VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!

TWO OPPORTUNITIES TO REGISTER NEW VOTERS!

The LWVS, in partnership with the New Rochelle League and through a grant from the New York State League, needs volunteers to help register new voters.

• Thursday, June 2: Volunteers needed to register students to vote at Mount Vernon High School. Volunteers will staff tables outside of the school cafeteria anytime from 11:00 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.

• Sunday, June 19: Volunteers needed at the City of New Rochelle’s Juneteenth celebration, “Songs of Our Fathers.” Volunteers will staff a table outside of New Rochelle City Hall anytime from 12:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. in order to register new voters and provide the latest information on the upcoming primary election.  

For more information and to volunteer, email Alissa Baum at [email protected].

June Primary Election

Important Dates

Primary Election Dates: June 28 and August 23, 2022

The New York Primary Election will take place on two dates this year: June 28 and August 23. This is because the redistricting effort in New York State is currently the subject of litigation. Redistricting determines electoral district lines. 

The June Primary Election will consist of races for U.S. Senate, Governor, Lieutenant Governor, NY State Assembly, and judicial delegate offices and alternates.

The August Primary Election will consist of U.S. Congressional offices and NY State Senate offices.

The General Election for all offices takes place November 8.  

Now is the time to make sure you are registered to vote for the June Primary Election. You can check your voter registration status at the New York State Board of Elections portal. 

Please note the following deadlines regarding VOTER REGISTRATION and ABSENTEE BALLOTS:

• June 3: Last day to register to vote in person or to postmark your voter registration form (registration form must be received by June 8).
• June 13: Last day for the Westchester County Board of Elections to RECEIVE an application for an absentee ballot by mail, email, fax letter, web portal, or in person. The Board of Elections website details the variety of ways to apply for an absentee ballot. Note: Voters may still apply to vote by absentee ballot using the temporary illness clause, which includes being unable to appear due to risk of contracting or spreading a communicable disease like COVID-19.
• June 27: Last day to apply in person for an absentee ballot.
• June 28: Election Day. Last day to postmark a completed absentee ballot (must be received by July 5) or submit a completed absentee ballot in person.

The County Board of Elections website provides instructions for completing an absentee ballot.

EARLY VOTING for the June Primary Election is JUNE 18-26, 2022:

• You may vote early at any of the designated Early Voting polling locations throughout the County. The Board of Elections website lists all polling locations and hours.

PRIMARY ELECTION DAY is JUNE 28, 2022:

• You may vote only at your assigned polling location.

Questions regarding voting in the Primary Election should be directed to our LWVS Voter Service Chairs.

Redistricting Update

New York State Redistricting

New York State’s redistricting process came to an end on May 20 when the New York State Supreme Court released final maps for New York’s Congressional and State Senate districts. The Court did so as the final step in a litigation process that began shortly after the New York legislature released its own version of district maps in February. The final maps released on May 20 were drawn by a neutral special master appointed by the Court. 

The final Congressional map and final State Senate map, as well as the Court's Order and Special Master's Report, are available online for viewing. The State Assembly map was not the subject of litigation so the map released by the New York legislature in February is the final State Assembly map. 

The Village of Scarsdale is kept whole in each map. Scarsdale is in U.S. Congressional District 16. Scarsdale is in State Senate District 37. Scarsdale remains in State Assembly District 88. 

Because of the delay in finalizing district maps, the New York Primary Election is currently scheduled to take place on two dates this year: June 28 and August 23. The June Primary will consist of races for U.S. Senate, Governor, Lieutenant Governor, NY State Assembly, and judicial delegate offices and alternates. The August Primary will consist of U.S. Congressional offices and State Senate offices. The General Election for all of these offices takes place November 8. 

Questions can be directed to the LWVS Voter Service Chairs.

Westchester County Redistricting

Every 10 years, following the decennial census, the Westchester County Board of Legislators meets to consider county legislative district lines. This process began on April 27 when the BOL hosted a virtual public forum to gather community input. Kathy Meany, President of the Westchester County League, submitted a statement. We will keep you apprised of any developments in the County redistricting effort.

An unprecedented primary season will soon be underway. Over the past few months, the LWVS continued its work closely monitoring redistricting and its impact on the primary election. As currently scheduled, the primary election for U.S. Senate, New York State Assembly, and all statewide offices such as Governor and Lieutenant Governor will take place on Tuesday, June 28, 2022, and the primary election for U.S. Congressional and New York State Senate will take place on Tuesday, August 23, 2022. The LWV of New York State has filed lawsuits in U.S. federal district court and in New York State Supreme Court to postpone the June primary and consolidate all statewide races into one August primary; however, the courts have not yet ruled on this matter. The LWVS will be sure to report on any updates. For now, however, there will be two primaries. 

Despite the confusing and disappointing chain of events in New York redistricting, I remain hopeful after seeing students at New Rochelle High School’s Civic Engagement and Voter Registration Day. Through a grant from the LWV of New York State, the LWVS and the LWV of New Rochelle helped register 115 students who will be eligible to vote in this year’s General Election and pre-register 35 16 and 17 year olds. The best part of the day was watching student-run workshops on voting in which they rejected the notion that young people don’t vote because of apathy and helped teach their classmates on how to register to vote, how to apply for an absentee ballot, and even how to consider where to vote if going out-of-state to college. It was a privilege to see these young people take charge of their role in the community. We hope to be in other Westchester County high schools through the month of June.

In this issue of the bulletin, we thank the many generous community members whose donations serve to support our important work. I thank all of our generous donors for your engagement and willingness to support and sustain the LWVS. I would like to formally congratulate our new 2022-23 Board members and look forward to working closely with all of you during the next year.

Please note that our 2022-23 Membership Drive will take place at the end of August and early September. I welcome the entire community--any local resident who is interested--to join the League of Women Voters of Scarsdale. You may email me with any questions about League Membership.

I wish all of you a wonderful summer. Stay engaged, stay informed, and most importantly, VOTE!

Best wishes,

Alissa Baum

June

• 6/13, Monday:
• 9:00 a.m. Joint Board Meeting, Scarsdale Public Library

The Scarsdale Village Board of Trustees is currently evaluating whether to repair or renovate the Scarsdale Pool Complex. Lothrop Associates LLP Architects (LAA), a full-service architectural firm and its aquatics consulting division, Aquatectonic (AQT), recently issued an Existing Conditions Report which assesses the current state of the pool complex and sets forth the costs of repairing the facility and ensuring it complies with relevant codes.   

The next step of this process will be determining community sentiment. To that end, a statistically valid survey was mailed to 2,000 of the 5,481 households in the Village. In addition, a similar, web-based survey is open to the entire community to complete. The Village has planned three in-person public engagement opportunities:

• Friday, June 3: 3:00 p.m. - 6 p.m. at the pool
• Saturday, June 4: 9:00 a.m. - 12 p.m. at the pool
• Saturday, June 4: 1:00 p.m. - 6 p.m. at the Music Festival

Take advantage of these ways to weigh in on the fate of the Scarsdale Pool Complex!

And, if you are interested in looking at this process more closely, the LWVS has formed a Pool Study Committee to follow this process and needs additional members to be a part of this committee. The Pool Study Committee will be interesting, intellectually engaging, and critical to our League’s work in the Scarsdale community. 

If you have any interest or just have questions, please contact Alissa Baum at [email protected].

LWVW Annual Meeting and Convention:

The 2022 LWVW Annual meeting is Thursday, June 9, from 5:00 - 8:00 p.m. at the Scarsdale Woman’s Club. Come meet other local League members, hear about the past year’s accomplishments, learn about the 2022-23 Advocacy Program, and meet the new leadership team. George Latimer, Westchester County Executive, will be the keynote speaker. A buffet supper will be served. Register at the LWVW website. The deadline to RSVP is June 4.

Thank You for Your Support

FRIENDS:

• LWVS – Leah and David Dembitzer, Suzie Hahn, Robin and Stanley Levin, Michelle and Frank Lichtenberg, Dana Matsushita and David Siegel, Nancy and David Michaels, Deborah Morel and Michael Shuster, Amy Paulin and Ira Schuman, Deborah Pekarek and Jon Leslie, Ann and William Sacher, Beatrice Sevcik and Tony Gibney, Margaret and Laurence Smith, and Elaine and Alan Weiler. 

• LWVNYS Education Fund – Debra and Bob Miller, Barbara and Eric Jaffe, Eugenie Rosenthal, Janice and Ira Starr, and Jane Veron and Andrew Feldstein.

SUFFRAGISTS:

• LWVS – Alissa Baum and Lloyd Katz, Joan and David Bowen, Heedan Chung-Goh, Lena Crandall, Madelaine Eppenstein, Dara Gruenberg, Diane Gurden, Hoosna Haque, Ronny Hersch, Jacqueline Irwin, Mary Pat Jones, Janet Korins, Anne Lyons, Elissa Ruback, Suzanne Seiden, Carol Dean Silverman, Judy Soley, and Jessica Zellner and Jason Polevoy.

• LWVSNYS Education Fund – Nancy and Michael Cardozo, Amy Roberts, and Adie and William Shore.

• LWVS and LWVSNYS Education Fund – Lynne Clark.

LIFE MEMBERS:

• Harriet Sobol and Evelyn Stock

NEW MEMBERS:

• Marianne Bateman, Howard Baum and Joy Allington Baum, Deborah Bhatt, Leslie Chang, Donna Conkling, Beth Cukier, Tracy Grey, Hoosna Haque, Judy Hochberg, Marie Houlihan, Regina Han Jansky, Anita Khushalani, Mindy Lindsey, Aya Phillibert, Jason Polevoy, Alison and Jeffrey Silverstein, Alison Singer, Tanya Singer, Marsha Williams, and Eliana Zitrin.

Finally thank you to all the members who contributed to our Annual Finance Drive, Speakers Series Event and Memorial Fund this year. Your generosity is greatly appreciated!

• The Charles Raizen Foundation, Alissa Baum, Renée and Kenneth Baylor, Lisa Copeland, Christina Diggs, Linda Doucette-Ashman, Cynthia and Timothy Dunne, Mary Beth Evans, Pam Fuehrer, Beatrice Sevcik, Diane Greenwald, Dara Gruenberg, Ronny Hersh, Midori Sonoda Im, Anne Janiak, Joan Kuskin, Suzie Hahn, Michelle Lichtenberg, Anne Lyons, Nancy Michaels, Harriet Marmon, Debra and Bob Miller, Marc and Tracy McCarthy, Sandra Novick, Amy Paulin, Kitt Rosenthal, Erika Rublin, Susie Rush, Jyoti Ruta, Laurie Saylak, Adie Shore, Janice and Ira Starr, Meng-Fu Tsou, Jane Veron, Elaine Weiler, Susan Wilson, Jessica Zellner, and Renée Zellner.

Thank You

The LWVS thrives with the hard work and dedication of a community of volunteers. I would like to extend thanks to the League volunteers who contributed much time and energy during the month of May.

Thanks to Beatrice Sevcik and Jessica Zellner who have been monitoring recent redistricting court challenges and election changes. Thanks to Dana Matsushita and Joan Bowen for keeping the community informed through e-blast communications and social media postings. Thanks to Diane Baylor for her careful and detailed work as recording secretary and webmaster.   

Thanks to Dana Matsushita for her patience and hard work on the LWVS Bulletin. Thanks to Kitt Rosenthal for being a liaison to the LWVW. Thanks to Elissa Ruback, Anne Lyons, Erika Rublin, Jenny Tabak, Cindy Yau, and Debbie Miller for all of their thoughtful advice and important Board Work. 

Thanks to Heedan Chung and Jen Zola for helping to register students to vote at New Rochelle High School at its Civics Engagement and Voter Registration Day, as part of a joint voter registration effort with the New Rochelle League and made possible by a grant from the New York State League. Thanks to Dan Schuchat of Edgemont High School and Gustavo Barbosa and Tim Kuklis of New Rochelle High School for their partnership in helping register students to vote.

Thanks to Anne Lyons for her ability to stay calm under pressure when planning our Annual Meeting amidst the constant changes required in these Covid times. Thanks to Bob Miller for providing the sound system for the meeting, allowing all of us to hear participants’ voices over the sound of the rain. And, a special thanks to all of our members who attended our Annual Meeting, despite the unpleasant weather and the absence of our planned speaker due to illness. It was so nice to see all of you in person and to enjoy your company!  

I look forward to the important work that lies before us. To all in the community: stay informed, stay engaged and most importantly, VOTE!

All my best,

Alissa Baum

LWVS President

2022-2023 LWVS Membership Drive Will Take Place This Fall

Our annual membership drive for the 2022-2023 year will take place in early fall. Please look for renewal information that will be sent out in September. 

We look forward to an exciting year, and we encourage and welcome all local residents to join the League! 

We hope that you will join us! If you have any questions, please email [email protected].

Village of Scarsdale

As of May 31, 2022

Appointed Board Members

Renée Baylor (in memoriam)

Sara Pinto

Kitt Rosenthal

Jenny Simon Tabak

Cindy Yau

And welcome to our incoming elected members for 2022-23!

Donna Conkling

Dalya Khan

Nan Mead

Diksha Mudbhary