by Shawn Gilbert, LWVDV Voter Services Co-Chair

November was a fairly quiet month for Voter Services, but we showed up in force at the Diablo Valley College Journalism Expo on the 12/14/23.  This was a great event with many young people from high school to college level attending.  Five League members enjoyed speaking with young people about voting and registering to vote.

Voter Services leaders and Contra Costa TV staff met twice during December to sketch out a plan for the first election event of the new year: Candidate Roundtables. Candidates were first sent a “Save the Date” email followed by a formal letter of invitation.  Roundtables are scheduled for Friday, January 12 starting at 9 am and continuing through the day. Volunteers are needed as timers for the roundtables, as well as a volunteer to pick up and deliver lunch for participants that day. Email voter.services [at] lwvdv.org to sign up for timer slots or the lunch pickup.

Coming up on Tuesday, January 16 is an important moderator training session. It will be held at the Walnut Creek Library, 1644 North Broadway, from 7:00-8:00 pm. If you are interested in being a moderator, please contact voter.services [at] lwvdv.org and plan to attend. Candidate Forums are key events in helping voters prepare for the upcoming primary and general elections, and moderators are key for our forums!

As someone who likes to navigate the National Constitution Center’s internet site, I recently came across this short 5 minute clip, Constitution 101: Why Have Civil Dialogue?  This information is quite timely with everything happening currently.  The most relevant quote, as I anticipate the upcoming election year, is: “Having civil conversations is central to the discovery and spread of political truth and also, to the rights and responsibilities of self-government.” I invite you to view the clip.