LWVODC and LWVNC have hosted informational sessions featuring highly respected experts -- including judges, university faculty,  and elected officials, among others -- on a wide range of topics. Most of these are available on our YouTube channel. Browse the titles below to find topics of interest.

2024

• 2024-05-14: LWVNC Statewide Briefing & Dialogue on Citizen Initiative - Citizen initiatives (CI) give voters a powerful “direct democracy” tool, enabling them to collect signatures and put a proposed law or constitutional amendment directly on the ballot for state voters to consider. About half of states have some form of CI; North Carolina does not. The LWVNC Board authorized a study which is currently underway. The CI Study Group received input in the virtual small- group sessions from League members from across the state. Watch the YouTube Video.
• 2024-03-20: Today’s Challenges and Victories for Educators and Staff - Guest speaker Rani Dasi, a member of the Chapel Hill Carrboro Board of Education, discussed her background, her experiences on the CHCCS Board, and her take on today's challenges and victories for educators and staff. Watch the YouTube video.
• 2024-06-06: NC State & Local Tax Policy Webinar Series, Session 5 - Working toward Member Agreement - Members worked toward member agreement on a revised LWVNC tax policy statement for submission to the LWVNC Board for review and approval. The revision to the LWVNC tax policy position was approved by the state board. See State and Local Tax Policy Committee information.
•  2024-05-09: NC State & Local Tax Policy Webinar Series, Session 4 - Navigating Tax Policies: Insights from Three State League of Women Voters - Representatives from SC, VA, and TN State Leagues discussed their respective state tax-policy positions and how successful their advocacy has been. Watch the YouTube video.
• 2024-04-04: NC State & Local Tax Policy Webinar Series, Session 3 - Benefits and Drawbacks of Lower Corporate Taxes - A panel discussion with representataives from the Economic Development Partnershihp of NC, Clemson University, and the NC Budget & Tax Center was moderated by Deborah Goldstein, Executive Director, NC Leadership Forum, Duke University. Watch the YouTube video.
• 2024-02-20: NC State & Local Tax Policy Webinar Series, Session 2 - NC State & Local Tax Policy Equity - Ken Klase, LWV member, provided information on the types of state and local taxation – plus, their pros, cons, and equity issues. View the slides. Watch the YouTube video. Also: Questions for Dr. Klase (PDF; supplement to video).
• 2024-01-23: NC State & Local Tax Policy Webinar Series, Session 1 - Drivers, Influencers & Impact - The first in a series of monthly sessions sponsored by the LWVNC State and Local Tax Policy Committee to work to member agreement on a revised LWVNC tax policy position. Watch the YouTube video.

To Top of Page

2023

• 2023-12-13: Citizen Initiatives: The Path Forward to Reforming Redistricting - LWVODC's Jennifer Bremer and Ellen Reckhow will lead a statewide league study, reporting to LWVNC board member Sandra Mowell. The study will examine League positions in other states with the aim of identifying position(s) that we can adopt by concurrence, enabling us to add Citizens Initiative and Referendum (CIR) to our statewide program at next year's convention. If approved, CIR would be added to our LWV statewide action program. Watch the YouTube video. For background, see 2023-05-04 event below.
• 2023-11-01: Redistricting and the Impacts of New State Maps - Rep. Robert Reives, the Minority Leader in the state House of Representatives, shared his insights on redistricting and the impacts of new state maps for Congress and the state senate and state house. The new maps will go into effect for the upcoming election in 2024. Reives represents Chatham County, a portion of Randolph County, and serves on the House Redistricting Committee. Watch the YouTube video.
• 2023-10-11: Voting Changes Under Consideration by the NC General Assembly - Representative Marcia Morey discussed the impact of extensive new voting changes in Senate Bill 747 and Senate Bill 749 that would go into effect January 1, 2024. The provisions in these bills will greatly impact how elections are administered in NC both at the state and county levels. Watch the YouTube video.
• 2023-05-04: Do We Need the Power of Citizen's Initiatives? - Citizens' initiatives may be used to amend the constitution, repeal or amend an existing law, or adopt (or require the legislature to adopt) an entirely new law. This mechanism involves collecting signatures to put a proposed reform on the ballot without going through the legislature. It is currently not an option in North Carolina. Presented by Dr. Asher Hildebrand, Associate Professor of the Practice, Sanford School of Public Policy, Duke University. Watch the YouTube video. Students in the Master of Public Policy Program at Duke University authored Investigating Citizen Initiative Process for North Carolina Voters, for the league and recommends components for designing a citizen initiative process that could empower North Carolina voters. 
• 2023-04-19: How the Court System Works - We heard from our three distinguished judges representing Chatham and Orange Counties' Superior Court and District Court, and Durham County Superior Court. Judges discussed the basics of the court system, how cases come to them, how changing laws affect cases, obstacles to obtaining justice, and what happens once a ruling is handed down. Watch the YouTube video.
• 2023-01-05: The Electoral College and Your Vote - The President of the Asheville-Buncombe County League of Women Voters and leader of the National Popular Vote Action Team, Suzanne Fisher Ph.D, discussed and explored how using the popular vote affects the US presidential elections. She compared the merits of the Electoral College to direct election through popular vote for the President. Watch the YouTube video. 

To Top of Page

 2022

• 2022-11-02: LWVODC Special Happy Hour & Hot Topics - What Happens After You Vote? - Participants viewed and discussed the LWVNC video What Happens After You Vote in North Carolina. The objective of the video – as well as other videos in LWVNC YouTube playlist, Counting North Carolina's Votes – is to help citizens feel confident in the election process and to counter messaging that causes voters to doubt the integrity of the elections process.
• 2022-09-21: Voting in NC & Vote411 - Krishna Mondal, ODC Voter Services Chair, discused current NC voting procedures, laws, apps and the details about the LWV-sponsored tool vote411.org. Watch the YouTube video.
• 2022-09-15: LWVODC Celebrates Its 75th Anniversary! - LWVODC’s celebrated its long history of accomplishments and renewed its commitment to the League’s mission of "Empowering Voters and Defending Democracy." Guest speaker Deborah Ann Turner, MD, JD, is currently serving as the 20th President of the LWVUS. Watch the YouTube video.
• 2022-08-17: Post-Roe Roadmap: Where Do We Go from Here? - Jillian Riley, NC Director, Public Affairs for Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, provided an update on what is happening now with abortion in NC and the impacts on providers, such as Planned Parenthood. Watch the YouTube video.
• 2022-05-18: Why We Can’t Just Get Along: The Partisan Divide in a Period of Intense Polarization - Dr. Marc Hetherington, Raymond Dawson Distinguished Bicentennial Professor of Political Science at UNC, was the guest speaker. He provided insight as to why Americans could not unite when faced with a pandemic and shared ways that we can work together to overcome our differences. Read Dr. Hetherington's CV (PDF). Watch the YouTube video.
• 2022-04-27: A View From the Top: Local Superintendents Discuss School Budgets & Resources - LWVODC's Public Education Action Team hosted a virtual panel discussion with superintendents representing local district PK-12 public schools from Chapel Hill-Carrboro, Chatham County, Durham, and Orange County. They discussed how school budgets are created and approved, and how spending is connected to educational quality and equity. Watch the YouTube video.
• 2022-03: Our Rights, Our Democracy - A Two-Part Series on Reproductive Rights and the Supreme Court
• 03-29: Women’s Health and Reproductive Rights - Speaker Rebecca Kreitzer, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Public Policy at UNC-Chapel Hill provided a history of the legal struggles regarding reproductive rights, statistics on current views, the impacts on women of different socioeconomic backgrounds, and more. Watch the YouTube video.
• 03-31: The Supreme Court - Whitney Manzo, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Political Science at Meredith College presented a history and in-depth look at the US Supreme Court, including how the Supreme Court was given the right to determine the constitutionality of cases and whether or not politics is a recent phenomenon with regard to the Court. Watch the YouTube video. 
• 2022-02-22: Let’s Talk Civics: Get to Know your Local Government - Mayor Elaine O'Neal of Durham, Mayor Jenn Weaver of Hillsborough, and Mayor Cindy Perry of Pittsboro spoke about local government, decision-making, funding resources, citizen involvement, and more. Watch the YouTube video.  
• 2022-02-16: Helping First Offenders Find an Alternative to Jail and Police Record - Caitlin Fenegan, Director, Orange County Criminal Justice Resource Department, discussed the mission of the department to safely reduce unnecessary pretrial incarcerations, increase jail alternative and diversion opportunities, and reduce the number of behavioral health issues for individuals involved in the Orange County criminal justice system, and much more. Watch the YourTube video.
• 2022-02-10: Voting in Chatham County - The Chatham County Board of Elections' staff discussed how the department operates, the challenges they face, and how they provide complete information on voting in the county. View the slides. Watch the YouTube video. 

2021

See Learning Center: 2021 Events (PDF).