VOTER NEWSLETTER
Vol. 64, No. 2 September 2024 Editor: Virginia Marsh
| | Inside this Issue
- Social Event at The Venezuelan Restaurant
- Election Protection Participation
- County Website Review
- Program on Misinformation
- NTX Giving Day
- Instagram Contest - Details soon!
- League's Work to Register all Eligible Voters
- More Registration Events
- "Get on Board" with the City of Richardson
- CHIP
- Obituary: Joan Pask
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Key Dates in September 2024
- Sept 12 Social Event at 6:30 p.m.
- Sept 17 National Voter Registration Day
- Sept 19 NorthTexas Giving Day
- Sept 21 CHIP
- Sept 21 Asian Festival in Chinatown, Voter Registration 11 a.m. - 2 p.m.
- Sept 25 Health Informaiton & Wellness Fair at Richardson Senior Center, Voter Registration 10 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.
- Sept 26 Instagram Contest
- Sept 30 Boards/Commissions Open House at 6 p.m.
- Oct 7 Last Day to Register to vote in the Nov 5 Election
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Social: September 12, 2024
| One of the best ways to get acquainted with other members of the League is to join us for our socials. We have planned six socials at various restaurants in our community for the 2024-25 League year.
Our first social is going to be on Thursday, September 12, 2024, at a brand new female-owned and operated restaurant
1403 E. Campbell Road
Richardson, TX 75081
6:30pm
Come enjoy the wonderful flavors of authentic Venezuelan food, as well as conversation with your fellow League members.
Hope you can join us. |
Election Protection Participation
| From LWVTexas:
This year, the League is again a nonpartisan Election Protection coalition partner. The coalition ensures that all Texas voters have an equal opportunity to vote, primarily through the 866-OUR-VOTE hotline and by recruiting, training, and deploying nonpartisan Poll Monitors.
Election Protection training will be held throughout October on Tuesday evenings, Thursdays at noon, or late Saturday mornings. Sign up for Poll Monitoring Training via the LWV Mobilize link here.
Election Protection swag, including yard signs, hotline stickers, and postcards, will be available to distribute at tabling events. Social media toolkits will be shared in early September. For more information, email Marilyn Minnaar: mminaar@lwvtexas.org |
Please Volunteer to Help Review Texas County Election Websites
| From LWVTexas:
Calling for volunteers!
LWVTexas will once again review all 254 county election websites leading up to the 2024 General Election to ensure that counties are providing the information their voters need. Counties greatly appreciate this service and take great pride in their ratings.
Volunteers are needed to review the websites beginning in early October; training will be provided in September.
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Upcoming Program on Misinformation
| The League of Women Voters of Collin County is pleased to present a public forum on September 30, 2024, 6:30PM at Haggard Library in Plano on media literacy and how to identify misinformation and disinformation. Our presenter, Dr. Lauren Ratliff Santoro, is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Texas at Dallas and teaches a course on "fake news". All are welcome to join!
We expect an influx of misinformation and disinformation related to the upcoming elections will occur over the next several months. This is a great opportunity to educate yourself on how to identify false and misleading information.
This event is not sponsored by the Plano Public Library System or the City of Plano. | |
Note: This is the same presentation that LWVRichardson sponsored on March 28, 2024.
If you missed Dr. Santoro's presentation then, you can hear it now! | | |
North Texas Giving Day
September 19
| We are thrilled to be able to participate in the North Texas Giving Day event this year. Mark your calendars now for Thursday, September 19. Click on the link below to go directly to our NTX Giving page to make donations.
| North Texas Giving Day’s goal is to be supportive of nonprofits across the entire DFW region. Our organization depends on donations from members and friends in order to further our goals of empowering voters and defending democracy. Please visit the website above, our Facebook page, and our LWVRichardson website for more information in the coming weeks.
Early giving begins September 1 so you can get an early start on your gift-giving to LWV-Richardson. And please share this information with your family and friends for their opportunity to help support our goals.
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Instagram Contest - Details soon!
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The League's Work to Register all Eligible Voters
| Turning up the volume!
There has been a lot of noise about the upcoming November Elections. The last day to register to vote in Texas in the November 5 election is October 7. This has brought a lot of interest and we have been ready. August has brought us many opportunities to register voters and engage with them about voting. In the last presidential election of 2020, the Secretary of State of Texas reported that the Dallas County rate of voting among registered voters was above 65 percent. In Collin County it was reportedly almost 75%. In both counties, the majority of those voters utilized early voting.
This information tells us that the work we have been doing to register voters and to inform them about voting is both valuable and essential. This year is another high interest voting year and people are wanting to get registered and know about voting.
Last month LWV Richardson voter registration had successful drives at St. Barnabas’ Immunization Clinic, RISD’s staff training conference, back to school events at Berkner and Richardson High Schools, the Richardson ISD Council of PTAs Annual Vendor Fair, and Cityline’s Boho Market. Voter Registration cards were provided to Simply Grace’s residential homes and to various schools to distribute. We have had new volunteers help out and had new folks become interested in membership. Both the volume of registration events and the number of people we have been engaging have been increasing!
In each of these encounters we helped participants verify their registrations with the Secretary of State and provided non-partisan information about the voting process. Consistently, even among registered voters, we have been able to impart information and hear how much they appreciate the work that LWV Richardson is doing.
In September we will be partnering with City of Richardson and the National Voter Registration Day organization to hold registration events on September 17 at:
Huffhines Recreations Center,
Heights Recreation Center, and
The Richardson Senior Center.
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More Voter Registration Events
| We will also register folks on September 13 at the Cityline Boho Market, on September 21 at the Asian Festival, on September 21 at the Senior Health and Wellness Fair, and at the Math Science and Technology PTA Meeting on the 28th.
All of this is in addition to the Campus efforts at UTD by Cathy Murphree and her team as well as the efforts at the USCIS Naturalization Ceremonies.
Arrangements are in the works to speak to high school senior level economics and social studies classes as well. The end of the month begins our Instagram contest which will engage all RISD high schools.
Needless to say, we are busy!
If you are interested in helping out in any capacity, please contact
It is not necessary to be a Volunteer Deputy Registrar to assist.
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"Get On Board" with the City of Richardson
| From the City of Richardson: “Get On Board” Applications Now Open
The annual application period for the City’s boards and commissions opened this week and continues through Sept. 30. Community members wishing to serve on one of the 11 boards and commissions may apply online; the applications are kept on file for two years. As vacancies occur on the various boards/commissions, the applications on file are reviewed by the City Council and an interview may be scheduled. Appointments are made at City Council meetings and applicants will be notified in advance by City staff.
Boards/Commissions include:
-
Animal Services Advisory Commission
- Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee
- City Plan Commission
Civil Services Board
- Community Inclusion and Engagement Commission
- Cultural Arts Commission
- Library Board
- Parks and Recreation Commission
- Sign Control Board
- TIF Board
- Zoning Board of Adjustment/ Building and Standards Commission
A boards/commissions open house event is scheduled for 6 p.m. Sept. 30 at Richardson City Hall, where potential applicants can interact with City Council members and City staff and ask questions.
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Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP)
and
Medicaid for Children
| The League of Women Voters of Richardson has supported efforts that encourage families to obtain health insurance for their children and the economic security that coverage provides for at least 17 years.
The Richardson ISD Council of PTAs is our essential link to publicize events to our families. The Richardson ISD nursing staff enthusiastically encourages these efforts and invites families to participate. Events are hosted at St. Barnabas Presbyterian Church, Richardson, TX and at the individual campuses of RISD when we are invited to participate in health fairs, parent forums, PTA meetings and other events. During the August Health Fair at St. Barnabas, 21 families signed up to apply on-line and 14 other attendees received other information about health fair options.
Some families have great difficulty understanding what information is requested and need help to complete the form. Bilingual outreach specialists from the Community Council of Greater Dallas assist us with our Vietnamese- and Spanish-speaking families and advise families on many of the details of the application process.
Thank you for your support for CHIP and Children’s Medicaid. With your help we look forward to continuing a successful outreach. Please contact me to volunteer or for more information. Children must be citizens or legal residents and under the age of 19 to obtain benefits. Benefits include doctor visits, vaccinations, dentist visits, eye exams and glasses, hospital care and services and prescription drugs and more.
The following CHIP/Children’s Medicaid application help sessions are from 9 am to noon at St. Barnabas Presbyterian Church, 1220 W. Belt Line Road, Richardson, TX 75080:
Sept. 21, 2024
Oct. 26, 2024
Nov. 16, 2024
Jan. 18, 2025
Feb. 22, 2025
March 29, 2025
April 26, 2025
Texas leads the nation in uninsured children (11% versus 5% for USA) and Dallas County is second only to Harris County in the number of uninsured children. Of about 38,000 children in Dallas County, half are estimated to be eligible for benefits. Federal cuts to outreach and enrollment assistance have deterred parents from enrolling their children.
If you have the time and interest, I encourage you to participate in these efforts. Thank you.
Martha Dorris
Home phone: 972-690-4908
Cell phone: 214-793-4712 (text, please)
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Obituary: Joan Pask (1932 - 2024)
| In the August VOTER Newsletter, we reported that long-time League of Women Voters of Richardson member Joan Pask passed away on Sunday, July 21, 2024. See her obituary here. | | | | Donate
The League of Women Voters of Richardson relies solely on contributions made by local community residents and businesses. | | | | Join Us
Would you like to help provide election information, register voters, or influence public policy?
You are welcome to email our Membership chair at membership@lwvrichardson.org
if you need assistance with joining.
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