Greetings to League Leaders and Members:
November is an important month for the League and the nation, with the midterm General Election on November 8th. You have the opportunity to vote earlier via vote-by-mail ballots or at early voting locations. This is our opportunity as a nation to exercise our right to vote as a democratic republic. We must never take it for granted.

One hundred ten years ago, Californians passed a suffrage proposition allowing women to vote in California elections. These women joined their already-enfranchised sisters in five other Western states — Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Idaho and Washington — and cast their first ballots. It took another nine years for all American women to get the vote - the 19th Amendment made it illegal for states or the nation to prevent women from voting. This is a precious right that U.S. citizens share. One of the most important things you can do in November is VOTE.

Looking at what our League accomplished in October, we moderated many successful Candidate Forums and Pros & Cons events leading up to the election. The videos for these events and other election resources can be accessed via our website at lwvdv.org. We also made two very successful presentations on Civil Civic Discourse and the challenges of Mis-/Disinformation in October – one to the Tuesday Forum professional women’s networking group and the other to the East Bay Division of the League of California Cities, which includes mayors, city councilpersons, and other elected and appointed officials. The presentations were well received and hopefully will lead to other opportunities for us to share information on these important topics.

Several of our members attended the Certified Election Observer training program offered by the Contra Costa Elections Department and will be on the Election Observer Panel on November 8th. League members will also be working at polling places throughout the county on Election Day.

November is Native American Heritage Month and a time to practice gratitude with family and friends. In December, our League will begin setting up interviews with legislators and start the Program Planning process.
 
We plan to continue our Happy Hour in November and Coffee Hour in December but will provide more details later as the weather is getting colder and the days shorter.

Remember to vote and let’s all pitch in to Make Democracy Work!

Have a restful and enjoyable holiday season,
Anne Granlund, President
Sue Brandy and Janet Hoy, Co-Vice Presidents