly, it’s important to pause and evaluate what you’re seeing before sharing. LWV recommends this Breaking News Consumer’s Handbook from On the Media.

Remember to:

Be skeptical of anonymous or unconfirmed sources.
Know that even trustworthy news sources can get things wrong at first – facts will change as more is learned.
Read about an event across multiple outlets. What facts do many sources seem to agree on?
Know that we won’t have all the facts right away, and that rumors and misinformation will fill the void.
Pause before sharing information you haven’t confirmed.

All of this underscores the importance of an educated electorate and an educational system that encourages critical thinking.

Thank you for doing your part to stop the spread of misinformation.

In League,

Rhonda Peters and Vilia Johnson

LWVSRQ Co-Presidents

League in Action

LWVSRQ Speaks Out Against Proposed Medicaid Cuts

Guest Opinion - Bradenton Times

Follow Facts, Not Fiction, on Healthcare Impact of Massive Cuts to Medicaid

Posted Tuesday, June 24, 2025 12:46 pm

by Vilia Johnson and Rhonda Peters

Much of the public discourse around the budget bills Congress is developing concerns the potential impact on access to and funding for Medicaid, the federally funded health insurance program. Medicaid is a lifeline for millions of Floridians: women and children, families, seniors, and people with disabilities. Medicaid is also important for Florida’s healthcare and economic vitality. Read more...

Your Voice is Needed

Tell your senators to oppose the SAVE Act

The House and Senate introduced the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, which would require citizenship documentation to register to vote even though voters in every state are already required to affirm or verify their citizenship status when registering. The House has already passed it. But we can still stop it from passing in the Senate!

Click here to easily send a message to your senators regarding the SAVE Act.

Oppose Drastic Cuts to Medicaid

A Senate vote on this bill is rapidly approaching. It's urgent that you remind our senators that Medicaid has broad bipartisan support and that cutting off millions of people from needed healthcare will destroy lives and local economies.

Tell Your Senators You Oppose Steep Cuts to Medicaid!

Senator Rick Scott 202-224-5274

Senator Ashley Moody 202-224-3041

Actions You Can Take

Start following LWVSRQ and LWV on Bluesky!

Download the 5 Calls App (Check it our here!)"

Join League in Action

Call or email all your elected representatives! Write a Letter to the editor!

Upcoming Events

Unite and Rise 8.5: Defending Democracy Rally

Downtown Sarasota League Rally

July 5, 2025 10 to 11 am

South Bayfront Drive between Ringling Blvd and Selby Gardens

Let's rally in support of voting rights, the Constitution and the rule of law!

Let's voice our opposition to:

Unconstitutional overreach by the executive branch.
Our elected representatives' failure to uphold their oath of office.
Legislative efforts to disenfranchise millions of eligible voters.

Everyone is welcome! Bring your family, friends and neighbors!

All signs will be furnished by LWVSRQ to assure nonpartisanship.

Registration required. When you register you will find maps of our exact location and where to park. Tee shirts are going fast and sizes are limited.

To learn more about your rights while protesting in Florida view this information from ACLU Florida.

You're Invited!

Lunch and Conversation

We will continue to meet throughout the summer in South County. All are welcome to attend. Our next get together will be on Tuesday, July 15th at noon. Please join us!

Event Recap

2025 LWVFL Convention

Our delegates left to right: Vilia Johnson, Mary Pat Aust, Debra and Stephen Starr, Shawn Bartelt and Barbara Ryder

The LWVFL Biennial Convention was held June 6-7th in Orlando. Six members of our chapter attended. The LWVFL Convention offers an opportunity to learn success stories from other chapters. Group lunches and happy hours encourage networking. Another occasion to learn is the "Chapter Roll-Call" when each chapter speaks about what they have accomplished in the last two years.

Our chapter's slides featured our 2024 GOTV Campaign for which we won an award. So much talent and creativity was shared! We encourage all our members to consider attending in the future. Read more…

Our Teams In Action

LWVSRQ Supports"Our Beautiful Myakka River"

The Sarasota League has long been a proponent of the responsible management of the county’s natural resources. For this reason, the League has maintained a voting seat on the Myakka River Management Coordinating Council for many years. Over the last year, the Council studied the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System program and decided to recommend that the Myakka River be designated a National Partnership Wild and Scenic River. After receiving this recommendation, Rep. Greg Steube agreed to introduce H.R.642 nominating the river for inclusion in the program. On May 23, 2025 the League of Women Voters of Sarasota County submitted a letter of support to the Chair and Ranking Member of the House Committee on Natural Resources.

Observer Corps

Unanimous County Commission Vote Denies Zoning Permit Appeal

June 3, 2025 - The Commission’s decision was based on whether “All Scraps” was an outdoor storage facility, as claimed, or a waste transfer station. Site visits and photographs revealed the facility was in violation of requirements for outdoor storage. Seven members of the public offered comments in support of denying the appeal. Read more...

Meet Our Partners

Public Education Network (PEN) Sarasota is a prime example of synergy. PEN Sarasota formed when several outspoken school board meeting attendees from different organizations realized they were on the same page. Since it’s inception in June of 2023, PEN has become an extremely influential public education advocacy organization in Sarasota County. The League is one of their 13 partners. Read their current newsletter here.

What We're Watching

Carol Hartz, LWVSRQ Past President, highly recommends

"SEPARATED" a 2024 documentary film directed by Errol Morris, based on a book by Jacob Soboroff, investigates the Trump administration's controversial policy of separating migrant children from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border. The film examines the human impact of the policy, including the experiences of migrant families and the officials involved in its implementation.

Carol is the past Executive Director of Sarasota’s CreArte Latino Cultural Center and is now LWVSRQ’s liaison to the Immigration Justice Committee.

We invite you to send your book or film recommendations to comms@lwvsrq.org with a brief writeup.