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Presidents' Message
from Ian Seamans and Janet Imhoff
It may be the dog days of summer, but the League is busy! Over the past month and a half, League members have registered voters at 10 events, including a naturalization ceremony where 922 new citizens were registered. Additionally, our VP of Voter Services, Janice Schieffer gave 5 presentations at citizenship classes. We also celebrated LWV-CC founder, Meg Titus's birthday with a certificate presented by Plano City Councilmember Rick Smith.
Looking ahead, we have several meetings coming up, both in-person and online. Don't forget to log in to your account before you try to register!
- Women's Equality Day at Dallas City Hall - LWV-CC has sponsored the Women's Equality day celebration at Dallas City Hall this year. The President and CEO of Texas Women's Foundation will speak and boxed lunches are available. RSVP here!
- Fake or Fact? - Our first public forum of the League year will be Monday, September 30, when we will hear about the problem of misinformation and how to respond to it. RSVP here, or see the article below.
- Sips and Civics - Our Membership Committee has been very creative in arranging a series of dinner and happy hour meetings for us to gather and learn about topics of interest. The first will be Thursday, August 29, when we will discuss the Electoral College. Elimination of the Electoral College is a priority of the League. RSVP here or see the article below.
- And don't forget our Lunch with the League in both Plano and McKinney each month and our League Book Club every other month on Zoom. Sign up for meetings on the Event Calendar on our website so that we know how many to expect.
Election preparation - We have many activities scheduled to inform and register voters. There are numerous voter registration events on the calendar, and we plan 12 recorded candidate forums covering every contested race in Collin County from US Representative to County Constable.
|  | Sips and Civics Next Week!
Join us on the evening of Thursday, August 29 at Spring Creek Barbeque in Frisco for our new Sips and Civics program! Get dinner or drinks, socialize, and learn about important topics related to our democracy. This month LWV-CC Co-President, Ian Seamans will speak and lead a discussion about LWV's One Person, One Vote campaign to abolish the Electoral College.
Doors open at 6PM, presentation and discussion from 7:00-8:30PM, event wraps up by 9:00PM. Arrive around 6-6:30PM if you plan to buy dinner and socialize, or arrive by 7:00 to just hear the presentation and participate in the discussion.
Five times in American history, the will of the people was overridden, as the presidential candidate with the most votes did not win the presidency. The Electoral College is an outdated relic initially created by enslavers to disempower voters — especially Black voters. Join us to discuss how we can conclusively get rid of it, with or without a constitutional amendment.
|  | Upcoming Program on Misinformation
The League of Women Voters of Collin County is pleased to present a public forum on September 30, 2024, 6:30PM at Haggard Library in Plano on media literacy and how to identify misinformation and disinformation. Our presenter, Dr. Lauren Ratliff Santoro, is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Texas at Dallas and teaches a course on "fake news". All are welcome to join!
We expect an influx of misinformation and disinformation related to the upcoming elections will occur over the next several months. This is a great opportunity to educate yourself on how to identify false and misleading information.
This event is not sponsored by the Plano Public Library System or the City of Plano.
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Voter Registration Volunteers Needed
LWV-CC VDRs and other volunteers have already been busy, getting voters registered and providing information about the elections, and the pace will definitely pick up soon!
We registered 297 new citizens at June and July naturalization events. If you are interested in helping at future monthly events, contact Janice Schieffer at LWVCollin@gmail.com.
Cindy Thomas arranged tables at two McKinney events in June and August. Volunteers completed 10 voter registrations and talked to dozens of people about the upcoming elections and VOTE411. In addition, we had a lot of fun helping kids vote in mock elections for Best Texas Food and Best Carnival Ride (results posted on Facebook). Bubble wands were a big hit for handouts to the kids, and we now have a supply of VOTE411 pens for adults.
Cindy and other volunteers have visited five senior residences, completing 51 voter registration applications and helping with 121 applications to vote by mail. More visits may be scheduled.
Our fall lineup is getting full with schools and other events, and more will be added soon. Want to volunteer? Click below or log-in on the website and check "Volunteer Signup" under the Members Only tab to see where you can help.
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Lunch with the League - McKinney and Plano
Everyone is welcome at a social lunch with LWV-CC on Friday, September 27, 11:30AM-1:00PM, at Hydeout Cafe, 1751 Eldorado Pkwy, McKinney. Enjoy socializing and discussing issues while maintaining LWV's nonpartisan policy of not supporting or opposing any candidate or political party. Click here to register. If you are a member, please log in to the website before registering.
All are welcome to a social lunch with LWV-CC on Tuesday, September 10, 11:30AM-1:00PM at BJ's Restaurant, 1101 N Central Expy, in Plano. Enjoy socializing and discussing issues while maintaining LWV's nonpartisan policy of not supporting or opposing any candidate or political party. Click here to register. If you are a member, please log in to the website before registering.
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Book Club
All are invited to the League of Women Voters of Collin County Book Club on Wednesday, September 11, 7:00-8:00 pm. We will meet on Zoom to discuss ''Attack from Within: How Disinformation Is Sabotaging America" by Barbara McQuade. We will share our nonpartisan thoughts on the book as well as various discussion questions. Click here to register and receive the Zoom link. If you are a member, log in on the website before registering.
The book club has also decided on the rest of the books that they will be reading this League year. The list is below. See a book you're interested in? Check it out and join us!
November - Let Us Descend by Jesmyn Ward
January - When We Walk By: Forgotten Humanity, Broken Systems, and the Role We Can Each Play in Ending Homelessness in America by Kevin F. Adler and Donald W. Burnes
March - American Idolatry: How Christian Nationalism Betrays the Gospel and Threatens the Church by Andrew L. Whitehead
May - First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston
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Check Your Profile!
The League of Women Voters is moving to a new membership software in early 2025. Please take a minute to log onto the LWV-CC website and check that your contact information is still correct. This information will be transitioned to the new system when we move, and we don't want to lose touch with members!
To check your information, go to LWVCollin.org, click "log in" in the upper right corner, then after logging in, click on your name in the upper right, and finally click "profile" when the box appears. Once you see your profile page, click on "basic member information" to check that your information is correct. If you need to make a change, do so on that screen, then click "Save" at the bottom.
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Volunteers Needed!
LWV-CC has two volunteer roles that need to be filled!
- Vice President of Program: The VP of Program leads the Program Committee to organize presentations on topics that are of member interest. No experience is needed. The VP of Program will also update the board on what the Program Committee is doing.
- Newsletter Editor - The Newsletter Editor sends out a monthly reminder to board members and committee chairs requesting newsletter articles, and copies those articles into our newsletter maker. No experience is needed and training will be provided.
If you are interested in helping us by volunteering for either of those roles, please email Ian Seamans at LWVCollin@gmail.com
| Empowering voters. Defending democracy.
| The League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan 501C3 organization. We do not support or oppose any political party or candidate. We encourage informed and active participation in government, and we influence public policy through education and advocacy.
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