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Thirty-six League members and guests attended the all-member League meeting on October 17, and here’s some of what they heard from an action-packed agenda:

• Snohomish County Prosecutor Jason Cummings spoke and answered questions about County Proposition 1. To help you decide how to vote on the proposed sales and use tax increase for public safety uses, go to YesSafeSnoco.com or see pages 102-103 of your Voter Pamphlet.
  
  

• Duncan Clauson of Snohomish County Elections and Jen Winckler discussed the voter registration effort in the Snohomish County Jail. Where previously, the Elections staff could only encourage voting and place a ballot box in the jail facility – and get less than a handful of completed ballots – now with League help, there are around 150 completed ballots in the ballot box by Election Day. The ability to vote is a powerful tool to help these citizens re-enter a supportive society!


• Duncan and Jen also reviewed the ballot signature curing process in which the League sends another reminder to voters who forgot to sign their ballots or provided a signature that could not be verified. This means that the Postcard Brigade is on the move again! Postcard packets are picked up on Fridays (11 A.M. in Everett or 1:00 P.M. in Brier), and it’s not too late! Packets will be available on Nov 8, and you can sign up for as many as you have energy for – contact Jen Winckler for details.


• We reviewed the latest news from the National League, which included judgements on litigation in four different states and a new two-year partnership with the Girl Scouts of America. The partnership will collaborate on “Promote the Vote” and civic engagement outreach to encourage young Scouts to contribute to our democracy.


• Next, the State League’s recommended NO votes on all four state initiatives on the ballot were noted. All the background information and ties to stated League policy can be referenced at The League Has Taken a Position in Opposition to All Four Ballot Measures. You can watch the video, or at your own pace, review the PowerPoint slides linked to that page.


• Giving the candidates seeking our vote an extra nudge to complete the Vote411 questionnaire has just been made much easier, thanks to Amy Peloff, Administrative Director of LWVWA.  Now we know for the next election to look for the e-mail that says, “Can you ask your local candidates to participate in the League's Voter Guide?” With a few simple clicks, you can join with other voters to e-mail those candidates who have not yet completed their Vote411 questionnaires and remind candidates to define their positions and earn our votes. We will build a better and more informative Vote411!


• We heard updates and calls to action from Joan Smith, chair of Natural Resources; and Kate Lunceford, chair of the Tree Campaign. Everyone is invited to attend the regular meetings of these two groups on the fourth Friday of the month at 10:00 A.M. for Natural Resources, and on the second Tuesday of the month for the Tree Campaign.


• During this Committee Updates segment of the meeting, we saw the winning submission for the high school video contest sponsored by LWVWA. You can see this impressive work done by student Ava Espiritu at this link: Student Video - Make History


• After being reminded of upcoming events, we received October’s Call to Action:
  • There was still time to respond to the “nudge” e-mail to candidates for Vote411.
  • By the time you’re reading this, we hope you have already completed and returned your ballot!
  • Register for and attend the Random Batch Audit on Nov. 6 – it gives you something productive to do in case the election isn’t decided by then! Then attend the Risk Limiting Audit on Nov. 19. Check the League calendar for full information and registration.
  • Make a plan to attend the next all-member meeting on November 21, 10:00 A.M. at the Lynnwood Library. You are probably feeling a need to see League members outside of Zoom!

Many thanks to all those who participated in this meeting. Every time I meet with other folks in the League, I am so impressed by who we are and what we do. Please join us next time!