Unite and Rise Rally - Sarasota

Saturday, July 5, from 10-11:30 am

Near Selby Gardens, Sarasota

For more information and to register click here

Local League of Women Voters (LWV) and their supporters had a strong visible presence at the June 14 rallies in Manatee and Sarasota counties. This was just the beginning of the local effort to support the League’s national Unite and Rise 8.5 campaign to stand up for our Constitution and the Rule of Law.

Let's have a big showing for the LWV-SRQ rally! Please check the news article below for the many future actions in the works. 

2025 ALICE Report (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed)

Thursday, July 17, from 12-1 pm

For more information on Zoom Meeting and to register click here

Please join us to hear Dr. Nichole Peña-Miller from United Way Suncoast share insights from the new 2025 ALICE report. 

Learn more about how so many members of our community are struggling living paycheck to paycheck and at risk of homelessness. Learn how United Way and their partners are responding and discuss what we can do to help.

Wednesday, July 9, 4:00 pm - LWV-Manatee County (LWV-MC) Board Meeting

All are welcome! Click here to join the Board Meeting

Thursday, July 17, 12:00 pm - Social Issues Action Team

See above description of program "2025 ALICE Report (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed". This is a Special Presentation. There will not be a regular team meeting in July.

Click here to join the 2025 ALICE Report

For more information, email Social Issues Co-Chairs Tina Juillerat and Nina Tortelli

Wednesday, July 23, 5:00 pm - Voter Services Action Team Meeting

Click here to register for the Voter Services Meeting

For more information, email Voter Services Chair Terri Kondos

NOTES:

The Combined Government and National Popular Vote Action Team will not meet in July

Next meeting will be Thurs, Aug 7, at 4:30. For more information, email Government Action Team Chair Holly Kennedy and for National Popular Vote, email Deb Mazzaferro

The Education Issues Action Team Meeting

For more information, email Education Chair Merrie Lynn Parker

The Natural Resources Action Team will not meet in July or August

For more information, email Natural Resources Chair Randy Miller 

The Reproductive Rights Action Team will not meet in July

For more information, email Nancy Hughes

Do Something...We Are!

Big Things are Planned for Unite and Rise

Your participation and voice are needed!

The President and his administration are pushing the boundaries of the law, and the guardrails of democracy are giving way. The administration's disregard for due process, defying court orders, mass deportations, and jokes about third terms is not upholding the law or the Constitution.

Congress is quietly advancing the SAVE Act — a bill that would erect new barriers to the ballot box. If passed, it would require every eligible voter to present specific documents like a passport or original birth certificate just to register or update their voter registration. Millions of married women could be blocked from registering due to name changes. Families moving to a new address would have to reprove their citizenship. In the middle of this constitutional crisis, lawmakers are trying to make it harder for people to vote.

The national League of Women Voters (LWV-US) recently took the extraordinary step of determining we are in a constitutional crisis and, in May 2025, introduced the Unite & Rise 8.5 campaign, which aims to build a movement of 8.5 million voters to unite and rise up against the anti-democratic actions of this administration and bring about meaningful change.

At the League of Women Voters of Manatee County, we are rapidly shifting our focus in support the Unite and Rise 8.5 campaign. Click here to see actions you can take to bring about change, including obtaining one of the LWV-MC "Uphold our Constitution and Rule of Law" yard signs.

Events and days of Action are already in the works and more to come. Save the date to participate in upcoming events below.

1. LWV-SRQ Unite and Rise Rally, July 5, 2025 -Click here for more information and to register for the rally.
2. Women's Equality Day  August 26, 2025 -  Voter Services Action Team planning is in the works for an event that will include participation with other women's organizations in our community.
3. National Voter Registration Day, September 16, 2025, and Constitution Day, September 17, 2025 - Two events are being planned. Tentative plans include outreach to youth and their participation in the planning and execution.
4. LWV-MC Unite and Rise for Democracy Rally, November 1, 2025 - Planning is in process for an inspiring and motivating downtown Bradenton rally with music and three great speakers, who have been confirmed. One of the speakers is LWV of Florida President Jessica Lowe-Minor. 

Will you join us?

Shameful & Dangerous:

LWV Responds to Supreme Court Allowing

Deportations Without Due Process

LWV-US Press Release

On June 23 the Supreme Court paused a lower court order that prevented the Trump administration from deporting migrants to countries other than their country of origin without affording them due process. The decision — issued without any hearing on the Court’s “shadow docket” — allows the Trump administration to continue to deport non-citizens to countries they have never visited without an opportunity to challenge the deportation. 

In response, Celina Stewart, CEO of the League of Women Voters of the United States, issued the following statement:  

“This shameful and dangerous decision is a direct attack on the right to due process and will cause irreparable harm to the most vulnerable among us. To allow the administration to deport residents to any third country without due process puts every American resident and citizen at risk and is a disgrace to the principles this country claims to stand for. It is particularly disturbing that this was done without an opinion explaining the court’s decision. The Court owes Americans insight into this inhumane and egregious decision. 

“Let’s be clear — this has nothing to do with safety or justice. This is about the highest Court in the land being a co-creator of stripping human beings of their dignity and human rights for political gain. 

“As a pro-democracy organization, the League of Women Voters rejects this ruling. We remain steadfast in our demand for a country where all people are treated with humanity, fairness, and receive due legal process.

“The League stands strong in its belief that all people deserve fair treatment under the law. A true democracy runs on justice and equality, not xenophobia, fear, and false divisions created to sow mistrust among the people. The Court should be ashamed.”

Floridians for Popular Vote Sessions:

2025 LWV-FL Bi-Annual Convention

by Deb Mazzaferro

Floridians for National Popular Vote (FNPV) held three successful sessions at the bi-annual Convention of the Florida League of Women Voters. The Convention, held from Thursday, June 5, through Saturday, June 7, at the Doubletree Hotel in Orlando, provided FNPV with the opportunity to organize, educate and network with LWV members from across the state. 

The pre-convention Leadership Session on June 5 was attended by 26 NPV advocates. It opened with greetings from steering committee member Deb Mazzaferro (LWV-MC), followed by steering committee member Paul Carden (LWV-SPA) presenting the results of the recently commissioned Florida University Survey on National Popular Vote. A brief history of the Electoral College was offered by Steering Committee chair Kathleen Crampton (LWV-Palm Beach County), which included debunking the myth that the Founding Fathers wanted the Electoral College to work the way it does today.

The attendees had the opportunity to watch a video featuring Tara Ross, a professional advocate who opposes NPV, followed by a summary review prepared by Dan Lishansky (FNPV), refuting each of her arguments.

A key presenter was Patrick (Rosie) Rosenstiel, consultant to the national NPV campaign. He emphasized the importance of developing relationships with state legislators to get NPV passed by a given state’s legislative body. Rosenstiel and Mazzaferro presented a list of the most likely states to pass NPV in the next few years whose electoral college votes would bring the count close to the 270 needed votes. These states are Virginia (13), Pennsylvania (19), Michigan (15), and Arizona (11). 

The National Popular Vote is a key issue for the LWV-US. If you would like to receive updates, donate or request a speaker, click here.



Florida League of Women Voters Convention Review 2025

Don't let the name fool you. EVERYONE is welcome.

The League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan, grassroots organization working to protect and expand voting rights and ensure everyone is represented in our democracy. We empower voters and defend democracy through advocacy, education, and litigation, at the local, state, and national levels.