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THE VOTER
September 2019
Message from the Leadership Team
The Women's Equality Day Dinner last month called on the leadership team's flexibility to manage a last-minute change in the program. Most unfortunately, Jo Ivestor was unable to attend as the guest speaker due to sudden illness, which the team learned about just three days before the event. At the suggestion of one of the league members, Bunny Bond graciously agreed to make the same presentation about women's suffrage and the passage of the 19th Amendment, as well as a brief history of the League of Women Voters of Texas, that she had made for the Llano County Historical Society luncheon two days earlier. Her talk was fascinating and informative, and all in attendance left with great enthusiasm for continuing the work of "...break[ing] down voting barriers..."

As Virginia Kase CEO LWVUS said:
“We mustn’t romanticize the story of the 19th Amendment. The truth is, progress towards a more perfect democracy is often messy, and the 19th Amendment did not break down voting barriers for all women—and even today, there is more work to be done.” (https://my.lwv.org/texas/100-years-women-voting-0)

And don't forget the 100th anniversary luncheon celebrating the founding of the League of Women Voters of Texas. It will be held on Saturday, October 19, 2019, from 11:30 - 1:30 at the St. Anthony Hotel in San Antonio. Individual tickets are $119 plus a $9.27 fee and are available for purchase here . For information about table sponsorships, please contact Bunny Bond by phone at 830-895-1880 or by email at [email protected].
Inside this issue...
  • General Membership Meeting, September 19
  • Voter Registration, week of September 23-27
  • Informing and Empowering Voters: a Door-Knocking Drive
  • Public Input Hearings on Redistricting, September 12, San Antonio
  • Texas Heritage Day, September 27
  • Kerrville City Council Proclamation, October 8
  • Election Day, November 5
General Membership Meeting, Thursday, September 19
Dinner (optional) at 5:00pm, meeting at 6:00pm
Schreiner University, Cailloux Campus Activity Center, River Room (first floor)
The September League meeting will focus on plans for the upcoming year.  There are the things we always do:  voter registration, Vote 411, the Voter Guides, candidate forums, getting out the vote for the next election.  But there are new ideas floating around the state and national leagues, too.

On 9/19/19, surely an auspicious date, we’ll be hosting our state League executive administrator, Aileen McMurrer. She will lead us in learning more about who we are and what we can accomplish to empower voters and defend democracy this year.  Please join us.  We need to hear YOUR voice!

Expect to:
            Enjoy many dinner choices in the Schreiner Diner (across the patio from the student center) for $9.45 plus tax beginning at 5:00 (optional)
            Pick up coffee or tea in the Lion’s Den (first floor of the student center) and join us in the River Room for visiting before the meeting
            Convene at 6:00 for a business meeting followed by a round table program focused on member discussion
            Hear about the state initiative for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
            Leave inspired and with a better idea of what you can do this year to make a difference for your community, state and country
Voter Registration, week of September 23-27
In conjunction with National Voter Registration Day on Tuesday, September 24th, LWV-Hill Country Texas plans to organize voter registration opportunities throughout the week of September 23 – 27, 2019, across our 3+ counties. According to Voters Service Chair Jeannette Ruark, there are two ways to participate:

1. Recommend a registration venue. Please contact Jeannette if you have a favorite place or a new place you would like to try putting up a table. This can include secondary schools, colleges, churches, day care centers, food banks, and any other place you can think of.

2. Ask for assignment to a venue. If you would prefer to help another member at their favorite spot, please contact Jeannette and she will pair you with someone. You can help either as a Volunteer Deputy Registrar (VDR) or as an assistant to a VDR.

Jeannette can be reached by email at [email protected] or by phone at 830-377-8639.
Informing and Empowering Voters: a Door-Knocking Drive
This year the LWV-Hill Country Texas will pilot a new project designed to  Inform and Empower Voters and, hopefully, to increase voter participation. This effort will take place on Sunday afternoons, beginning the first Sunday of October 2019 and continuing through the end of the calendar year.

Pairs of League volunteers will conduct a door-knocking drive to learn about and meet the needs of prospective voters in areas that are shown to be under-represented in voting behaviors. Utilizing non-partisan tools such as “Map the Vote” and public information from the Voter Registrar’s office, League volunteers will use canvassing style techniques at each encounter.
 
If people need to register, we will register them.
If they don’t know where to vote, we will inform them.
If they need to know where to get unbiased voter information,
we will teach them. We will listen to and record their
questions and concerns about voter participation.
 
TRAINING:  Mandatory training will take place on Wednesday, September 25th or on Friday, September 27th, both sessions from 1:00 - 4:30pm in the Conference Room of the Kerrville Chamber of Commerce. All participants must have the training, but if you cannot attend on September 25th or September 27th, we can plan for an individual session. Please contact Jeannette Ruark to register for one of the sessions.

If you have never participated in door-knocking, we will train you and pair you up with someone who has. 

If you are interested in participating in this new project, please contact Jeannette by email at [email protected] or by phone at 830-377-8639.
Public Input Hearings on Redistricting, September 12
As mentioned in last month's newsletter, the Texas Legislature will reapportion congressional seats, as well as Texas House and Senate seats, during the 2021 legislative session. Starting in September, the Texas House Committee on Redistricting will hold Interim Field Hearings to gather information that will aid in making redistricting decisions.

The nearest hearing to LWV-Hill Country Texas will be held in San Antonio on Thursday, September 12, at 4:00pm in the Boardroom of the Port San Antonio Headquarters located at 907 Billy Mitchell Blvd. If you are interested in attending, please contact Bunny Bond for further information. She can be reached either by email at [email protected] or by phone at 830-895-1880.

For additional information about the hearings and what you can do to help, please click here for the state League's page on Public Input Hearings.
Texas Heritage Day, September 27
Schreiner University, Robbins-Lewis Pavilion
To begin a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of the signing of the 19th Amendment and the founding of the League of Women Voters of Texas, LWV Hill Country Texas will have a booth at the Texas Music Heritage Day on Friday, September 27th from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Robbins-Lewis Pavilion at Schreiner University. Our theme is “Standing on the shoulders of the ones who’ve come before.” We’ll have a booth with two tables: one table for THEN “We fought for the vote...” with educational materials and music from the suffrage movement in Texas, and a second table for NOW “…Now use it” with voting materials and voter registration.  We’ll have LWV members in Suffragist white dresses and some in contemporary dress, hats, and sashes at the booth and strolling around the venue with posters like those used by the Suffragists.  
 
If you’d like to join us that day, please email Alicia Boyett, the volunteer coordinator for this event, at  [email protected] .  And come to a poster and hat making party on Saturday, September 21st at 1 p.m. at the home of JoAnn McKinzey. Email JoAnn at  [email protected]  for details and directions to her home. Please bring a hat and artificial flowers and other materials to make your Suffragist hat. Materials for the posters will be supplied, but please bring your creativity.  
 
 To learn more about Texas Music Heritage Days, click here.
Kerrville City Council Proclamation, October 8
T he Kerrville City Council extended an invitation to the Leadership Team of LWV-Hill Country Texas to appear in their "suffragette finery" at the City Council meeting on October 8th at 6:00pm. At that meeting, the City Council will issue a proclamation celebrating the 100th anniversary of passage of the 19th Amendment granting women the right to vote, as well as the 100th anniversary of the founding of the League of Women Voters of Texas and the ongoing educational and civic engagement activities of the LWV.

Please mark your calendar and join us in the City Hall Council Chambers to receive this honor from the Kerrville City Council.
Election Day, November 5
Proposed Amendments to Texas Constitution
Voters will have the opportunity to vote on ten proposed amendments to the Texas Constitution on November 5th. On its website, the League of Women Voters of Texas provides nonpartisan information on the proposed amendments that includes an explanation of each amendment, along with arguments for and against each one. Click here to visit the "Election Information" page on the website, and scroll down to "Proposed Constitutional Amendments."

Proposed Amendments to Kerrville City Charter
The Kerrville City Council has called for a special election to be held on November 5th to submit 19 proposed amendments to the city charter. Voters who live within the city limits of Kerrville will vote on the same dates and in the same locations, but will have a separate ballot for the city charter amendments. A guide on the proposed amendments is expected to be available on the City's website in early October.

Important dates:
Monday, October 7, 2019 - Last day to register to vote in the November election
Monday, October 21, 2019 - First day of early voting
Friday, October 25, 2019 - Last day to apply for mail-in ballot; please note: application must be received by the county election department on or before this day.
Friday, November 1, 2019 -Last day of early voting
Tuesday, November 5, 2019 – Election Day; please note: mail-in ballot must be received by the county election department on or before this day.
Mark Your Calendars

Wednesday, September 18 - Volunteer Deputy Registrar training, Kerr County Courthouse
Thursday, September 19 - LWV-Hill Country general membership meeting
Tuesday, September 24 - National Voter Registration Day
Wednesday, September 25 - Training for Informing and Empowering Voters project
Friday, September 27 - Training for Informing and Empowering Voters project
Monday, October 7 - Last day to register to vote in the November election
Tuesday, October 8 - Kerrville City Council meeting
Wednesday, October 16 - Volunteer Deputy Registrar training, Kerr County Courthouse
 Saturday, October 19 - LWV Texas 100th Anniversary luncheon, St. Anthony Hotel, San Antonio
Tuesday, November 5 - Election Day
Thursday, November 21 - LWV-Hill Country general membership meeting
Thursday, January 16 - LWV-Hill Country general membership meeting
Thursday, March 19 - LWV-Hill Country general membership meeting
April 17-19, 2020 - LWVTX Convention in Austin
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 [email protected].  

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 ([email protected]) : 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  [email protected]
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.
Please Consider . . .
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League of Women Voters - Hill Country Texas
www.lwvhillcountrytexas.org