STATE VOTER
Empowering Voters. Defending Democracy
December 2020
President's Message
Greetings weary Leaguers,

I am overwhelmed by the work the New York Leagues have accomplished this year and all of the inventive, inclusive and imaginative ways Leagues used to GOTV. Cheers to all of you.

STATE CONVENTION!!!!
Everybody ready? We are looking ahead to June and our biennial Convention, June 5 & 6 in Albany. We are also looking at an alternative virtual convention that we would hold over the course of the following week, June 7 – 11. The decision will be made by the end of January.

Please start thinking about any caucuses you would like to produce or suggestions for the state to produce. Program planning is getting underway (see Issues and Advocacy below). Also, Bylaws will be under-review and we will look at any suggestions you may have.

We are all looking toward a possibly very different winter holiday season this year. I hope you all stay safe and healthy, Zoom and spread some cheer with friends and family and those of you far enough away from City lights, look to the southern sky December 21, to see Saturn and Jupiter closer than ever in our lifetimes. I saw them close, but not so close some years ago and it is magical and so much bigger than all of us. 

Suzanne Stassevitch, President
League of Women Voters of NYS
smstass@mac.com
2nd Century Initiative
Support the State League's Future with a Yearend Gift
The state League is excited to announce the new 2nd Century Initiative. This Initiative kicks off our effort to guarantee that the League will be there for another century of providing all New Yorkers with reliable information, training, and a strong voice for good government. The four main goals of the Initiative are: to expand Get Out the Vote for all communities, to empower young people to be active members of their communities, to achieve key reforms on voting, ethics and representation, and to build the state League’s capacity to strengthen the 47 local Leagues throughout New York State. With your help, we can begin our next century strong and vital.
 
The League’s State Board has committed to donating $100,000 this year to a 2nd Century Initiative exemplifying its belief in the strength and resilience of the League. The League is needed now more than ever. Join your Board in supporting this Initiative with a gift to show your conviction in the importance of a second century of League work. To donate online, click here.

If you would like to make a gift in honor of someone, we'd love to help you. It can be in honor a new baby, graduation, or just to honor someone special in your life! Just let us know when you make the gift and we'll send the honored person a note of your gift! What a great way to celebrate the holidays!
Looking For a Few Good People
The State League Nominating Committee is currently looking for new suggestions for the 2021-2023 State Board. If you know someone who would be good for the State Board, email Kate Jankowski, Chair of the Committee, at kwillower@hotmail.com.
Voter Services
Judie Gorenstein
LWVNYS VP for Voter Services judieL728@aol.com

CONGRATULATIONS TO All OUR LEAGUES AND OUR LEAGUE MEMBERS! You surpassed our expectations and achieved the mission of registering, educating, and GOTV in spite of COVID and the need to social distance. The annual voter service survey showing the total of all 40 League responses summarizes exactly how you all did it. We’ve referenced specific responses and hope while you enjoy seeing the results, you will also get ideas for future efforts. See the full results summarizing all of your great work by clicking here.
Vote411

The NYS League’s voter guide had 248,722 total visitors from January to November. We were one of the top 5 states in terms of visitors. National reported that VOTE411 overall had over 7.7 million sessions from Jan 1st through Election Day, and nearly 6.7 million of those sessions included the online voters’ guides. That represents a 141% increase in sessions nationwide to voters’ guides on VOTE411 as compared to the 2016 cycle (technically the most comparable election cycle), and a 20% increase over the 2018 election cycle (the previous year with the most sessions). These are amazing numbers and show just how much the voters turn to the League to find the information they need on Election Day.
 
In July 2020 National launched the complete VOTE411.org/es Spanish website – meaning that all our VOTE411 election information is now available to Spanish speaking voters. This second, Spanish language website, was made possible through a partnership with NALEO Education Fund who have helped LWVEF staff with the translations of this content since our launch. Since its launch, we have had over 110,000 users access the Spanish language content – a number we expect to see grow as VOTE411.org/es is shared more in Spanish speaking communities. 
Youth and Civics Education
Crystal Joseph
LWVNYS Youth Director
Joining NYYCI and Next steps …
Thank you to everyone for your support of Jason Boehner, former SIA participant and Founder of the new state-wide youth civics campaign. Since our initial launch in October, the feedback has been monumental. Thanks to your input, we are in the process of developing regional trainings to welcome NYYCI “Movement Correspondents,” internal League mentors who will serve as ambassadors for our high school students and editorial positions for college participants. We should have about five tentative dates for Long Island, the Westchester – Hudson area, Central NY, the Capital region and West NY in early 2021. The trainings will begin in January and last until early March. Our target audience for this initiative are students who have a passion for advocacy, government accountability and community service. While each League is already doing fantastic work with their youth, at NYYCI, we want to keep young adults connected to our organization through campaigns that support an elevated civic consciousness year-round and support election day turnout. Youth chairs are welcomed to contact Jason and myself for further clarification. We can also design a personalized approach to help both recruit and launch sub-sections of NYYCI. In the meantime, if you know a high school female who is interested in leadership development, LWVUS has partnered with Close-Up for a series on civic engagement. 
Redistricting Update and Plans
Jennifer Wilson
LWVNYS Deputy Director

Status of Independent Redistricting Commission
The commission has met 5 times in the last 2 months. The final two non-partisan commissioners were appointed by the 8 legislatively nominated commission members. The League’s efforts to support NALEO Education Fund and Latino Justice in having a Latinx member appointed were successful and Professor Ivelisse Cuevas-Molina, a candidate recommended by NALEO, was appointed as one of the non-partisan commissioners. So far, the commission has hired its two co-executive directors, discussed potential bylaws, agreed to plan for the creation of a public website by mid-January, began to discuss and debate who would be the chair of the commission, and started to advocate for the release of their $750,000 budget allocation from the Governor’s office.
           
People Powered Fair Maps Grant Funding
As the new Redistricting Commission begins to plan its operations for the coming year, the State League is making plans to work with our Local Leagues and partner organizations to propose fair state and congressional legislative lines. The League received grant funding from LWVUS to participate in their People Powered Fair Maps Campaign in 2021. The State League has created a draft plan for spending these funds and participating in the campaign. These funds will be primarily spent on education and outreach to New Yorkers throughout the state. Part of the funds will also be used to oppose second passage of a constitutional amendment to weaken minority party protections in the voting rules used to approve new maps by both the commission and the legislature.
           
Mapping and Public Outreach
The State League is beginning to plan public outreach actions for the coming year. National will be sharing with states a public education template that can be used to explain the basics of redistricting. The State League is planning to create its own educational materials that will include a Powerpoint, graphics, and other content to use for public outreach. The State League will also be conducting trainings on free mapmaking software that can be used by local Leagues and the public. 
Students Inside Albany Conference
The annual Students Inside Albany Conference for high school students is currently scheduled for May 23-26 at the Hampton Inn in downtown Albany. We will be making a final decision about the Conference by the end of January. While we are concerned about having 60 high school students in Albany in May, we are also waiting to hear what new rules are passed by the newly elected Legislature. If they decide to have most of their work done remotely, they won’t be in Albany and the most important part of the Conference cannot happen – shadowing their Assemblymember or Senator. We will know later in January what rules and plans the Legislature adopts. 
NYS Election Reform 2021: The Three Most Important Things
Wednesday, December 16th
6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. 
(LWVNYS is one of the co-sponsors)

Join us on Wednesday, December 16, from 6-8 pm, for a discussion of the most critical legislative and procedural changes needed to ensure smooth election administration and voting in 2021. Election administration and the laws and rules that govern it are among the most important building blocks of our democracy. Come hear leading legislators, election administration officials, and election law experts talk about what needs to be done this year to improve the process of voting in New York State.
Happy Holidays to all
of our League Members and Friends!
Stay safe and well this holiday season!


League of Women Voters of New York State
62 Grand Street
Albany, NY 12207
Tel: 518-465-4162 FAX: 518-465--0812
Email: lwvny.org