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THE VOTER
February 2020
Message from the Leadership Team
The League of Women Voters of the United States celebrates its 100th anniversary on February 14, 2020. T he League was "officially founded in Chicago in 1919, just six months before the 19th Amendment was ratified and women won the vote. Formed by the suffragists of the National American Woman Suffrage Association, the League began as a 'mighty political experiment' designed to help 20 million women carry out their new responsibilities as voters." ( https://www.lwv.org/about-us/history) Look at the many ways we have done just that!

And now our responsibilities as voters shift to the Texas primary elections on March 3rd. Voter registration has closed for those elections, so our focus now is to get voters to the polls. County-specific voting information for Bandera, Blanco, Gillespie, Kendall, and Kerr Counties is available on our website (see link below). Refer your family, friends, neighbors, co-workers - everyone you have contact with - to the website for that information. And consider taking someone to the polls with you!
Inside this issue...
  • Primary Elections 2020
  • General Membership Meeting, March 19
  • LWV Texas State Convention, April 17-19
  • Thanks to our Volunteers
  • Thanks for your Membership Renewals
  • Update on Amazon Smile donations to LWV-TX
Primary Elections 2020
Texas primary elections are just a few weeks away. Here are the election dates:

Tuesday, February 18 - First day of early voting
Friday, February 28 - Last day of early voting
Tuesday, March 3 - Primary election day

The League of Women Voters-Hill Country website has specific voting information - early voting times and places, election day polling places - for Bandera, Blanco, Gillespie, Kendall, and Kerr Counties. Visit League of Women Voters-Hill Country Texas , then click on the drop-down menu under "County" and select the county you are interested in.
General membership meeting, March 19
Save the date for our next general membership meeting, which is scheduled for Thursday, March 19th, at 6:00 p.m. at Riverhill Country Club. Our guest speaker will be Stephanie Swanson, the LWV-Texas Issue Chair for Redistricting/Census. Complete details will be available in the March issue of The Voter .
LWV-Texas Convention - April 17-19
The 2020 Convention of the League of Women Voters of Texas will be held April 17-19 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel-Austin, and all League members are invited to attend. The conventions are always informative and fun, and very worthwhile. Registration is due by April 1st. The "early bird" full registration fee for members is $140, which includes workshops, the Saturday luncheon, and plenary sessions. For details about all of the events and a link to conference registration, click here . For hotel registration, click here .

In addition, the Making Democracy Work Dinner will be held on Saturday, April 18th, and will include a panel of historians and awards to community partners working on youth engagement. Meg Scott-Johnson will host a table and invites any of our members who will be attending the convention to be her guest at the dinner. She advises that when you register for the convention, do not register for the dinner. Instead, contact Meg directly ( megdscott45@gmail.com or 830-257-8338) so she can submit your name on her guest list.
Thanks to our Volunteers
Thanks to all of you who helped with voter registration at area high schools, Schreiner University, and other locations. A special thanks goes to the women who braved the cold on March 3rd to offer last-day "drive up" voter registration in the Cailloux Theater parking lot. A few of them were spotted there!
Thanks for your Membership Renewals
For those of you who renewed in January, thank you! For those of you who haven't, we hope you will! Membership forms are available on our website at LWV-Hill Country ,  and will also be available at the March meeting. You can also click on the link below. Forms should be completed even if you are just renewing, so we can be sure to have accurate contact information. Annual dues for individuals are $60, for households, $85, and for students, $5.

Click here for the membership form.

Checks should be made payable to LWV-HC and mailed with the form to Treasurer, LWV-HC, P.O. Box 290303, Kerrville, TX 78029.
Update on Amazon Smile Donations
As you may know, the League of Women Voters of Texas Education Fund has been a designated charitable organization in the Amazon Smile donation program. LWV-Texas is now in the process of closing that account. If you have been participating in the Amazon Smile program and designated the education fund as your chosen charity, LWV-Texas asks that you change it. Here is how:

  1. Log into your account at smile.amazon.com
  2. Underneath the search box, you will see Supporting: League of Women Voters of Texas Education Fund. Click on the arrow at the end of Fund.
  3. A new window will open. Select change.
  4. At the bottom of the next window, you will see Or pick your own charitable organization:. Type The League of Women Voters of Texas in the search box under that phrase and select Search.
  5. A list of similar names will appear. Select The League of Women Voters of Texas. Be careful - it’s tricky. We are not in Amarillo!
  6. And you’re done!
Mark Your Calendars
T uesday, February 18 - First day of early voting
Friday, February 28 - Last day of early voting
Tuesday, March 3 - Primary election day
Thursday, March 19 - LWV-Hill Country general membership meeting
April 17-19, 2020 - LWVTX Convention in Austin
May 21, 2020 - Annual membership meeting
Join Us!
Be a member of the League; we invite you to join us!  A membership form can be found on our website or you may contact Julie Sentell, Membership Coordinator, at julie.sentell@me.com.  

Our League’s annual dues are $60 for an individual or $85 for two in a household, and $5 for student memberships.  Dues are prorated from January. Please include your name(s), address, email address, and phone number. Make your check payable to LWV-Hill Country Texas and mail to LWV-HC, PO Box 290303, Kerrville, TX 78029-0303.  Join the League and help make democracy work.
 
And consider giving a membership to a student, as they need only be 16 years of age to join.
League of Women Voters-Hill Country Texas
Leadership Team
Treasurer : Mary Ellen Summerlin
Membership Coordinator: Julie Sentell
Voters Service:  Jeanette Ruark
Webmaster : Cathy Learoyd
Members-at-large : Bunny Bond, Alicia Boyett, Maggie Megee, Kat Walker
President’s email (presidentlwvhc@gmail.com) : Cathy Learoyd
Facebook Administrator: Kat Walker
Stay Connected

The LWV-Hill Country welcomes your questions! Post to our Facebook page or submit questions via e-mail to  presidentlwvhc@gmail.com
About the League of Women Voters
The League of Women Voters is a local, state, and national nonpartisan organization.  

Please visit the LWV-Texas state website,  my.lwv.org/texa s .  There you will find more voter information and the League positions on a variety of issues.  The League develops its positions after study and consensus.

The LWV-Texas position on the issue of human trafficking in Texas: The League of Women Voters of Texas is opposed to all forms of domestic and international human trafficking of adults and children, including sex trafficking and labor trafficking.  We consider human trafficking to be a form of modern-day slavery and support measures to prevent the use of force, fraud or coercion to exploit a person for sexual or labor purposes, to prosecute traffickers and to protect victims. 
 
For a free, four-hour TEA continuing education credit course on issues of human trafficking, go https://lwvedu.expertlearning.net . Teachers, take note of this!   This is the online course for which we received the state award.

 The national League, LWVUS,  lwv.org ,  is actively working to influence public policy through education and advocacy.  Go to this website and see the range of issues from voter rights, voter turnout, reforming money in politics, and defending the environment.
League of Women Voters - Hill Country Texas
presidentlwvhc@gmail.com
www.lwvhillcountrytexas.org