UPCOMING
LWVLC Fall Meeting: Focus on Election Integrity
Impact of Mis- and Disinformation on U.S. Elections
Membership News
Voter Services Team Meeting
Ballot Issues Presentation Training
October General Meeting: Ballot Issues
Informed Citizen Book Club
CSU Conversation with Secretary John F. Kelly
RECENT
Women's Equality Day Event - Thank You!
Seven Area Women's Equality Day Proclamations
LWVLC Participates in City of Loveland Event
NOW YOU KNOW
National Recognition of LWVLC News Literacy Resources
Rumors Report: Train Your Misinformation Antennas!
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Hi Wonderful Larimer League Members,
Can you think of anything more important than trusting our elections to be fair and accurate? As League members, we really need to be able to answer friends' and neighbors' questions about this! So we found a true expert for you. Bring your friends to our Election Integrity: Empowering Voters, Defending Democracy meeting.
Please register right now! |
Our Colorado elections were called into question in 2006, voting machines were decertified. Our speaker, Neal McBurnett has been helping to improve election integrity since 2002. Using his ElectionAudits software, Boulder pioneered the Risk-Limiting Audit in 2010. He was there, but he hasn't stopped. Neal now works in many other parts of the U.S. to improve election integrity. He will tell us what makes Colorado's election systems so respected already, and what's next for improving them even further.
This meeting is open to the public, free, and also available on Zoom. If I were you, I'd plan on showing up for this one in person. There will be plenty of opportunities to do something!
| | | This meeting is our Fall League meeting (formerly Back to League Night). A number of teams will have tables where you can sign up to get more information. Our Membership Team will be taking orders for permanent name tags for those who want them. Our Voter Services Team Leader, Heather Sulgrove, will give you a brief update on opportunities to help with forums and get-out-the-vote efforts. And more!
Thanks to all who organized and attended the Women's Equality Day celebration. It was an outstanding success! We will have a quick update from Trish Warner.
Check the calendar on our website for many more ways to do something: like postcard-writing parties to get out the vote, helping with a candidate or ballot measure forum, registering voters at the Farmers' Market and schools, and on and on. I personally love the informed Citizen's Book Club.
We are looking for a tech-savvy volunteer to help with setting up for our meetings. Is that you? It is a job that won't take a ton of time.
Finally, any of you know how to use Quickbooks and love working with numbers? We are hunting for a new Treasurer. Our wonderful Jupe Herrick will be retiring from this job come June 2025. He is a great trainer, so he can show you the ropes. Let me know if you are interested.
Yours in League,
Pat Burger
| | League-Wide News and Events | Thank You!
The Women's Equality Day Planning Team sends a huge thank you to our members for contributing to the success of our Celebration at the Sweet Heart Winery on August 22nd. There were approximately 120 guests attending!
The Virtual Silent Auction was a success, thanks to the donations from teams, individual League members, and area businesses. The goal for the evening was to raise $10,000 and when the final numbers are run, we will have exceeded our goal!
We were honored that Dr. Marion Underwood, CSU Provost/Executive Vice President, shared remarks around democracy and the work women continue doing to level the playing field. Joy Sullivan, CEO of United Way of Larimer County, Gretchen Haley, Senior Minister at Foothills Unitarian Church, and our own Beth DeHaven were honored for their work in our community!
Check out the photos of the evening taken by Diana Sheek-Greer on the League website! You'll find them HERE.
|  | | Several Larimer County officials celebrated with us at the WED event on August 22nd. Take a close look. Can you make out what's on Commissioner Stephens' shoes? V O T E! | Your League at work in Colorado, 1960 | Membership News
Membership Renewal Time
September is when most members renew their membership and we appreciate the many members who already have done so!
The bulk of our local operating funds come from membership dues and this year our dues remain the same: $70 for individuals and $105 for households (2-3 members). Students (individuals enrolled as either full- or part-time with an accredited institution) and our Honorary Members (those who've been members over 50 years) pay no dues. Membership grants are available for active members experiencing financial challenges: find the application form in the online renewal process. Sustaining-level memberships generate more money which stays at our local level, so consider renewing at this level.
Log into your account on the website to start the renewal process. It's straightforward to update your Contact Information and renew/revise your interests. At the end of the renewal process, you will have the option of paying by secure credit-card transaction or printing an invoice and mailing a check. Checks may also be brought to our Fall League Night on September 9.
If you have questions about the membership process or your account, please contact me at membership@lwv-larimercounty.org. Working together we make a difference in our community!
Linda Mahan
Chair, Membership Team
| Member Directory
Each month our online Member Directory is updated. It can be found under the Member Resources tab "Find a Member."
A Print Directory will also be available in October and will list all active members as of October 1.
| A 1990 LWV Get-Out-the-Vote campaign. | Voter Services Team Meeting
Saturday, September 7, 9:30 - 11:30 AM
Timnath Town Center
4750 Signal Tree Dr, Timnath
Team Voter Services is hard at work preparing to educate and empower voters for the November 5th election. There are so many opportunities to get involved right now, including:
- Volunteering at a Candidate Forum
- Volunteering to present or support at a Ballot Issue talk
- Helping to deliver Ballot Issues pamphlets around the community
- Volunteering to help register voters
- Attending a postcard-signing party
Everyone is welcome to join us at our September 7th meeting or contact Heather Sulgrove to get involved and make a difference!
| Voter Registration
It's that time of year again and a presidential election! You can feel the energy in the air. With Automatic Voter Registration in its 4th year, many people are already registered, but are they voting? With our volunteers fanning out across the county at voter registration events, we are doing much more than registering people. We are reminding them to vote and giving them the nonpartisan resources needed to feel prepared to vote -- like Vote411.org or ballot issue pamphlets. Help us Get Out the Vote (GOTV) by signing up for registration events when you receive an email calling for volunteers.
| Ballot Issue Presenter Training
Saturday, September 14, 9:30 - 11:30 AM
Harmony Library
4616 S Shields St, Fort Collins, CO 80526
This election season is going to be a busy one for Ballot Issues presentations throughout Larimer County. We currently have twelve presentations scheduled for the last week of September through the first three weeks of October. Some will be to groups of about 25 or so and others to smaller groups. We need both presenters and support people. Please consider joining us on September 14th for a Ballot Issues Presenter Training to get involved with this important work of helping the community understand the issues on their ballots.
| Mark Your Calendars for the October General Meeting!
Monday, October 7, 7:00 - 9:00 PM
Foothills Unitarian Church
1815 Yorktown Ave, Fort Collins, CO 80526
Currently, there are twelve issues on the Colorado ballot for the November 5 election. On Monday, October 7, the Voter Services Team will be presenting background information on these issues. Please join us as we will present the issues and answer your questions. The meeting is open to the public, so invite your friends and neighbors.
| Informed Citizen Book Club
Meetings on the Second Wednesday every month, morning and evening sessions.
10:30 AM - 12:00 PM: In-person meeting
7:00 - 8:30 PM: Zoom meeting
Morning attendees will meet at The Highland Meadows Grill (formerly Raff's Tavern), 6300 Highland Meadows Parkway, Windsor, CO, or at a member's home.
Please join us for a lively discussion of our September book on September 11, 2024. Our book is Our Migrant Souls: A Meditation on Race and the Meanings and Myths of "Latino" by Hector Tobar.
Upcoming Books:
October
Walk the Walk: How Three Police Chiefs Defied
the Odds and Changed Cop Culture by Neil Gross
November
Young and the Restless: The Girls Who Sparked
America's Revolutions by Mattie Kahn
Please join us on the second Wednesday of each month!
| South Larimer Discussion Group
The South Larimer Discussion Group will not be meeting in September, but have no fear! We are working hard and will be back in October with a Ballot Issues Presentation, time and location to be determined. Information will be available later in September.
| Take a Bow, News Access and Literacy Team!
The National Institute for Civil Discourse (NICD), which partners with the LWV, recently highlighted news literacy resources that LWV-Larimer County makes available on its website.
In its August 24, 2024 newsletter, the NICD named several Leagues distinguishing themselves by the work they do and resources they provide to the public. Under the heading Making a Difference: Coast to Coast, the newsletter notes: "LWV Larimer County has multiple resources. podcasts and webinars devoted to news literacy to bring awareness to the necessity of being wise information consumers."
The cited resources were compiled by LWV-Colorado's News Access & Literacy Task Force, which is led by Larimer Leaguer Linda Hutchinson. Linda maintains the webpage that contains the resources. Thank you, Linda!
Check out those resources Linda and her Task Force have assembled for us and tell your friends and family members where they can find them!
|  | Rumors Report: Primary Elections 2024
August 20, 2024
Overview
The Algorithmic Transparency Institute, a project of the National Conference on Citizenship, is partnering with the League of Women Voters during the 2024 U.S. primaries to inform LWV and its State Leagues about narratives circulating online related to elections, democracy, and voting. The report summarizes key narratives based on internal monitoring by ATI and tips submitted by our volunteer network. We also outline data deficits related to each narrative. A data deficit indicates an open question or lack of good information on a topic. Data deficits represent critical opportunities where advocates can insert good information to help combat the misleading narrative.
Summary of Narratives
National Narratives
- False Claim: AI chatbot says Harris isn't eligible to be president
- Confusion: Can another person find out who I voted for?
- Confusion: What is an uncommitted delegate?
State Narratives
- Confusion: Why is the Georgia Election Board revisiting the results of the 2020 election?
Read the full report with some interesting details, background information, and excellent disinformation-dispelling resources here: Rumors Report, 20 Aug 2024
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Out and About in the Community
| Larimer League Representatives Attend Area Women's Equality Proclamation Readings
Six municipalities in the area and the Larimer County Board of County Commissioners read proclamations at their August meetings, celebrating Women's Equality Day, which commemorates the 1920 ratification of the 19th Amendment that removes sex as a barrier to voting in the United States. Representatives of the League of Women Voters of Larimer County were on hand at all of the proclamation readings to deliver remarks. Cities and towns reading proclamations were: Johnstown, Timnath, Windsor, Berthoud, Loveland, and Fort Collins. Thank you to all the LWVLC members who attended these readings!
| League representatives attend the Fort Collins Women's Equality Day Proclamation reading (top) and in Timnath (bottom).
| City of Loveland Employees Invite LWVLC to Their Inaugural WED Event
The League of Women Voters of Larimer County was invited to participate in the launching of the Women's Employee Resource Group for City of Loveland employees on August 26. At the Women's Equality Day event organized by the newly formed Resource Group, LWVLC Board of Directors members Julie Stackhouse and Kathy Maher presented a brief history of the League and its association with the 19th Amendment, and outlined the wide variety of work that the Larimer League currently undertakes with a nonpartisan approach. The short lunch-hour program was held outdoors by the Every Word We Utter sculpture created by Loveland sculptor Jane DeDecker, which commemorates women suffragists. Trish Warner also attended the event and ensured we had a well-stocked information table. Many city employees and their guests stopped by the table to collect information and get their questions about the League answered.
| | |  | CSU Democracy Project:
A Conversation with Secretary John F. Kelly
As part of the CSU Democracy Project, Colorado Statue University is hosting Secretary John F. Kelly in a one-on-one discussion with CSU President Amy Parsons. This event will provide unique insights into leadership, national security, and public service from one of America's most distinguished military leaders.
September 5, 2024, 4:00 PM
This is a FREE event
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