LWVW Quarterly Newsletter

December 2025

In this issue:

Message from the Executive Committee
Calendar of Upcoming Events
Recap of Past Events
Committee Reports
Voter Service
Vote411.org
Candidate Forums
Voter Registration Drives
Naturalization Ceremonies
County Government
Youth Engagement
Running & Winning
Students Inside Albany
LWVW Board of Directors and Committee Chairs

Message from the LWVW Executive Committee

Thank you to the many volunteers throughout Westchester who support, sustain, and carry out the mission of the League of Women Voters of Westchester (LWVW). One of only a few Inter-League Organizations in the country, LWVW comprises all the members of the eight local leagues in the county as well as members-at-large from Westchester neighborhoods that are not currently served by a local league.

We welcome everyone's participation and engagement throughout the year and wish all the happiest of holiday seasons.

Calendar of Upcoming Events

January

Wednesday, January 7, 2026, 10am via Zoom: LWVW EF Board of Directors Meeting followed by LWVW EC Meeting

February

Wednesday, February 4, 2026, 10am via Zoom: LWVW EF Board of Directors Meeting followed by LWVW EC Meeting

March

Wednesday, March 4, 2026, 10am via Zoom: LWVW Board of Directors Meeting followed by LWVW EC Meeting

April

Wednesday, April 1, 2026, 10am via Zoom: LWVW EC Meeting
Tentative Date: Thursday, April 16, 2026: LWVW Running & Winning

May

Wednesday, May 6, 2026, 10am via Zoom: LWVW EC Meeting
Sunday, May 17, 2026, through Wednesday, May 20, 2026, in Albany: LWVNYS Students Inside Albany (SIA) Conference

June

Thursday, June 5, 2026, 5pm (location TBD): LWVW Annual Convention
Saturday, June 13, 2026 (Golden Day): Last day to register to vote through the online portal or in person at any early polling location in Westchester or for a mailed voter registration application to be received by the Westchester County Board of Elections
Saturday, June 13, 2026 through Sunday, June 21, 2026: Early Voting for General Election
Tuesday, June 23, 2026: Primary Election
Wednesday, June 24, 2026 through Sunday, June 28, 2026 in Columbus, OH: LWVUS Convention

View Full LWVW Calendar

Recap of Past Events

On Saturday, December 6, 2025, LWVW cosponsored a documentary screening of Majority Rules in collaboration with UniteNY and Braver Angels. The film detailed the implementation of open primaries and ranked choice voting in Alaska, and presented a crucial look at how updating our voting systems can improve political incentives and decrease polarization.

For those who were unable to attend the screening, the movie is available to rent or buy through several major streaming platforms. A special 30-minute version, entitled Majority Rules 101, is designed to spark conversation in the classroom or other civic forums for audiences of all ages.

Committee Reports

Voter Service

Vote411

Vote411.org, LWV's nationwide online voter guide, is a tremendous resource containing information on all the races and ballot propositions, candidate bios and positions, campaign finance information, candidate forum dates and recordings, polling locations, and even voter registration status.

Who feeds all the information concerning Westchester elections into the website? The answer is Mary Kirsch (LWV of New Castle) and her merry band of voter service volunteers. Starting in the summer and working up until the day of the November general election, a large group of dedicated and meticulous leaguers throughout Westchester worked collaboratively to collect data to populate Vote411.org. Each of the 255 candidates who ran for office was invited to submit responses about their platforms and a majority took advantage of this opportunity. Now that the general election is in the rear view mirror, the whole process will begin anew for the next set of elections in March.

Help us spread the word by telling your family, friends, and neighbors across the country about LWV's online voter guide. To learn more about or join in this behind-the-scenes effort, contact Voter Service (Vote411) Chair Mary Kirsch.

Candidate Forums

In September and October, LWVW and the eight local leagues in Westchester planned and hosted many in-person and virtual candidate forums to educate voters prior to the November general election, covering more than a dozen contested county and local government races.

Many thanks to Susan Maggiotto (LWV of the Rivertowns) for chairing the LWVW committee that ran the candidate forum for Westchester County Executive, to Patricia Sabilia (LWV of Albany) for moderating LWVW's candidate forum, to Alice McNamara (LWV of the Rivertowns) for diligently coordinated the scheduling of moderators throughout Westchester, and to Debbie Reisner (LWV of Rye/Rye Brook/Port Chester) and C. Michele Shivers (LWV of Rye/Rye Brook/Port Chester) for hosting multiple moderator training sessions ahead of time to bolster LWVW's high caliber roster of league-trained moderators. Recordings, where available, were publicized on the LWVW website, social media, and in the individual race information on Vote411.org, to help educate voters about the candidates' positions on local issues.

Moderators Wanted -- Training Provided at No Cost!

Before long, the next wave of elections will begin with village elections in March, school board elections in May, primaries in June, and any special elections needed to fill vacancies. In anticipation of large demand next spring, please consider volunteering for moderator training in the new year. Training is provided via Zoom at no charge and several training videos are available to view on the LWVW moderator training webpage.

Stay tuned for more information about upcoming training sessions.

Voter Registration Drives

Leading up to the general election, LWVW and each of the eight local leagues held many voter registration drives and "check-ups" to ensure that eligible voters were registered and prepared to vote. LWVW Voter Registration chair Joan Alexander (LWV of New Rochelle) tirelessly coordinated volunteers to staff drives at local high schools, colleges, and community events in areas not served by the local leagues.

Efforts will resume in the spring. To join LWVW's voter registration outreach, please complete the Voter Registration Volunteer Sign-Up Sheet to be contacted with dates and times of events as they are scheduled.

Naturalization Ceremonies

Coordinated by co-chairs Barbara Shore and Diane Tabakman (both of LWV of White Plains), volunteers from each of Westchester's local leagues continue to participate in monthly judicial naturalization ceremonies. League members welcome newly minted citizens at the County Courthouse in White Plains with a copy of First Vote and LWVW’s trifold flyer, Welcome New Citizens.

Several recent ceremonies were cancelled. LWVW will continue monitoring the situation as well as federal policy changes concerning the ceremonies.

County Government

With many thanks to LWVW County Government chair Mary Pat Campbell (LWV of Northwest Westchester), LWVW has been monitoring County Government activities such as the budget process and legislation being proposed by the Board of Legislators.

County Budget

Westchester County operates on a calendar year budget. The County Executive proposes a budget and is required by the County Charter to submit it to the Board of Legislators on or before November 10. Following review and debate by the Board of Legislators as well as public comment, the Board of Legislators adopts the budget by a minimum of nine votes of the 17-member board and also votes to apportion the tax levy. The County Executive may then sign the budget as adopted or issue vetoes, subject to override by 2/3 vote (12 legislators). By law, the budget must be finalized by Dec. 27.

This year's proposed budgets are linked below.

On December 8 2025, the Westchester County Board of Legislators voted to pass the 2026 Westchester County Budget, having reduced the County Executive's proposed property tax increase from 5.27% down to 3.7%.

Key points for the $2.5 billion spending plan for calendar year 2026:

Nearly all County department budgets have been reduced by 8%
180 positions have been eliminated, reducing workforce by almost 5%
County property tax increase is tax-cap compliant, amounting to approximately $3/month increase for the average homeowner
Main contributors to increasing costs are mandated or essential services, including:
rising healthcare costs,
pension growth,
transportation for children with special needs,
increase in debt service

Also of note, the Department of Budget second quarter report has projected a shortfall in the General Fund for the 2025 fiscal year driven primarily by a downward revision to projected sales tax collections and higher-than-anticipated employee healthcare costs. The County also anticipates reductions in certain federal grants for essential public services and is uncertain what the impact will be to the County of federal cuts affecting Medicaid and SNAP programs.

Westchester County Executive Ken Jenkins officially signed the budget on Monday, December 15, 2025. Follow this link to the press release or watch the video below.

Youth Engagement

Upcoming Event for Students: Running & Winning

Plans are underway for LWVW's and AAUW-Westchester's annual Running & Winning program which gives female high school students an opportunity to meet female elected officials at all levels of government and work in small groups to plan a mock campaign. Volunteers are needed to

work in coordination with members of the Directory of Officials and Vote411 committees to update contact information for the elected officials who are invited to the event
update contact information for outreach to public and private high schools within Westchester
solicit financial sponsors to help fund the event
plan the day's activities and coordinate the schedule
serve as greeters and facilitators
record observations, take photographs/video, gather feedback, and document the day's activities for publicity and internal uses.

Volunteer for Running & Winning

Fill out the Running & Winning Volunteer Sign Up Sheet to join the committee.

Upcoming Event for Students: Students Inside Albany

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LWVNYS will be hosting its annual Students Inside Albany (SIA) conference from Sunday, May 17, 2026, through Wednesday, May 20, 2026. This conference is an intensive training 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. Additionally, students are afforded the opportunity to observe Assembly and Senate sessions and to shadow both their Assembly members and Senators. Thanks to the efforts of LWVW SIA chair Deb Pekarek (LWV of Scarsdale), LWVW will continue its tradition of sending a student from a Westchester high school located in an area not served by one of the eight local leagues.