September 2025 Newsletter🍂

September 2025 Newsletter

by Claudia Kozinetz

To me, the words of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, “Fight for the things that you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you”, epitomize the work of the League of Women Voters. As much as the daily news frustrates, confuses and angers us, the various teams of LWV Dare are working with our community to create some enlightenment in this chaos.

Since the beginning of August 2025, Team Voter Registration (Tianna Stathis, Chair) has been providing voter information and resources at various venues with the goal of empowering voters. Team Voter Services (Marcie Ries, Chair) has been working with the Towns in Dare County to plan, organize and conduct Candidate Forums prior to the municipal elections. Team Programs/Lunch & Learn (Deb Bauer and Judy Lotas, Chairs) is gearing up for a community Read-Aloud of the US Constitution – let’s tame the chaos! And if that is not enough, Team Health (Alicia Wingate, Chair) has planned an informative and most timely panel on “Vaccines: What Everyone Needs to Know” (see article below). Team VOTE411 (Karen Anderson, Chair) is busy collecting information to update VOTE411 for the November elections.

Are you at a point where you just want to “Do Something”? Contact anyone of our Chairs – they will be happy to get you involved with LWV Dare to empower voters and defend democracy.

by Claudia Kozinetz

What is Unite and Rise 8.5?

Unite and Rise 8.5 is an initiative of the League of Women Voters to mobilize 8.5 million people using the power of voter engagement as a cornerstone of our democracy.

Unite and Rise 8.5 showcases the many ways voters can drive change through advocacy, mobilization, civic education, and engagement. We need you to be a part of this movement and help us grow this network of 8.5 million people committed to defending our democracy.

Together, we will unite and rise nationwide, from the streets to the courts to the polls, to defend a democracy that is by and for the people.

What Can You Do?

Participate in least one state or national action alert (on your state League’s website or at lwv.org/take-action). Share the alert with THREE friends!
Attend one League or other advocacy event per month between August 1—October 31. (Check the LWV Dare Calendar or events in this newsletter!)
Check VOTE411.org to see if there is an election in your community. If so, find 5 friends and make your voting plan!
Observe a local meeting in your area—a redistricting hearing, or a school board, city council, or commissioner meeting (check your local city council website for details).
Commit to Unite & Rise with us at lwv.org/uniteandrise. Stay informed of how you can plug in with friends!

Learn More About Unite and Rise 8.5

Join us at Sanctuary Vineyards during their weekly Acoustic Sunset Wine Down Thursday event for the LWV of Dare's Member Kick-Off and Fundraiser. Bring your friends and neighbors and learn about the League's 2025-26 activities and events while you enjoy local wine & beer, live music, and food trucks!

Member Kick-Off and Fundraiser

Thursday, September 4, 2025

5:30-8:30pm

Sanctuary Vineyards

7005 Caratoke Hwy, Jarvisburg

Join us as we celebrate the 238th anniversary of the U.S. Constitution on Wednesday, September 17, 2025. In collaboration with the College of the Albemarle, the League of Women Dare is hosting a community read-aloud of the U.S. Constitution.

Beginning at 4pm, students, community members and League members will read sections of the Constitution, the supreme law of the United States of America. The Constitution of the United States is the oldest and longest-standing written and codified national constitution in force in the world. The reading will take approximately 60 minutes. Join us in the first floor lobby of the College of the Albemarle in Manteo. This event is free and open to the public.

Reading of the U.S. Constitution

September 17 (Constitution Day)

4:00 PM

College of the Albemarle

First Floor Lobby

132 Russell Twiford Rd.

Manteo, NC

Would you like to be one of 50 constitution readers at this event?

Email lwvdare@gmail.com

by Tiana Stathis

Fall is peaking its head and the election season is almost upon us. With our Dare County municipal election on November 4th, your voter registration team has been getting the word out. Look for our booth at OBX Pridefest 2025 on Saturday, September 13, 2025 at Roanoke Island Festival Park.

Want to help your local youth experience the joy of participating in their future civic duty? Please reach out to Tianna Stathis at tstathislwvdare@gmail.com to sign up for our Dare County school mock elections. We are in the scheduling process for the new school year and can't wait to share this fun activity with the students. They love to see the booths lined up and really take voting very seriously. Our mock election experience has inspired many fun and educational topics to be created and discussed within the schools. It takes away some of the fantasy about voting and shows kids that while voting is very important, it isn't very hard to do. They will know what is expected when their time comes.

by Marcie Ries

Early voting in Dare County Municipal Elections begins October 16. Dare County League of Women Voters will be offering voters the opportunity to hear the candidates and pose questions to them before in-person voting starts. Our League will host candidate forums where the public can meet and hear the views of all the candidates in the four towns with competitive elections.

Here is the schedule:

Town of Duck Forum – October 6 – Paul F. Keller Meeting Room, 1200 Duck Road, Duck
Town of Nags Head Forum – October 7 – Town of Nags Head Board Room, 5401 S. Croatan Highway, Nags Head
Town of Manteo Forum – October 8 – Manteo Town Hall, 407 Budleigh Street, Manteo
Town of Kitty Hawk Forum – October 14 – Kitty Hawk Town Hall, 101 Veterans Memorial Drive, Kitty Hawk

All forums run from 7:00 - 8:30pm.

You can submit questions before the forums, by sending an email to lwvdareforums@gmail.com or you can attend one or more of the forums, meet and hear the candidates, and submit your question on the spot. Be sure to include your name and town with your question.

There is still room for volunteers to help during the events by greeting attendees, being a timer, or helping screen questions. No experience? No problem. We will have a training for all volunteers on September 24 at 1:30 pm at the Pitt Center in Southern Shores. Volunteering is a great way to meet League colleagues and to contribute to

our mission of supporting democracy. If you are interested, please send an email to Marcie.Ries@gmail.com.

by Judy Lotas

Good news!

New, gender-neutral changes in N.C. statutes

Recently the North Carolina General Assembly enacted an omnibus bill substituting gender-neutral language for laws that specify "male" only. The Alliance, of which LWVNC is a lead organization, worked closely with the statutes committee in Raleigh to draw attention to male-slanted language. The changes are contained in Part 1 of session law. We've successfully put gender neutrality on legislators' minds as we've worked through these initial changes. Progress!

Voting Rights Advocate Celina Stewart's Powerful Story

Get to know LWVUS CEO Celina Stewart Esq. and her powerful story on how she got into voting rights.

The LWVDC Health Committee is partnering with the Dare County Dept. of Health and Human Services to present an evening program focusing on the important role of vaccines. We want to offer our community an opportunity to listen to medical experts, learn from their experiences and be able to ask questions for discussion.

Vaccines: What Everyone Needs to Know

September 23 | 7-8:30pm

Town of Nags Head Board Room

5401 S Croatan Hwy, Nags Head

We plan to cover the history of vaccines, the science behind vaccines, CDC Guidance and recommended immunization schedules for children and adults. This presentation is open to the public, so please encourage your friends and families to attend. The scheduled speakers include: Kevin Phillips, RPh, Kerrith Elrod, DNP, CPNP-PC, Debbie Dutton RN, BSN,NCSN, Robert Gunther, MD, Doug Wingate, RPh retired. Tess Judge will give the introductions.

New member Kathleen Wasniewski is advising with advertising and printing posters. If anyone is interested in providing a speaker or input in any way please contact Alicia Wingate 252-207-4738.