This piece was originally published in VTDigger.

This commentary is by Dottye Ricks of Barre Town, a Reproductive Liberty Amendment liaison for the League of Women Voters, of which she’s been a member for more than 30 years. She is a retired public school and university teacher, an elder in the First Presbyterian Church of Barre and a longtime member of the gleaning service group Community Harvest of Central Vermont. 

Congress has been considering legislation to update how votes are counted and cast by the Electoral College throughout 2022.  

Current bipartisan proposals would clarify existing ambiguities in the legislation around the role of the Vice President and the certification of electors and offer transparency around how electors are appointed. 

This profile was originally published in Defender.

For Annie Benifield, voting is in her blood. Her father was a first generation born out of slavery African American, who lived to be 90 years old and never missed an opportunity to vote once he was given the right. Her father passed in 2004, but his dedication has served as fuel to her fire to make voting a priority in her life.

Now, as the first woman of color to lead the League of Women Voters of Houston, Benifield works overtime to get as many people as possible to the polls.