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Date: 2/6/2022
Subject: LWV-Wake Update February 7th 2022
From: League of Women Voters of Wake County



LWV-Wake Update 2/7/2022

 
Anna Cooper Stamp Image
Dear ~~first_name~~,
 
Greetings from LWV-Wake.
 
As we recognize Black History Month, it in an honor to highlight the life of Raleigh native, Anna J. Cooper. Born in 1858, Cooper became a distinguished writer, educator, activist and feminist. During her lifetime, she experienced slavery as well as the fight for women's suffrage and civil rights until her death at 105 years of age in 1964. She not only has a commemorative postage stamp in her honor, but she is quoted on page 27 of the US Passport, “The cause of freedom is not the cause of a race or a sect, a party or a class — it is the cause of humankind, the very birthright of humanity.” Her writings and activism focused on educational opportunities for black Americans and she delivered many speeches on civil and women's rights. She is buried alongside her husband at the City Cemetery in Raleigh. Read Walter magazine's article Torch Bearer: The Legacy of Anna Cooper here.

New Virtual Social Event - Celebrate the League's 102nd Birthday on Valentine's Day
Grab your favorite beverage and join us on Zoom for our first social event of the year "Love the League". We will celebrate the League's 102nd birthday while we welcome all new members and talk about the important work of our committees. Scroll down for more details and registration link.

A Win For Democracy! - NC Supreme Court rules voting maps unconstitutional
Congratulations to our coalition partners Common Cause and Southern Coalition for Social Justice! On Friday, the NC Supreme Court issued a ruling in favor of the plaintiffs in the joint redistricting case.  Declaring the maps enacted last year by the General Assembly "unconstitutional beyond a reasonable doubt under the free elections clause, the equal protections clause, the free speech clause and the freedom of assembly clause of the NC constitution", the court has instructed the General Assembly to redraw the maps. To learn more about what lies ahead, scroll to the State/Local Government section below. 
 
Action Alert for Fair Maps
With a court order deadline of February 18th for the NCGA to submit new maps, it is important that we continue to make our voices heard. We encourage ALL LWV-Wake members to continue to advocate for fair voting maps! Please see the Action Alert below for talking points and links to NCGA Redistricting Committee members. 
 
Affordable Housing committee members Yolanda Taylor & Robin Hammond appointed to Wake County positions
LWV-Wake congratulates two of our members for being recently appointed to two Wake County posts. 
 
Yolanda Taylor was appointed to the newly formed Wake County Affordable Housing Advisory Committee.  The committee, as described on the Wake.gov website, "will act as an informational resource to county staff, assist in identifying community partners, share information with key stakeholders and enhance affordable housing efforts." Yolanda is a member of our Affordable Housing Committee, as well as an active member of several community organizations that advocate for housing equity, affordability, and justice.  She is an attorney with many years of experience at Legal Aid of North Carolina and as a community lawyer.  In addition, she is an adjunct professor at Wake Forest University School of Law.  She recently formed her own law firm to focus on community law, specifically housing and health care justice and community economic development.  
 
Robin Hammond was recently appointed as a Wake Soil and Water Conservation District Supervisor to finish out the elected term of former supervisor Nervahna Crew. The Wake Soil and Water Conservation District assists landowners and land users in managing soil, water, plants and wildlife effectively. Robin is a retired attorney and is the Co-chair of LWV-Wake's Affordable Housing Committee. Having practiced both public and private law, she often advocated for local government and environmental groups and causes and has been instrumental in advocating on behalf of the LWV-Wake for Cary's Affordable Housing Program.  Robin is one of the founders of Friends of Wake Soil and Water Conservation District, where she now serves as advisor. 
 
LWV-Wake is extremely grateful that our members, with a wide array of experiences and expertise, choose to spend their volunteer time with the League. Congratulations Robin and Yolanda! 
 
Attention Cary Members: Affordable Housing Committee Needs You! 
The Town of Cary has been working on a variety of strategies to make homes more affordable for residents who want to make Cary their home. LWV-Wake's Affordable Housing Committee would love to engage more Cary residents in advocating for the Cary Housing Plan as well as other initiatives. You can read more about these programs here.  If you are a Cary resident and can assist in advocacy efforts, please reach out to Co-chairs Robin Hammond or Jeanne Ford

HAVE YOU COMPLETED YOUR SURVEY???
Deadline is March 15th
As part of our 5 year strategic planning process, we recently sent all members and partner organizations a survey to provide us with helpful information as we prepare our strategic plan. To learn more about this survey and why it is important, please read Jenny Kotora-Lynch's recent blog post. 
 
 

Support the LWV-Wake with Amazon Smile donations
LWV-Wake is now listed as a 501(c)3 charitable organization on Amazon Smile! This means you can now select our League as your charity of choice and support LWV-Wake at no cost to you. A portion of all your Amazon purchases will be donated to LWV-Wake by Amazon. To learn more about Amazon Smile and how to sign up, click here. Once you have signed up and chosen League of Women Voters of Wake County as your charity, you can bookmark the Amazon Smile page. This is an easy way to support the League!

lwvus birthday pep rally image for newsletter
LWVUS 102nd Birthday Action Pep Rally
Facebook Live February 14th 11AM
 
February 14th is a moment to commemorate the birthday of the League of Women Voters with action, advocacy, and storytelling. Women have powered democracy for over 100 years, and for our birthday we are coming together across the country to build power for elections in 2022. We honor the 102-year legacy of our organization with a day of unified, pro-voter action as one League, together.
Join for this kick-off pep rally featuring special guests and a look at planned activities for the day. No registration needed. For more info, click here.

Upcoming LWV-Wake Events
Join Us for our First Social Event of 2022
February 14th at 5pm-6pm
Happy 102nd Birthday🥳 to LWVUS! 
Join us as we ❤️ the League during a virtual happy hour on Valentine's Day at 5pm. Bring your favorite beverage and toast 🥂the League as we celebrate together. We'll welcome new members who have recently joined the League as well as provide information about LWV-Wake's committees and the projects they will be working on during the year. There will also be some cool videos and prizes 🎉
 
 We would ❤️to know why YOU ❤️the League! Make a short video clip (no more than 20 seconds) telling why you joined the LWV-Wake and what you enjoy most about the League and you could win a prize! Videos can be made from your phone and sent to communications@lwvwake.org. They will be shown during the event. Please submit videos by Friday, February 11th. 
 
 
 

March League Lit Newsletter Image 500x350
 
  • February 8th 5pm-6:30pm DEI Roundtable Virtual Discussion - What's Up with Pronouns? Gender pronouns are how people choose to identify themselves and reflect their gender identity. Understanding and using a person's correct pronoun demonstrates respect, fosters inclusion and makes people feel valued.  During this roundtable discussion, you'll learn about the differences in pronouns, why using the correct pronoun is important, and tips for using gender pronouns. Register here. 
  • February 15th 3:00pm-4:30pm Western Wake League Lit - Will discuss The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together by Heather McGhee. From Goodreads: "Heather McGhee's specialty is the American economy--and the mystery of why it so often fails the American public. From the financial crisis to rising student debt to collapsing public infrastructure, she found a common root problem: racism". Register here.
  • February 17th 5:30pm Timely Topics - NC Institute of Political Leadership: Mission and Programs. Please join us as we welcome Brad Young, Executive Director of NCPL. The North Carolina Institute of Political Leadership is a non-partisan, nonprofit organization committed to improving the practice of democracy through its premier nonpartisan leadership training programs for public servants, both elected and appointed. This event will now be held via Zoom. Register here.
  • March 17th 2:00pm-3:00pm - League Lit Raleigh - Will discuss Proud Shoes: The Story of an American Family (Black Women Writers Series) by Pauli Murray. From Amazon: "First published in 1956, Proud Shoes is the remarkable true story of slavery, survival, and miscegenation in the South from the pre-Civil War era through the Reconstruction. Written by Pauli Murray the legendary civil rights activist and one of the founders of NOW, Proud Shoes chronicles the lives of Murray's maternal grandparents." Register here. 

LWVNC Events & Council
To see all upcoming LWVNC sponsored events, please view their Events Calendar
 
 
LWVNC Council - All Members Invited
This year LWVNC is heading to the beach! Well, kind of. Morehead City is the location of this year's 2-day retreat. It is an opportunity to meet other Leaguers and have fun while discussing League activities. The program kicks off with dinner on April 1 near the hotel and continues with sessions on April 2 at the Carteret Community College. LWVNC has secured a discounted rate of $109/night at Hampton Inn. We would LOVE to see a good turnout from LWV-Wake members! Please remember to book your hotel early and pay the $30 registration fee, which is a separate link from the registration form. Registration ends March 10th. After registering, please send me an email as I am tracking attendance for LWV-Wake members. It is sure to be a fun event, esp. since we are being asked to perform! We would love to have your participation. LWVNC is handling all registrations through their website here.
LWVNC Creates Civics Education Interest Group
In November 2021, LWVNC, LWV-Wake and LWV of Catawba Valley were each awarded SOLVE grants through Southern Coalition for Social Justice to embark upon local redistricting advocacy projects. Our grant application, along with that of LWVNC, included this work to be part of a larger civics education project. LWVNC has created a civics education interest group comprised of members across the state who are interested in researching ideas related to civics education & engagement. The first brainstorming meeting of this study group was held on January 20th.
 
LWV-Wake is looking for members who would interested in researching existing civics education platforms/programs to determine partnership opportunities. This project would have monthly deadlines and require writing program summaries. If you are interested in assisting with this work, please send an email to lwvwakectung@gmail.com. 
 
 

LWVNC Seeks Members to Join "Positions for Action" Committee
The Positions for Action Committee is continuing to meet in 2022 to discuss a review of public policy positions with any interested members. LWVNC Convention 2023 is right around the corner. To get positions in the most clear and concise condition for reaffirming in 2023, there is work to do in 2022 in several areas.

If you are interested in participating in some exploratory conversations on Representative Government, Natural Resources, and Social Policy LWVNC positions, please email your interest to Sandra Mowell at mowell@lwvnc.org. A general meeting for those interested is planned for around the first of February, and members will break into teams for further conversations on the subject in March and April 2022. There is an update on our committee’s progress planned for LWVNC Council in April. For more information, please read the related article in the latest LWVNC newsletter here.

Other Upcoming Events
Our friends from Braver Angels NC, along with North Carolina Campus Compact, are co-sponsoring an upcoming public forum hosting guest speaker Dr. Christopher Bail of the Duke Polarization Lab. Professor Bail will be interviewed by former news anchor and media consultant Rob Boisvert about how social media influences political tribalism and what can be done to diminish it. Interview followed by audience Q&A. This is a free event. Register through Eventbrite here.

State & Local Government
NCGA building for newsletter
State Redistricting Litigation Update
NC Supreme Court trial verdict ruled in favor of plaintiffs
 
February 4th: In a 4-3 decision, the court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs. The ruling requires lawmakers to first determine whether “racially polarized voting is legally sufficient in any area of the state such that Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act requires the drawing of a district to avoid diluting the voting strength of African American voters.” The General Assembly must draw and submit new plans to the Wake County Superior Court by 5 p.m. on February 18, 2022, and comments on the submitted maps must be filed with the court by 5 p.m. on February 21, 2022. The trial court will then decide on approval of the submitted plans by 5 p.m. on February 23, 2022. 
  
February 2nd  - Oral arguments for the 3 redistricting cases were heard. Notable observations from the trial:
  • Chief Justice Paul Newby asks: “We have ‘free.’ We don't have ‘fair.’ They have ‘free and fair, correct?” in reference to a decision by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to strike down that state's voting maps because they were alleged to have violated Pennsylvania’s constitutional requirement of “free and equal” elections. Newby then pointed out that the North Carolina Constitution doesn’t say that. 🤨
  • Voting Rights Champion and our favorite Defender of Democracy, SCSJ Attorney Allison Riggs, responds: “I’ve certainly studied the history,” she said, “and there is not a suggestion anywhere that the failure to put ‘fair’ in the constitution means that there's a presupposition that elections will be run unfairly.” Riggs then explains “In cases interpreting free elections, there's frequently also an equal protection claim associated with that that really talks about how we have to treat people equally and fairly,” Riggs said. “Sometimes you can miss the forest for the trees.” 🤩
  • Driving home that point was Zach Schauf, N.C. League of Conservation Voters attorney, stating “This court also has the equal protection clause, which Stephenson [v. Bartlett] interpreted to require substantially equal voting power, substantially equal legislative representation and equal representational influence,” Schauf said. “So we think you get to the same place.”  Indeed! 👏

ACTION ALERT 🚨 
ADVOCATE FOR FAIR MAPS 
While we do not yet know the process of how the NCGA will draw maps, we DO want to continue to advocate and make sure our voices are heard. Note: the court order does NOT require transparency. Please email the members of the Senate Redistricting Committee and the House Redistricting Committee and advocate for fair voting maps and a transparent process. Some talking points include:
  • We demand the NCGA draw maps that are free from racial and partisan gerrymandering in a truly transparent process.
  • Maps must adhere to the court ruling and avoid diluting the voting strength of African American voters in North Carolina.
  • Maps must be drawn that protect the rights afforded in our NC Constitution for the voters of North Carolina.
  • The NC Supreme Court has set a clear precedent that partisan gerrymandering violates our state’s constitution. We demand that new maps reflect this precedent. 
  • In order to have a government that reflects the values of our citizens, we must have maps that reflect the values of our citizens.
  • We are a purple state. Our current maps are a blatant misrepresentation and must be redrawn to ensure a truly representative government.
 
Phyllis Demko from LWVNC has provided the following to assist in advocacy efforts:
An excerpt from a LTE by our member in Henderson County Linda Miller (thanks, Linda).  I think it makes for some good talking points to the Legislature and to the public and she has provided a good resource from FiveThiryEight:  

"The battles over redistricting are boring and complicated but they impact us greatly.  Our 14 NC representatives will vote in Congress on abortion, gun-rights, the Medicaid-gap, child-care-subsidy, climate, and other issues important to us. . . . Even though we live in purple NC, with about 50% of us voting Republican and 50% Democrat, the NC map, chosen by our legislators, shows that NC is heavily gerrymandered with only 4 Democratic districts but 10 Republican districts."     

Linda points to this good resource:  What Redistricting looks like in Every state see here
Click NC on the map.  You can scroll down to the bottom, and you will see several maps closer to 50-50 representations that the NC legislators drew but rejected. 
 

This Week at the NCGA
Monday, February 7th 1pm: House Select Committee on an Education System for North Carolina's Future. 
ICYMI: At their January 24th meeting, The NC Institute for Constitutional Law presented Constitutional and Statutory Provisions for Public Education in North Carolina. This presentation argues that the equal opportunities clause of  Article IX, Section 2(1) of the NC State constitution does not require "substantially equal funding or educational advantages in all school districts"  and runs contrary to the Leandro decision. It can be viewed here.

Local Redistricting Update
 
City of Raleigh - Raleigh City Council chooses Option 2 redistricting map
Public hearing scheduled for March 1, 2022

Update:
February 1, 2022: During the February 1st City Council Meeting (afternoon session), council members listened to Attorney Catherine Lawson of the Study Group on Council Terms/Compensation/Redistricting, present the group's Final Report on Redistricting. The Council then voted to approve the Option 2 Redistricting Map and hold a post-redistricting public hearing scheduled for March 1st ahead of the March 31, 2022 deadline.
  • Watch the February1st Raleigh City Council meeting here.
  • Read the Study Group's Final Report here.
  • Access the Study Group's Final Presentation here. 
 
Wake County Board of Education- No New Action
Sept. 21, 2021: The Wake County Board of Education began discussing redistricting at their work session on September 21. Attorney Adam Mitchell from Tharrington Smith, LLP, presented The Basics of Redistricting, providing information on current district sizes, legal requirements, and potential redistricting criteria. Read Mr. Mitchell’s presentation here.
December 7, 2021: Attorney Adam Mitchell from Tharrington Smith, LLP, and Blake Esselstyn from Mapfigure Consulting, presented Redistricting Principles, which can be viewed here. In this presentation, updated census numbers for the districts are provided. Of the 9 districts, only districts 2 and 7 remain in compliance with a +-5% population range. Possible criteria, labeled as "discretionary principles", are also presented.

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.
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