Empowering Voters. Defending Democracy. | |
The VOTER Newsletter
October 2026
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Lunch & Learn
Wednesday, October 14th, 2026
at the Unitarian Universalist Church
490 Aguajito Road, Carmel CA 93923
Topic: November 3, 2026 Ballot Measure Pros & Cons
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Each election season, a team from LWVMC develops a “Pros & Cons” presentation, a dispassionate summary of the main elements of the California ballot propositions, the arguments in favor of and in opposition to each, and a list of key supporters and opponents along with information about financial contributors. This year’s Pros and Cons presenters are MaryEllen Dick, Paul Fleischman, Marianne Gawain, and Dennis Mar. With fourteen propositions on the ballot, slimming down the slide deck has been no small feat. At the October Lunch & Learn, you’ll receive a whirlwind tour that will orient you to fourteen important, and sometimes complex, decisions you’ll want to make before casting your ballot in the November 3 election.
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President's Message
When I meet people who have heard about the League of Women Voters, their most common comment is "I count on the League for information about how to vote."
Ballots for the November 3 midterm general election in California begin mailing on October 5. The League’s recommendations for the 14 ballot propositions that will appear on the ballot can be found here.
Three of the initiatives relate to elections or voters rights. Those are covered in more detail below in “Democracy is a journey, not a destination.”
As you prepare for the election and cast your vote, know that your membership in the League empowers voters within our membership and beyond.
– Tama Olver, Co-President
League of Women Voters of Monterey County
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Voter Service -
What YOU Need to Know
Well, here we are, coming up to the peak of this Election season! Instead of talking about all of our activities (and we have a LOT going on), I wanted to give you some information and basic resources that you can use when talking to friends and neighbors because YOU as a League member may be their authoritative source of information!
When will you get ballots? When can you vote? Do you have concerns about vote-by-mail ballots? Where can you vote early? Drop off ballots? How can you find reliable information on candidates and propositions?
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Democracy is a Journey,
Not a Destination
As we approach the November 3 election, the Defending Democracy Committee created a “conversation starter” button highlighting the California League’s position on three ballot initiatives related to elections and voters’ rights. LWVC supports Proposition 4 (allowing state and local public financing of election campaigns) and Proposition 5 (requiring that votes to recall elected officials be separate from selection of a replacement). LWVC was active in passage of the underlying legislation that placed these election reforms on the ballot.
LWVC is opposed to Proposition 39, which prohibits voting without a government issued ID and has been placed on the ballot as a power grab by politicians unable to obtain, so far, passage of voter suppression legislation at a national level. At the September 9 Lunch & Learn meeting, Carol Moon Goldberg, Vice President, LWVC, presented a deep dive into Proposition 39 and its significant risks to voting rights in California. A recording of the meeting will be available on our website. Look, also, for advertising in the Monterey County Weekly placed by our chapter in opposition to Proposition 39.
For 250 years, our democracy has survived because people step up to respond to challenges and change. Voting in every election and supporting changes to our system when they are needed ensure that we live in a democracy now and in the future.
--Tama Olver, Chair, Defending Democracy Committee
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Sharon Miller, Mary Palmer
and Kathi Wojtkowski
at Monterey Post Office.
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Voter Registration Update
Voter registration activities geared up in three directions in these late summer weeks. Youth and school-oriented outreach activities expanded in Salinas, Soledad and Gonzales. On National Voter Registration Day, 13 teams of League and non-League members registered voters, with over 900 contacts on September 15. We continue our voter registration presence at four Hartnell campuses, four farmers markets, selected libraries, a bookstore, and at special events across the county.
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Our team has grown to 53 volunteers, a mix of League and non-League members, all trained by the Monterey County Elections Department. What a team!
A perk of getting to table in so many places and meet new people is the variety of comments we get as we discuss registering to vote. For a full listing, click the Read More below. But here are a few comments that stand out...
- A woman's apartment burned in the Casanova Apartments' fire and she was so happy to re-register.
- One gentleman said that he'd been voting for 60 years, took a rock (hand-painted reminder rock!) for his wife and said "Thank you for being here and doing this." Very warm.
- "My grandmother, my mother, my daughter and myself have advocated for women's rights - over 100 years."
- "LWV - I love you guys!"
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League of Women Voters
Centennial
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On September 1, the Board of Supervisors of Monterey County honored LWVMC’s centennial with a ceremonial resolution. Supervisor Root Askew, a member of our chapter, spoke warmly of the sustained contribution that the League has made to the community and how we remain as relevant today as we were 100 years ago. Dennis Mar and Tama Olver accepted the honor on behalf of our chapter. Full text of the resolution is here.
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Sandy Hoag, Bev Kreps, and Tama Olver
At the September 9th Lunch & Learn, members celebrated the centennial with cake and costumes.
– Tama Olver
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Why Vote?
A Retrospective of our August Salinas Event
Thanks to the hard work of many volunteers, the first semi-annual LWVMC Salinas general meeting was a success. Fifty-nine people attended, including 24 non-members ranging in age from young adults to seniors. They turned out to hear Chris Barrera, President of LULAC Salinas, and Steve Hughes, Emeritus Professor of Politics at CSU Stanislaus and popular CSUMB OLLI lecturer, speak on the topic of “Why Vote?” A video of their presentations is available on the website.
More than a hundred years after the 19th Amendment was ratified and fifty years after the Voting Rights Act Extension, “Why vote?” is a question that’s often asked of volunteers for the Salinas Valley Voter Registration Initiative. It’s a question that many of us may be asked in the run-up to November’s election. Here is a short list of suggested answers provided by Chris Barrera and Steve Hughes in their “Why Vote?” presentations:
Vote because:
- Voting is our most basic and powerful civil right
- Not voting isn’t a protest. It’s surrendering your voice and your power to the richest and most aggressive
- Voting is the greatest equalizer ever invented
- Voting allows citizens to hold accountable officials who make decisions that affect our everyday lives
- Elections are decided by those who show up
-- Pamela Looney
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Confidence in Elections
I cannot recall in my lifetime hearing so much concern about what might go wrong in the upcoming election. Those intent on sowing confusion and fostering doubt have worked hard and spent freely. It’s understandable that they have had an impact.
As a long-time poll worker and inspector, I have complete confidence that the Monterey County Elections Department is prepared and able to support the election with secure services, thorough training, and contingency plans.
At the same time, if you are concerned, here are some steps you can take:
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Vote early. Ballots will be mailed by October 5 and resources to help you make choices are already available, including candidate websites, Vote411, and Vote with the League.
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If you are concerned about voting by mail, use a drop box. Locations of Monterey County drop boxes are available here.
– Tama Olver
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Welcome New Members!
Bonita Fechner
Pacific Grove
Taryn Cadena
Monterey
Lauren Keenan
Salinas
Cariesta Albert
Carmel
Francene Tabak
Pacific Grove
Linell McCray
Salinas
Cath Tendler
Seaside
Deanne Dannelly
Monterey
Michael Roberts
Salinas
New members are always welcome!
Bring a friend to the next in-person general meeting or watch a Zoom presentation online together.
Change of Address? Send updates to DennisRMar3@yahoo.com.
Donate to our General or Scholarship Fund or give a friend a gift membership.
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Welcome to the League, Elizabeth Hall!
The League’s Lunch & Learn advertisement caught Elizabeth Hall’s attention. She attended and immediately found alignment with her life’s vision: working toward equality; valuing all people—Native Americans, Black people, LGBTQ+ people, Latinos, Asians, and others; and caring for our natural world.
At the lunch table, Marianne Gawain, the League’s Members-at-Large, invited Elizabeth to attend a Board meeting and that is how she began her involvement.
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Members Become Actively Involved:
Marilyn Maxner
Marilyn Maxner first joined the League of Women Voters of Monterey County in 1973, and she has been a member ever since, so for more than 50 years! She is now a lifetime member.
Her first job with the League was to rewrite the city Charter for Monterey. She was on a committee to do that with the mayor of Monterey and some other League members. She had just had a baby, so she came to the meetings with her baby son. The voters approved the charter in 1974.
During her early years as a member, she attended ‘Unit’ meetings, which were general League meetings to get to know one another and to discuss any pertinent topics, including any studies they were working on.
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LWVMC Taking Action
In response to calls to action from LWVUS and LWVC, letters were sent to elected officials on behalf of the Board of LWVMC over the past month.
Letters sent to elected officials on behalf of the LWVMC Board between August 13 and September 15:
- Implored U.S. Senators Padilla and Schiff to vote “no” on SAVE Act voter suppression bills twice as the legislation has been passed by the House in different forms.
- Asked CA Assemblymember Addis to support SB 1414 establishing an independent citizens commission to draw San Bernardino County supervisor districts.
- Asked CA Assemblymember Addis and Speaker of the Assembly Rivas to vote yes on SB 423, the Detention Facility Transparency Act requiring reporting of information about incidents at private detention facilities and to vote yes on SB 1164 & 1360, the CA Voting Rights Act expanding protections for underrepresented communities.
- Asked CA Governor Newsom to sign the CA Voting Rights Act and AB 2599, which would require large companies doing business in CA to disclose their historical ties to slavery.
-- Tama Olver
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