April 7, 2016
Women's City Club

State LWV President Helen Hutchison and Pasadena Neighborhood Leadership Institute (PNLI) member Martin Yuson were the featured speakers for the April League Day.

Hutchison shared a PowerPoint presentation about the many online resources available to both League members and the wider community, including where to find information and new or updated resources for voter service and advocacy. The website provides layers of information about League activities, such as the full version of position statements. The Members Only page provides information on League functions such as study committees, training resources and League operations. Yuson provided preliminary findings from a series of focus groups conducted by PNLI members with students, differently abled residents, and other targeted groups. Questions revolved around why local voter turnout is so low and they were deliberately framed in a neutral manner to elicit the most honest responses. The responses of the PNLI focus group participants were similar to the analysis of LWV as to why people do not vote, such as: "Too busy. Not enough information to make informed choices. Inability to relate proposed legislation to how it will affect one’s daily life. I’m doing OK so don’t see the need to vote. What does local government do for me?"

Hutchison encouraged members to “Vote With the League and vote YES on Proposition 50” in the June7 primary, and gave us a heads-up that the November ballot will be packed with ballot measures needing our attention.

—Monica Hubbard