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Happy busy March to everyone. The legislature is still in session, a special session on mid-decade redistricting is on the horizon, and elections are on our radar big time.
The LWVT is already working with our journalism partners to plan joint candidate forums for local officials. The first forums for primary candidates will take place in June. The League of Women Voters of Tallahassee sponsored its first candidate forum for city commission candidates in 1959. In 1960, we wrote questions for county candidates answered in the Tallahassee Democrat. We first worked with WFSU on a candidate forum in 1962. So we have an illustrious history!
The early members of LWVT worked hard to educate and inform voters. We are carrying on that important work through our Voter Service Committee. If you want to get engaged in this essential effort, please contact the committee chair, Laurie Marshall at lbmarshall55@gmail.com. There are lots of opportunities for tabling and other roles in the coming months.
Our state and federal legislators are busy trying to make changes to voting eligibility. This runs counter to the League’s priority of encouraging and promoting voting.
Legislation restricting the ability to vote (HB 991/SB 1334) is moving through both the Florida House and Senate. This legislation makes it highly likely that eligible U.S. citizens will be removed from the voter rolls purely due to difficulties in producing documentation that is expensive and hard to get. Only half of Americans have a passport and a majority of married women are unlikely to have a birth certificate in their current legal name and/or their legal name change documentation. SB 1334 would go into effect prior to the 2026 midterms.
Many of you have contacted your state elected officials to oppose these proposals or attended committee hearings. This is wonderful, but we must continue to fight this egregious election policy. Fighting this legislation is a top priority of the League of Women Voters of Florida.
Similar restrictive legislation— the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act or SAVE America Act— recently passed the U.S. House. This bill also would require eligible voters to provide proof of citizenship, like a U.S. passport or birth certificate plus valid photo identification, when registering to vote.
The 2026 election is extremely important to everyone, but especially to our children and grandchildren. We are building on the strong foundation laid by the founders of the League of Women Voters of Tallahassee 70 years ago. We are definitely up for the task.
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