LWVSCDE’s “Defending Democracy: Then and Now” mini film fest on March 18 was a huge success, thanks to our distinguished panelists, generous donors, and the amazing coordination and hard work of our small battalion of volunteers. All seats were sold before the event started.

The reception featured fantastic food from both DiFebo’s and Fresh Market, made possible by generous donations. The raffle was very popular, bringing in substantial funds and sending several happy guests home with their prizes.

The films shown were compelling, alternately inspiring and disturbing (one guest referred to a sense of “whiplash”). The screening opened with short bios of early suffragists Ida B. Wells-Barnett and Inez Milholland and their activism for voting—and human—rights. Suppressed and Sabotaged followed that, documenting the alarming spread of politically driven state laws putting up barriers to voting for targeted populations. The message: our work to defend and expand the voting franchise is never done. The final film, Deciding Vote, rang a positive note with its story of assemblyman George Michaels making the difficult decision to vote his conscience in passing the 1970 bill to legalize abortion in New York State.

Panelists Colleen Davis, Jane Gruenebaum, and Helen Chamberlin brought their expertise to a discussion of the films shown and fielded questions from the audience. Predictably, the recent rulings in Delaware striking down early voting and severely limiting absentee voting were brought up. The discussion emphasized the importance of getting out the vote for 2024. Another topic was the need for important legislation to be firmly rooted in the Constitution; restoring those aids to voting access will require a Constitutional amendment.

Article submitted by: Martha Rothenberg