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Welcome to the League of Women Voters
of Tompkins County
website!
Take
Me to Vote a Success in 2011!
Jocelyn
Rice (10) and Brenda Soboleski, display their voting stickers
after Jocelyn accompanied her mother to the polls at the Trumansburg
Fire Company on Election Day.
The
fifth grader was just one of many children who participated in
the League of Women Voter's Take Me to Vote program this year. |
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About
Us
After women
got the vote in 1920 the League of Women Voters was established and
Tompkins County organized an active League membership that same year.
Today our organization numbers over 120 women and men and we invite
your participation.
The League of Women Voters,
a nonpartisan political organization, encourages informed and active
participation in government, works to increase understanding of major
public policy issues, and influences public policy through education
and advocacy. Any person of voting age, male or female, may become
a League member. Click here for more information
The League
of Women Voters is non-partisan, but we are political. Our activities
fall into three categories:
Voter
Service The League is well-known for promoting
informed voting. We provide voter registration, candidates forums,
impartial information on ballot measures, and educational meetings
on issues of public concern.
Program The
League of Women Voters takes positions on local, state and national
issues only after members have studied and reached agreement on them.
Please see our program page for details.
Advocacy The
League never supports or opposes political parties or candidates.
Based on positions developed through member study and agreement,
the League does take action to support or oppose specific governmental
policies.
Calendar
- February
6, 2012 Board Meeting 7:00 pm, Old Jail
- February
27, 2012 Treading Lightly on the Planet 7:00
pm, Women's Community Building Speakers:
- Dick
Franke, a
resident of Eco Village, a leader in sustainability issues
at the Village
- Dominic
Frongillo, a Caroline Board member, involved
in
sustainability issues both locally and internationally
- Lynn
Leopold, a long-time League member, on the Lansing Board
and who helped create both the local Recycling Center and the
local Reuse
Center.
- March
5, 2012 Board Meeting 7:00 pm, Old Jail
- April
9, 2012 Board Meeting 7:00 pm, K. Burlitch
- May
7, 2012 Annual Meeting and Dinner and Board Meeting 6:00 pm, Salvation
Army
Voter Service
Action
Alerts
-
Fight
Back Against Citizens United Today
you have an important opportunity to take an essential first
step to fight back against Citizens United and the deregulation
of the campaign finance system.
Click
here to urge President Obama to clean house at the Federal Election
Commission (FEC).
Already
in this important election year, new Super PACs are flooding elections
with huge expenditures from million-dollar
donors. Because
they are supposedly “independent” from the candidates,
and with new loopholes from the Supreme Court’s Citizens United
decision, Super PACs can raise and spend unlimited amounts from corporations
and individuals, and they can do so with limited disclosure.
While
there are different avenues that can be taken to fight back against
Citizens United and cut the influence of
special interests,
you can join us by taking the first step today by urging President
Obama to appoint new commissioners to the FEC. Among other duties,
the FEC can define what election efforts are “independent” from
the candidates.
The FEC is supposed to be the agency that enforces campaign finance
laws, but it is dysfunctional. Of the six commissioners at the agency,
three of them staunchly refuse to enforce the law, and five of the
six are serving despite expired terms. It is time to clean house.
We need real campaign finance reform, and getting President Obama
to nominate new commissioners to do their duty and enforce campaign
finance laws is a good place to start. In the next 30 days we need
to gather 25,000 signatures of support.
Don’t just sign it yourself; post the petition on Facebook,
Tweet about it and forward this note to all of your friends. Together
we can make sure that the citizen’s voice is heard.
For extra reading, click
here for an interesting discussion of the
new Super PACs presented by PBS.
- Redistricting From
the beginning of his gubernatorial campaign, Governor Andrew
Cuomo made his position clear on his support for an independent
commission to ensure fair and non-partisan drawing of redistricting
lines. Governor Cuomo has recently reiterated his position
to "veto a plan that is not independent or a plan that
is partisan," (watch Governor Cuomo reiterating his
stance on redistricting reform here).
- Take action now by thanking Governor Cuomo for his continued strong
support of redistricting reform and to show your support for his
pledge to veto any partisan or non-independent plans for redistricting.
Send the Governor a thank you note with this link. Thank
Governor Cuomo for his continued strong support of redistricting
reform. Tell him you support his pledge to veto partisan
or non-independent district lines.
If you want more information about the continuing fight for independent
redistricting, you can visit the ReShapeNY website, http://www.reshapeny.org/,
or the home page of our our website, www.lwvny.org.
Information & Resources
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