*NEW*

Early Mail Voting in New York State

New York State now offers the option of Early Mail ballots (no excuse required) for all registered voters! 

This option is in addition to the traditional Absentee ballot, available to registered voters only under certain conditions. Early Mail ballots are available to all registered voters for the Village election in March, the NYS Presidential Primary in April, and for other elections in the future under the auspices of the NYS and Westchester County Board of Elections. (Note that voters are no longer permitted to cast a ballot on a voting machine in a given election if they have been issued an Early Mail or Absentee ballot for that election.)

Information about Early Mail and Absentee ballots can be found at the NYS Board of Elections website.

2024 Presidential Primary Election

Dates and Deadlines to Note

Please note the following important dates for the 2024 Presidential Primary Election:

• Wednesday, February 14, 2024 is the last day to change party enrollment for the 2024 primary elections.
• Saturday, March 23, 2024 is the last day for voter registration forms to be received by the Board of Election in person or by mail in order to vote in the April 2, 2024 Presidential Primary.
• Saturday, March 23 - Saturday, March 30, 2024: Early Voting
• April 2, 2024 is the Presidential Primary Election. Additional information about how to obtain Absentee and Early Mail ballots and dates and deadlines for in-person and by-mail voting can be found at the New York State Board of Elections website.

Visit the LWVS 2024 Presidential Primary page for additional deadlines and information relating to the Presidential Primary Election.

New York State Redistricting

On Tuesday, December 12, 2023, the New York State Court of Appeals issued their ruling in the New York State congressional district maps case, ordering the Independent Redistricting Commission (IRC) to reconvene and create a new district map by February 28, 2024. As of late January, the IRC has not issued any call for public comments or input and has not released any information about progress toward meeting the February deadline. 

Additional information can be found on the League of Women Voters of Westchester website.

Mark Your Calendars!

Scarsdale Village Election

Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Scarsdale Public Library, Scott Room

6:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.

All Election Districts (1-19) will be voting at the Scarsdale Public Library. On the ballot will be candidates running for three Village Trustee positions and one candidate running for Village Justice.

Visit the 2024 Village Election page on the LWVS website for more information, including how to register to vote and how to obtain an Absentee or Early Mail ballot.

I hope that this letter finds you well. Throughout the year, the League of Women Voters of Scarsdale encourages civic engagement and helps to inform the community so that voters can be knowledgeable and active participants in our democracy. 

The LWVS observes and studies the local governmental processes for the purposes of more fully understanding local government and informing the larger community through carefully considered consensus statements. In addition, as part of the larger LWV organization, we follow and educate the community on certain state and national issues.

On the state level, we are continuing to follow the prospect of the passage of an Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) to the NYS Constitution recognizing sex as a protected class under the law. In July 2022, the Legislature took the first step in a long process to amend the NYS Constitution by passing the NYS ERA in July 2022. The NY ERA is unique in that it expands protection under the law to several new identity classes, including ethnicity, national origin, age, disability and sex, including sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, and pregnancy outcomes. In order for this amendment to become part of the NYS Constitution, it must be supported by a majority of voters in a public referendum set for November 2024. To educate the public about this amendment and to advocate for its passage, the LWV of NYS established an NYS ERA Advocacy Taskforce composed of League volunteers from all over the state. The LWVS looks forward to keeping the community informed about this important measure.

Coming up in February, we will hold our annual Local Program Consensus Meeting, during which we will choose our local work for the 2023-24 year. At the start of this meeting, we will also discuss the LWV of Westchester and the LWV of the United States programs and offer our comments and suggestions. We are also planning our annual School Election Information and Consensus Meeting and will share the date once it has been set. In March, we will hold our annual School and Village Budget Information and Consensus Meetings. Please join us for all of these important informational events.

Last month, Jessica Zellner, LWVS Co-President, tendered her resignation. We had a wonderful working relationship, and I will greatly miss our collaborations and partnership. 

I continue to be inspired by all of the work our community takes on, whether on a local, state, or national level, to make our world a better place. I thank all of you for your ongoing work.

Upcoming LWVS Events:

• Monday, February 5th, at 10:00 a.m: Local, County, and National League Program Information Session and Consensus Meeting, Scarsdale Public Library.
• TBA: School Election System Information Session and Consensus Meeting
• Monday, March 11, at 10:00 a.m. Village Budget System Information Session and Consensus Meeting, Village Hall
• Wednesday, March 20, at 10:00 a.m. School Budget System Information Session and Consensus Meeting, Zoom

Best wishes,

Heedan Chung 

February

• 2/5, Monday:
• 9:15 a.m. Board Meeting, Scarsdale Public Library
• 10:00 a.m. Gen Membership and Info/Consensus Mtg - Local, County, and National Programs, Scarsdale Public Library

March

• 3/11, Monday
• 9:15 a.m. Board Meeting, Village Hall
• 10:00 a.m. Gen Membership and Info/Consensus Mtg - Village Budget, Village Hall
• 3/19, Tuesday:
• Village Election, 6am-9pm, Scarsdale Public Library, Scott Room
• 3/20, Wednesday:
• 10:00 a.m. Gen Membership and Info/Consensus Mtg - School Budget, Zoom
• 3/23, Saturday - 3/30, Saturday:
• Early Voting for Presidential Primary Election

April

• 4/2, Monday:
• Presidential Primary Election
• 4/8, Monday:
• 9:15 a.m. Board Meeting, Scarsdale Public Library
• 4/14, Sunday
• 7:00 p.m. Book Discussion, Private Home

May

• 5/3, Monday:
• 10:30 a.m. Annual Meeting and Luncheon, Scarsdale Golf Club
• 5/21, Tuesday:
• 7am-pm. School Budget Vote and BOE Election, Scarsdale Middle School Gym

LWVS General Membership and Consensus Meeting:

2024-2025 Programming for our

Local, Westchester County, and National Leagues

Monday, February 5, 2024

10:00 a.m.

Scarsdale Public Library

On Monday, February 5, 2024 at 10 am at the Scarsdale Public Library, LWVS will hold its annual general membership and consensus meeting to discuss next year’s programs for LWVS (to be proposed for adoption at the LWVS Annual Meeting in May), for the Westchester County League (to be communicated to the LWVW board for its consideration), and for the National League (to be communicated to the LWVUS board for discussion in drafting the proposed 2-year program to be adopted after debate and discussion by delegates at the biennial June convention).

When available, links will be shared for the Agenda for the Consensus Meeting, the Proposed LWVS Annual Program for 2024-25 to be presented for membership approval at the annual meeting, the LWVS Comments to LWVW on its programming plans for 2024-25, and a recap of any comments or proposals submitted to LWVUS.

In preparation for the consensus meeting, attendees are asked to review the current LWVS Program for 2023-24, the current LWVW Program for 2023-24, and the LWVUS Program Planning Materials for 2024-26. With regard to LWVUS programming, the LWVS will consider whether to support the LWVUS Board’s recommendation that Program 2024-26 continue its Campaign for Making Democracy Work®, which includes Voting Rights, Improving Elections, Money in Politics, Redistricting, and Abolishing the Electoral College. Locally proposed amendments to LWVUS’s bylaws will also be addressed.

For more information, please contact Heedan Chung, LWVS President.

LWVS General Membership and Consensus Meeting:

2024-2025 Village Budget

 Monday, March 11, 2024

10:00 a.m.

Village Hall

The Scarsdale Village Board of Trustees, the Village Manager, and the Village Treasurer have begun the process to assess the Village’s finances and evaluate revenue and expense projections while preparing the budget for 2024-25.  

The first draft (or pass) of the budget, which includes all of the departmental budget requests, has a gap of $8.7mm, which was presented on January 16, 2024. This large gap (last year it was $7.4mm at this juncture) is partially attributable to increases in pension costs and health care expenses in the new year, which are fixed. The first pass of the budget currently does not have any appropriated fund balance. Last year, the Village appropriated $4mm of unassigned fund balance in order to balance the current year budget. To arrive at a viable budget for this fiscal year, the Village will have to determine which budget requests to fund and which to cut. In addition, the Village will again consider whether to appropriate a portion of the unassigned fund balance, and/or increase the property tax levy. More work will be done in the coming weeks to determine the definitive courses of action.

The continuing budget sessions are open to the public and public participation is encouraged at all Village Trustee Working Sessions and Board Meetings during the public portion of the agenda:

• The next meeting to discuss the budget is Tuesday, February 6 at 5:00 p.m.
• The official second pass budget review meeting will occur on Tuesday, February 16 at 8:00 p.m. Find meeting details and Zoom links at the Board of Trustees website.
• The public hearing on the tentative budget is slated for March 12 at 8pm.
• The final budget is scheduled to be adopted on April 23.

The LWVS will hold its Information Session and General Membership Consensus Meeting on the 2023-24 Village Budget on Monday, March 11, at 10:00 a.m.

Questions? Email LWVS Village Budget Portfolio Chair Shilpa Spencer at [email protected].

LWVS General Membership and Consensus Meeting:

2024-2025 School Budget

Wednesday, March 20, 2024

10:00 a.m.

via Zoom

At the Board of Education Meeting on January 22, 2024, Dr. Drew Patrick, 

Superintendent; Mr. Andrew Lennon, Assistant Superintendent for Business; Ms. Megan Troy, Assistant Superintendent for HR & Leadership Development; and Mr. Eric Rauschenbach, Assistant Superintendent for Special Education & Student Services, presented the 2024-25 budget development and staffing recommendations. These recommendations are available on Scarsdale Board of Education's BoardDocs website. 

The League encourages members of the public to participate in the school budget process. Upcoming Budget Study Sessions are scheduled for the following dates:



• Monday, February 5
• Monday, March 4
• Monday, March 11

The LWVS will hold its Information Session and General Membership Consensus Meeting on the 2024-25 School Budget on Wednesday, March 20, at 10:00 a.m. via Zoom. A Zoom link will be shared prior to the meeting.

LWVS Book Discussion

Sunday, April 14, 2024

7:00 - 8:30pm

Private Home

Please save the date for a lively discussion of the LWVS's selected book, which we will announce soon!

LWVS Issues Consensus Statement on the 

Village Election System

On Monday, December 4, 2023, LWVS held its annual information session and membership consensus meeting regarding the Citizens Nominating Committee (CNC) election. Procedure Committee Chair Peri Zelig and Vice Chair Heath Sroka attended and answered questions. 

The resulting LWVS Consensus Statement is posted on the Local Programs and Positions page of the LWVS website.

Equal Rights Amendment

On January 2, the League of Women Voters NY ERA Taskforce met to continue preparations for work advancing the New York Equal Rights Amendment in 2024. Participants reviewed updating mapping of challenge and support areas across the state, and brainstormed initiatives that could be included in the ERA toolkits under development. A small group will work together to draft questions for an ERA guide. It was noted that League members are now allowed to advocate for New Yorkers to vote "yes" on this ballot initiative.

If you are hosting any event, discussion, tabling, etc., related to the ERA, please contact the Task Team: Erica Smitka ([email protected]) and Abigail Ruane ([email protected]).

Students Inside Albany (SIA) Conference

Sunday, May 19, 2024, through Wednesday, May 22, 2024

Albany, New York

Application deadline: Monday, February 5, 2024

LWVS SIA 2024 Application and Instructions

Students may open and copy the application to edit

and then submit via email to

[email protected].

In keeping with longstanding practice, LWVS invites high school students to submit applications to attend the Students Inside Albany (SIA) Conference. Any 10th grade, 11th grade, or 12th grade student who attends Scarsdale High School or who resides in the school district is eligible to apply. 

This year, the State League Education Foundation and the Scarsdale League of Women Voters will fund the expenses for one highly qualified Scarsdale student, selected from an outstanding pool of applicants. The conference will continue to be free for students to attend.

The program is designed to immerse students in the process by which public policy is proposed, enacted and changed in New York State and educate them as to how they can influence and affect this process. Traditionally, the conference brings approximately 60 students from across the state to Albany to get a first-hand education about their state government. The highlight for most students is the opportunity to shadow their state representatives, with many students getting the opportunity to attend a session on the chamber floor.

Scarsdale students who attended this program in the past were unanimous in their enthusiasm about the program. Follow this link to read an article about SIA written by Scarsdale’s two student representatives who attended the in-person conference held in 2019. 

For more information, view LWVNYS’s recap of the conference held in 2023 and LWVNYS’s SIA 2024 brochure. 

Please contact [email protected] for more information.

Annual Finance Drive

Please support your local league by donating to the

League of Women Voters of Scarsdale!

We need your support! Please be generous.

Your contribution will directly support our programs:

Candidate Debates

Voter Information

They Represent You

Students Inside Albany

Speaker Programs

and

Our studies on local issues and budgets

Will you help us promote active participation in our democracy? Whether you are new to our distinguished organization or have been involved for years, the LWVS invites you to become a member for the 2023-2024 year. Your membership in the LWVS automatically grants you membership in the county, state and national leagues. 

Here in Scarsdale, the LWVS works to provide clear and accurate voter information, hosts candidate forums, studies and evaluates policies impacting our community, and educates residents about issues. Our activities also include:

• Speaker programs and other membership events;
• Information sessions and consensus meetings on Village and school elections and budgets;
• Fall and Spring book groups;
• Winter Social;
• Youth Engagement through voter registration, mock elections, civics jeopardy, and Students Inside Albany

Please join the LWVS and stay engaged, informed, and active! Your membership will enhance and strengthen our democracy.

If you have any questions, please contact LWVS Membership Chair Diksha Mudbhary at [email protected]. 

LWVS Nominating Committee



The LWVS Nominating Committee 2023-24 is calling for nominations to fill League Board Officer and Director positions for the 2024-25 year. The LWVS Nominating Committee will also fill off-board member positions for the Nominating Committee 2024-25.

If you would like to nominate yourself or a friend to be considered for the League Board or the LWVS Nominating Committee 2024-25, kindly contact Nominating Committee Chair Alissa Baum at [email protected].

Here is a list of our 2023-24 Nominating Committee members, all of whom are able to receive nominations for discussion and consideration:

Alissa Baum* (Chair)

Kerry Hayes**

Susan Lee

Laura Liu**

Diksha Mudbhary

*Off-board member approved by LWVS Board in January, 2024

**Off-board members approved at our annual meeting in May, 2023

Stay Connected!

The LWVS Bulletin is published monthly. To ensure that you receive our news directly, please provide your preferred email and physical mailing address when you renew your membership or join for the first time.

Bulletins will be sent via eblast and posted on our website and Facebook page.

Contact us at [email protected] with any questions about your membership status or to change/update your contact information.

Thank You

The LWVS thrives on the work and dedication of our community of volunteers. I would like to extend my sincerest thanks to the League volunteers who contributed their time and creativity during the month of February.

Thanks to Diane Baylor for her precision in recording our Board minutes, maintaining and updating our website, and preparing an expertly-crafted Village Election Consensus Statement.

Thanks to Dana Matsushita for her careful attention to the LWVS Bulletin and for her work in keeping our community informed with numerous eblasts.

Thanks to Anne Lyons for her dedicated work on the Winter Finance Drive. Thanks to Erika Rublin for overseeing the Finance Drive and keeping track of the Board financials.

Thanks to Kathy Gray and Donna Conkling for their continued work on Voter Service. Thanks to Jenny Tabak for keeping our membership records up-to-date.

Thanks to Dalya Khan and Nan Eileen Mead for their thoughtful and detailed work on the School Budget Portfolio. Thanks to Shilpa Spencer for her careful analysis of the Village Budget.

Thanks to Susan Lee for her wise counsel and enthusiasm. Thanks to Diksha Mudbhary for her important work on the School Election System portfolio as well as Membership.

Thanks to Cindy Yau for her work on Students Inside Albany. Thanks to Kitt Rosenthal for serving as liaison to the League of Women Voters of Westchester. 

Thanks to Abigail Ruane and Nan Eileen Mead for serving on the LWV of New York State’s ERA Task Force and keeping our membership informed of the status of the Measure.

Thank you to Samina Malik for her important work as our January term intern from the Scarsdale Alternative School. Her research and work done from the perspective of a young, engaged person is both inspiring and invaluable. We look forward to her future contributions and insight. 

I enjoy the opportunity to work with all of you and look forward to all of the great work that lies ahead!

All my best,

Heedan Chung

Village of Scarsdale

As of January 31, 2024

Board of Trustees

Justin Arest, Mayor

  Term ends April 2025

Randall Whitestone, Deputy Mayor

  2nd term ends April 2024

Sameer Ahuja

  1st term ends April 2025

Karen Brew

  2nd term ends April 2025

Jeremy Gans

  1st term ends April 2024

Dara Gruenberg

  1st term ends April 2025

Ken Mazer

  1st term ends April 2024

Board of Education

Ronald Schulhof, President

  2nd term ends June 2025

Suzie Hahn, Vice President

  1st term ends June 2025

Colleen Brown

  1st term ends June 2025

Jim Dugan

  1st term ends June 2024

Robert Klein

  2nd term ends June 2026

Jessica Resnick-Ault

  1st term ends June 2024

Amber Yusuf

   2nd term ends June 2026

League of Women Voters of Scarsdale

2023-24

Officers

President: Heedan Chung

[email protected]

First Vice President: Jenny Simon Tabak

Second Vice President: Anne Lyons

Recording Secretary: Diane Baylor

[email protected]

Corresponding Secretary: Dana Matsushita

[email protected]

Treasurer: Erika Rublin

[email protected]

2023-24 Elected Board Members

Dalya Khan

Susan Lee

Nan Eileen Mead

Diksha Mudbhary

Jyoti Ruta

Shilpa Spencer

Cindy Yau

2023-24 Appointed Board Members

Kathy Gray

Kitt Rosenthal

Abigail Ruane

Committee Chairs

Advocacy: TBD

Audit: Amber Yusuf (Off-Board)

Book Group: Dalya Khan

Budget: Nancy Michaels (Off-Board) 

Bylaws, Policies, and Procedures: Diane Baylor

Communications:

• Bulletin Editor: Dana Matsushita 
• Eblast: Dana Matsushita  
• Publicity:  Heedan Chung
• Social Media: Dana Matsushita 
• Website: Diane Baylor 

Development/Finance Drive: Anne Lyons

Environment/Sustainability: Shilpa Spencer

Hospitality: Kitt Rosenthal

Local Budgets:

• School Budget: Dalya Khan and Nan Eileen Mead 
• Village Budget: Shilpa Spencer 

Local Election Systems:

• School Election: Diksha Mudbhary 
• Village Election: Diane Baylor 

Luncheons: Anne Lyons

LWVW Liaison: Kitt Rosenthal

Membership: Diksha Mudbhary 

• Membership Statistician: Jenny Simon Tabak 

Nominating Chair: Alissa Baum (Off-Board) 

Planning and Zoning: Shilpa Spencer

Program/Education: Cindy Yau

Voter Service: Kathy Gray

• Candidate Forum(s)
• Naturalization Court
• Voter Registration Drive(s)

Youth Engagement:

• Civics Jeopardy: Susan Lee
• Mock Election: Susan Lee
• Students Inside Albany: Cindy Yau

Democracy is Not a Spectator Sport – Get Involved!

The League of Women Voters

Creating A More Perfect Democracy 

For Over 100 Years

The League of Women Voters of Scarsdale (LWVS) is a volunteer nonpartisan political organization which promotes political responsibility through informed and active participation of citizens in government. The League is nonpartisan in that it does not support or oppose any candidate for public office; it is political in that it takes positions on selected governmental issues after serious member study and consensus.