APRIL 2018 LOCAL VOTER LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS SYRACUSE METROPOLITAN AREA

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1 SYRACUSE METRO LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOT- ERS APRIL 2018 LOCAL VOTER LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS SYRACUSE METROPOLITAN AREA Syracuse Metro LWV PO Box Syracuse NY Phone: (315) Web Sites: Local: State: National: LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS OF THE SYRACUSE METRO AREA ANNUAL BREAKFAST WITH YOUR STATE LEGISLATORS JOIN LEAGUE MEMBERS FROM ACROSS THE STATE TUESDAY, APRIL 24TH LWVNY ADVOCACY/TRAINING DAY NYS MUSEUM ALBANY See page 5 for details INSIDE THIS ISSUE Board Notes...2 News & Notes Calendar March For Our Lives....4 LWV Gun Control Position..4 Advocacy Day.. 5 Election Law Reform Campaign Finance/Ethics Reform...7 Membership Application...8 Coming This Election Season A New Electronic Guide: Ballot Ready Explore Your Ballot. Make Informed Choices Vote To Learn How It Works Go to: Friday, April 20, :45AM 9:30AM Embassy Suites - Destiny USA 311 Hiawatha Blvd. Syracuse Breakfast Buffet $ Come and meet your state legislative representatives - - Learn where they stand on the issues you care about- - Take a chance on our annual basket raffle RESERVATIONS Phone: lwvsyr@gmail.com Mail: PO Box 11862, Syracuse NY Name Address Phone Number of $20.00 Total $ If paying by check, make payable to: LWV Syracuse Metro Area RESERVATIONS MUST BE RECEIVED BY MONDAY, APRIL THE EVENT IS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

2 Welcome New Members Jennifer Blusk Margaret Chestnut Sandra Davis Maguerite Dormer Secretary Treasurer. Leadership Team... Officers Joan Durant Joan Johnson Margrit Diehl Harold Bertram Diane Dwire WEEKLY LEGISLATIVE NEWSLETTER This year the State League has launched a new initiative to help keep members up-to-date on what is going on in Albany. The weekly legislative newsletter includes what s happening at the Capitol, upcoming events surrounding advocacy, weekly legislative agendas and weekly news clips. The newsletter is sent to all members every Friday. If you have not been receiving the newsletter, check your Spam or Junk folders or me at jennifer@lwwny.org. Jennifer Wilson, LWVNYS Legislative Director Education... Membership Directors Publications/Public Relations Voter Service Directors-at-large... Off-Board Positions Budget Director. Membership Data Base... Margrit Diehl Heather Allison Waters Joan Johnson Joan Durant Michele Jones Galvin Charles Gowing Sandra Gowing Ann Jamison Sylvia Matousek Lisa Sacco Lisa Sacco Nominating Committee.. Lisa Alford Ona Bregman Michele Jones Galvin We are using SignUp.com to organize our upcoming Voter Registration events for The events currently listed are the April-December Naturalization Ceremonies. In the near future additional opportunities to register new voters will include high school voter registration dates. Here is how it works in 3 easy steps: 1). Click this link to see our SignUp events: 2). Review the options listed and choose the spot(s) (dates & times) you like. 3). Sign up! It s easy - you will NOT need to register an account or keep a password on SignUp.com. Using your makes it much easier for me. You will not get irrelevant s, only ones applying to this event. We always need volunteers to register new voters. SignUp.com is easy and helpful in organizing these events. More info, contact Joan Durant at joandurant69@gmail.com Thank you, Joan Durant, LWVSYR Voter Service Director Technical Support The League of Women Voters, a nonpartisan political organization encourages the informed and active participation of citizens in government and influences public policy through education and advocacy. For more information please call the League office at (315) or to lwvsyr@gmail.com Diversity Statement The Syracuse Metropolitan League of Women Voters is committed to diversity and pluralism, which means there shall be no barriers to participation in any League activity on the basis of age, race, ethnicity, gender, disability, sexual orientation, religion, economic status, or national origin. Please let us know your address or if your address has changed. It is the most efficient way to communicate. You will be notified of upcoming local events and LWVUS and LWVNY National & State Action Alerts and news. Your address will not be shared or sold. Please respond to lwvsyr@gmail if there has been a change. 2

3 NEWS & NOTES FROM LWVNYS NYS has an on time budget but the League is disappointed that many of the issues we care about are not included in the budget. Early voting and campaign finance & ethics reform were among the issues that were removed from the negotiations. On the brighter side, we still have the opportunity to lobby our legislators at our Legislative Breakfast on April 20 th and again on Lobby Day in Albany on April 24 th. We encourage all members to attend the breakfast and if possible make the trip to Albany. Details on both these events as well as talking points on election law reform and campaign finance and ethics are included in this newsletter. A the LWVNY March Board of Directors meeting it was announced that local leagues across the state have approved concurring with the League of Women Voters of Utah on Death with Dignity. The new position is as follows: The League of Women Voters of Utah believes state laws should grant the option for a terminally ill person to request medical assistance from a relevant, license physician to end one s life. The League of Women Voters believes such l egislation should include safeguards against abuse of the dying and protections for medical personnel who act in good faith compliance with the law. As spring approaches, we are once again preparing to register students. The Parkland Florida School shooting has motivated students and adults across the country to become involved in the political process. We encourage league members to volunteer to help with voter registration events. You can volunteer by using SignUp.com. See page 2 for details on how to sign up or contact Voter Service Director, Joan Durant by at joandurant69@gmail.com to participate in voter registrations activities. We invite you to attend our May 2nd First Wednesday Lunch Meeting at Tony s Restaurant, 3004 Burnet Av, Syracuse. This is a great opportunity to learn about the League. We order off the menu. Reservations by April 29th via at lwvsyr@gmail or give us a call at A final note- I recently visited the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, TN, a moving experience. As we note the 50th anniversary of the shooting of Martin Luther King Jr., we are reminded of the ongoing struggle for civil rights for all people around the globe. Joan Johnson, LWVSYR Co-leader CALENDAR April 4, th Anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. April 20th Annual Legislative Breakfast 7:45-9:30am Embassy Suites at Destiny Hiawatha Blvd. Syracuse Tuesday, April 24th 10:00am - 3:00pm Wednesday, May 2nd 1:00PM Thursday, June 14th 5PM June 28th - July 1st Advocacy Training/Lobby Day (see page 6 for details) NYS Museum, Albany First Wednesday Lunch Tony s Restaurant, 3004 Burnet Av. Syracuse Annual Meeting & Dinner Justin s Tuscan Grill, East Syracuse LWVUS Convention, Chicago IL 3

4 2018 March For Our Lives On Saturday March 24th, the Syracuse Metro LWV was represented at the March For Our Lives event in Syracuse. Heather Allison Waters and Roberta and Dan Millert manned our booth offering voter registration services to the attendees. The march originated at the Everson Museum and conclude with multiple speeches at the Federal Building Plaza. The organizing students eloquently shared their views on school safety and desired gun control legislation. They also encouraged everyone to VOTE. Over 1,000 individuals participated in the event. Heather Allison Waters marching with the crowd Dan Millert with a new voter LEAGUE POSITION ON GUN CONTROL LWVSYR Annual Meeting & Dinner Justin s Tuscan Grill 6400 Yorktown Circle East Syracuse NY Thursday, June 14, :00 PM The League of Women Voters of the United States believes that the proliferation of handgun and semi-automatic assault weapons in the United States is a major health and safety threat to its citizens. The League supports strong federal measures to limit the accessibility and regulate the ownership of these weapons by private citizens. The League supports regulating firearms for consumer safety. The League supports licensing procedures for gun ownership by private citizens to include a waiting period for background checks, personal identity verification, gun safety education and annual license renewal. The license fee should be adequate to bear the cost of education and verification. The League supports a ban on Saturday night specials, enforcement of strict penalties for the improper possession of and crimes committed with handguns and assault weapons, and allocation of resources to better regulate and monitor gun dealers. LWV Impact on Issues,

5 League of Women Voters of New York State Advocacy Training/Lobby Day Come learn about our advocacy agenda, hear directly from the Issue Specialists about our expected action for the 2018 Legislative Session and lobby your own legislators! You will also have the opportunity to view the Votes for Women Display marking the 100 th anniversary of women suffrage in NYS. April 24, :00 am 3:00 pm NYS Museum- Meeting Rms. A & B Presenters will include: Dare Thompson, LWVNYS President Sally Robinson, LWVNYS VP for Advocacy Jennifer Wilson, LWVNYS Director of Program and Policy Registration fee: $20 (includes lunch) To attend please complete the registration form below and return it with your registration fee BY APRIL 13, 2018 Registration Info: Name Address Phone: League City, State, Zip: Please make appointments with my legislators for me My Legislators are: Senator Name District# Assemblymember Name District# Payment: Cred t Card Check (made out to LWVNYS) Card Number: Exp Date: / Zip Code: Cardholder Name: Signature: Mail Reservation to LWVNYS, 62 Grand Street, Albany NY

6 Election Law Reform Issue Description Bill Numbers Early Voting The League supports enacting early voting in New York State. Currently 37 states allow for some form of early voting. Early voting should be implemented in a manner that will allow equivalent access to the polls for all voters. Voter Registration The League supports Election Day registration, on the same day, as a proven method of increasing voter participation. The League supports reducing the voter registration deadline to 10 days before an election. The League supports pre-registration of 16 and 17 year olds. Automatic Voter Registration Currently 10 states and DC have automatic voter registration (AVR) The League supports an opt-in AVR system that would not require voters to duplicate information. The League supports all state agencies participating in an AVR program. No-Excuse Absentee The League supports a constitutional amendment to allow for no-excuse absentee voting. Currently 27 states and the District of Columbia allow for no-excuse absentee voting. Ballot Design The League supports improvements to ballot design that would have a clear delineation between offices with a bold vertical bar between offices and a fine line between the candidates, a larger font with an absolute minimum size, and fill-in circles in black instead of gray. Single June Primary The League supports legislation that would create a single combined congressional and state June primary date and would bring New York State into compliance with the Military Overseas Voter Empowerment (MOVE) Act. Electronic Poll Books The League strongly supports replacing printed poll books with electronic poll books to eliminate time and resources spent producing paper poll books and updating voter information, and to speed up processing voters at the polls on Election Day. S.7400A (Kavanagh) Relates to establishing early voting and the New York state early voting fund A.9609 (Lavine) / S.1661 (Carlucci) Allows for pre-registration of 16 and 17 year olds. S.2478A (Gianaris) Amends Constitution to remove requirement of registering to vote 10 days before an election. S.3304A (Gianaris) Enacts the "voter empowerment act of New York" to streamline the process for registering to vote. Allows state agencies to automatically register voters. A.7623 (Vanel) / S.0840 (Comrie) Amends the State Constitution to authorize ballot by mail by removing cause for absentee ballot voting. S.1512 (Avella) Creates the Voter Friendly Ballot Act which would create a ballot layout that is easy for voters to read and use. A.9925 (Lavine)/ S.3562 (Stewart- Cousins) Allows for the consolidation of state and congressional primaries to create a single June primary. A.5547 (Cusick)/S.2788 (Akshar) Authorizes counties to employ computer generated registration lists; updates the list of supplies to be delivered to poll sites. 6

7 . Campaign Finance and Ethics Reforms Ban Pay to Play. Strict pay to play restrictions on state vendors. The U.S. Attorney s charges that $800 million in state contracts were rigged to benefit campaign contributors to the governor underscores the need to strictly limit contributions from those seeking state contracts. Close LLC Loophole. Ban unlimited campaign contributions via Limited Liability Companies. LLCs have been at the heart of some of Albany s largest scandals. A.6808 (Galef)/ S.6306 (Avella) An act to amend the public officers law, in relation to prohibiting members of the legislature from obtaining funding and providing such funds to any business entity or not-for-profit entities in which such officials, members, domestic partners or certain relatives hold official or legal positions. A.9758A (Simon) / S (Kavanagh) An act to amend the election law, in relation to political contributions Strict Limits on Outside Income. Real limits on the outside income for legislators and the executive branch. Moonlighting by top legislative leaders and top members of the executive branch has triggered indictments by the federal prosecutors. A.5831 (Santabarbara) Relates to prohibiting outside income for members of the legislature in excess of fifteen percent of gross annual salary. Create a Database of Deals. A Database of Deals will list all state economic development benefits, including grants, loans or tax abatements awarded to a particular business or organization. The Database of Deals will also include the cost to taxpayers of each job created, and create a uniform definition of what a job is across subsidy programs including full-time, part-time, permanent, and contract jobs. A.8175(Schimminger) Relates to the creation of a searchable database; requires the Urban Development Corporation to create or modify an existing searchable database including information on qualified participants receiving state economic development benefits. RESTORING THE PUBLIC TRUST During this legislative session New Yorkers have been confronted by headlines from more than a half dozen high profile corruption trials. Former top aides in the executive branch and the Upstate bid-rigging scandal started the process. At the same time there will be the retrials of the former leaders of both the Assembly and Senate. The League of Women Voters along with other good government groups have long advocated for reform. 7

8 LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS SYRACUSE METROPOLITAN AREA PO BOX SYRACUSE NY April 2018 Join us for our First Wednesday Lunch May 2nd 12:30pm Tony s Restaurant 304 Burnet Av. All are welcome MAKING DEMOCRACY WORK IN NEW YORK SINCE 1919 Individual Member $55.00 Household* $80.00 Student** $25.00 Name Address City State Zip Phone (H) (C) Date To join call us at (315) , us at lwvsyr@gmail.com or mail this form to Syracuse Metro LWV, PO Box 11862, Syracuse NY ANNUAL DUES July 1, 2017-June 30, 2018 * Two members in the same household ** Full time student under 25 Please share this information with others who have expressed interest in our work or who 8 have thought about becoming a member of the League..