 |  | Dear ~~first_name~~,
Greetings from LWV-Wake.
As Veterans Day was recognized this past Saturday, LWV-Wake would like to take this opportunity to honor all veterans who have served our country.
As citizens of the United States, we are keenly aware of the importance of our right to vote, to protest and speak out against government policies for which we do not agree, and all the principles of democracy veterans have defended for our country. To all veterans, thank you for your service!
2023 Elections
In the last League Update, some of our wonderful VOTE411 volunteers were mistakenly omitted. Kristen Howard, Elaine Okal, Retta Riordan, Jacki King, and Suzanne Botts also contacted municipal candidates asking for responses to our candidate questionnaires. Apologies for the oversight!
With Election Day 2023 over, the important work of County Canvass begins on November 16th at 10am (pre-canvass) and November 17th at 11am at the WC Board of Elections Operations Center located at 1200 New Hope Road.
We encourage members to attend and observe both the pre-canvass and canvass. The purpose of the canvass is to "account for every ballot cast and ensure that every valid vote cast is included in the election totals."
If you attend these meetings, please complete an Observation Report for LWVNC. These reports assist our efforts at the state level to ensure county boards are complying with rules regarding elections and ballots.
Speaking of municipal elections, voter participation was just 17.13% with 41,693 out of 243,328 ballots cast. We have work to do! For unofficial election results, click here.
To learn how the Voter ID law affected this year's municipal elections, scroll down to the Legislative Update.
|  | A Personal Message
As we near the holidays, gratitude is an important theme. I am extremely grateful for all of YOU, our members and supporters who have chosen our grassroots, volunteer-driven organization for which to share your time, talents, and resources to advance our mission of Empowering Voters and Defending Democracy. I also have a favor to ask, and I’ll get to that in just a bit.
Our organization is at a crossroads. We have largely sustained our membership levels that surged in 2017 and continue to seek ways to attract and engage members and most importantly, advance our mission. Nonprofits are judged by their impact. One glance at our 2022-2023 Annual Report demonstrates the power of our programs and our “boots on the ground” efforts. However, while we want and need to do more, we simply lack the capacity to grow beyond the volunteer efforts of a small, but mighty group.
The operations of a nonprofit organization require the assistance of paid professionals for some areas of compliance and effective governance. We now require a CPA firm that specializes in nonprofits for tasks that used to be manageable for a volunteer treasurer. To remain relevant and attract younger members needed to sustain our organization, we must constantly create meaningful programs and content for our community. This is beyond what our pool of volunteers can achieve and our social media content is now being provided by a paid contractor.
Ensuring compliance and executing successful programs that reach our Wake County community takes resources beyond our dues structure, and we must fundraise amid a national decrease in charitable giving, not only by individual donors, but foundations as well. It is challenging and we are competing with so many worthwhile organizations.
And Now the Ask
Yes, I’m asking you to support LWV of Wake County and share our call for support with others during Giving Tuesday. With an important election year ahead, our work has never been more important. Our right to vote and the security of our elections continues to be threatened, not only by those on the outside, but within our own government.
LWV of Wake County plays a vital role in election and voter protections, and we are one of the few organizations that routinely monitors our state and county boards of elections, and many other government meetings. We also remain one of the most trusted sources for nonpartisan voter and election information, with our VOTE411 website continuing to serve Wake County voters. Our 103-year history is rich with examples of civic engagement in Wake County.
In the year ahead, we must continue to advocate for increased election funding and protect early voting, same-day registration and absentee voting options, as well as advocate for the appropriate number and locations of polling places. We must also engage young voters and explain why their vote is powerful.
We must fight back on continued attacks on women’s reproductive rights, and not just the right to abortion, but also the right to contraception (who would have thought?!?) and black maternal healthcare. The list goes on.
We are once again participating in Giving Tuesday, a day of global giving and asking for your continued support during our end-of-year fundraiser. Our goal this year is to raise $10,000.00. This is realistically what is needed to ensure compliance for our organization and to carry out our mission, and yes, it is more than we’ve ever raised for Giving Tuesday, but the stakes heading into the 2024 election have never been higher.
I encourage you to read our 2022-2023 Annual Report and visit our website to learn more about our impact and reach out to me with any questions and how to support our organization through charitable and donor-advised fund accounts. We maintain a platinum level of transparency with Guidestar, and our 2023 IRS 990EZ tax return will be available for review soon.
You do not need to wait until November 28th to support the League! All donations made now through December 31st will count as part of our Giving Tuesday End-of-Year Fundraiser. Remember, your donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by the IRS. Donations made online will receive a donation confirmation email that can be used for tax purposes.
Lastly, thank you for your continued support of LWV of Wake County and for your passion for our mission.
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- November 14th 10am - Field Trip to NC Freedom Park - Join fellow Leaguers on a narrated tour of NC Freedom Park. Freedom Park is a historic 1-acre green space located in the heart of downtown Raleigh. Registrants can indicate their preference to join the group for lunch after the tour at The Station, 701 N Person St. To register, click here.
- November 16th 12pm-1:30pm - UPDATE: Additional speaker added.Timely Topics Turning the Tide: HB 28 and the Fight Against Plastic Pollution - LWV-Wake’s Environment Committee, in collaboration with Toward Zero Waste, will host a discussion about plastic pollution in North Carolina and recent efforts to combat this problem. Guest speakers are Grady O'Brien, policy associate at NC Conservation Network and Leigh Williams, co-founder of Toward Zero Waste. For more details and to register, click here.
- November 28th GIVING TUESDAY ALL DAY -You've celebrated Thanksgiving, started your holiday shopping, and NOW it's time to support your favorite nonprofit organization! Please donate here.
- December 6th 11:30am-1:30pm - Meetup at The Daily Planet Café Join our Membership Committee members and meet new and old friends at our next LWV-Wake casual get-to-know gathering. For more details and to register, click here.
- January 25th 5:30pm - Timely Topics: Meet the New Director for Wake County Board of Elections-Join us as we introduce Ms. Olivia McCall and learn about upcoming changes to the election process and how the League might help with educational efforts. Register here.
- February 7th 12noon - Timely Topics: Affordable Housing & Homelessness in Wake County - Problems & Solutions. Join us as we welcome Lorena D. McDowell, Director, Housing Affordability & Community Revitalization for Wake County and Ashley Lommers-Johnson, Chief Executive Officer for the Raleigh Housing Authority. Discussion will focus on homelessness and lack of affordable housing in Wake County, how their respective organizations address these issues, the challenges they face, and potential solutions. For more information and to register, click here.
| | Wake County Board of Commissioners
State of the County - Better Together
TONIGHT 6pm-8pm PNC Arena
Are you interested in what is happening in Wake County government? Attend in person or livestream tonight's presentation by the Wake County Board of Commissioners. To livestream the event, click here to be redirected to the wake.gov website page. |  | | NC Institute of Political Leadership (IOPL)
2023 Hometown Debate Series focus on Education
LWV-Wake advocates for strong public education, including robust public education funding and competitive teacher pay to ensure every student is provided "the right to the privilege of education", as stated in Article I, section 15 of our NC Constitution, and further described as "a sound basic education" in 1997 by our NC Supreme Court in the Leandro case.
The challenge we face in North Carolina by our citizens and legislators is exactly what is meant by these descriptions, and the appropriateness of funneling public tax dollars to private schools, whose curriculum is often times religion-based.
For it's Hometown Debate series this year, IOPL focused on public education and recently hosted four debates in NC that are now available to view on Spectrum Focus and by clicking on each title below.
The Hometown Debate series is a is a collaboration between IOPL and Spectrum News 1 North Carolina and debates are moderated by Spectrum’s Loretta Boniti.
|  | | Volunteer Leaders Needed
Our organization's success relies on the work of volunteers. As we approach an important election year, we NEED leaders. Several board members (including me) will be stepping down at the end of their terms in May.
In addition, we have several positions within the League that have gone unfilled or will need new Chairs or Co-Chairs this year. These include: Development & Fundraising, Finance, Women's Equality Day and Communications. Members (and interested nonmembers) with nonprofit accounting/treasurer experience are especially needed as we will need to fill our Treasurer position next year.
Even if you do not have experience but a willingness to help organize and lead projects, WE NEED YOU!
Please reach out to members of our Nominating Committee to let them know of your interest. Job descriptions are available upon request. |  | | NCGA Legislative Update
The NCGA adjourned from their 2023 long session on October 25th, but not before passing gerrymandered voting maps with zero transparency. Please see our previous League Update for redistricting details.
While there are no votes for legislation expected until the short session begins on April 24th, the dates that NCGA can meet per SB 760-Adjournment Resolution include:
Nov. 29-30, 2023 - House and Senate have scheduled a 12pm session.
Dec. 20-21, 2023
Jan. 17-18, 2024
Feb. 14-15, 2024
March 13-14, 2024
April 10-11, 2024
Voter ID Law
How did the Voter ID law effect the 2023 Municipal Elections? Here's a interesting story by WRAL's Laura Leslie.
You can read a more in-depth article about Voter ID in the latest municipal election here.
The work of LWV-Wake will continue to be very important as we work to educate voters about the new voting restrictions leading up to the 2024 election. We encourage our members to become active in the League and help us to strengthen our organization to fulfill our mission of Empowering Voters and Defending Democracy.
| A Final Thought
I'd like to share a recent excerpt from a Philanthropy Today opinion piece titled 'Want to Fund a Healthy Democracy? Stop Funding Partisan Politics' that makes the case for supporting organizations like LWV of Wake County. In it, author Kristen Campbell explains,
"Democracy is experiencing a crisis of legitimacy at both an institutional and cultural level....but to transcend politics, more investment is needed in civic culture — the shared experiences that shape democratic norms, beliefs, and values in a diverse and pluralistic society. This could include investments in programs that build skills for participation in civil society, nurture inclusion and belonging, and advance community problem-solving."
To read the entire opinion piece, click on the link below:
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Looking for information from a past newsletter? Previous League Updates can now be viewed on our website's home page. Look for the "League Updates" blue tab on the top menu.
Thank you for continuing to support the League of Women Voters of Wake County.
Sincerely,
Cheryl Tung
President | | The League of Women Voters of Wake County is a designated 501(c)3 nonprofit charitable organization by the IRS. Donations and membership dues are fully tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. | |