No Voter Suppression!

Thanks to many non-profits, churches and community groups, there are efforts to educate and get people to the polls. They include Georgia Stand Up, NAACP, ROSE Pack, and The Peoples Agenda.

Early voting ends in Georgia on Friday, November 2nd.  So, the most important thing you can do is to to vote early so you can help get others to the polls on Tuesday, November 6.

Whether you vote early or on Election Day, print your sample ballot, discuss it with your friends and family and take it with you to the polls. No need to memorize how you want to vote.  It’s two pages of items for which to vote.  Vote the entire ballot.  Do not leave anything blank!!

This Georgia Ballot is pretty simple to vote on because after you do your research, you may come to the same conclusions as I did before I voted last Wednesday:  I voted for all candidates of my party preference and, “NO” on all the ballot initiatives.  While change is needed in some of theses areas, the changes proposed here will have a negative impact on the average resident and may devastate Blacks, Browns, those on fixed incomes, and the poor.

Here are good rules for yes/no questions:

A yes vote supports the proposed change.  A no vote opposed the proposed change.  If you are not sure “how” to vote on yes/no ballot initiatives, vote “no”.  No means no change.  Why would you vote yes or leave blank something you do not fully understand??  Why would you vote yes for something and you do not know “who” (legislator or group) is proposing  the change and funding the ads for the change??  Voting “no” is the safe alternative.  Leaving it blank is not an option!  Leaving it blank is can be detrimental if the change is really bad and you do not understand it.  A “no” vote is safe because it helps to insure the change is not made until you better understand it.

The only way to change how things are being proposed and which things are funded (to get more things funded in your community) is to vote down the entire ballot for ALL the offices and initiatives.  Just as a sports team needs all its’ players on the field, the Governor (like a quarterback) also needs the whole team.  So, PLEASE vote down the entire ballot and select the entire team!!

For more information on voting and to review and print your sample ballot, visit:  www.yourpowerconnection.wordpress.com

For websites to research the 2018 Ballot items, visit:  www.ballotpedia.com

http://www.lwvaf.org

REMEMBER:

1) You can take your sample ballot or any paper notes to the poll with you. However, you cannot share it with anyone inside the polling location.

2) You have to turn off your cell phone inside the polling location.

3) You can vote at any early voting site within your county.

4) Your early voting site may be different than your Election Day voting site or precinct.  Check with your county election office or http://www.mvp.sos.ga.gov for your polling location BEFORE you go to vote. Sometimes polling places get changed and consolidated and you may not be aware.  This is especially true now because several Atlanta-Fulton County Libraries (former polling places) are closed for renovation.

FREE rides to vote are also available on Election Day, call any of the organizations listed above and on the flyer above. While Election Day requests may be honored, calling as far in advance as soon possible allows the organizations to better accommodate your ride request.

Happy voting!!

 

 

 

2018 Voter Information

Voter registration without voter education is voter frustration!

– Locally & nationwide, about 80% of voters only vote for the top 1,2, or 3 offices on the Ballot. Most don’t have a clue about how long or what’s on the ballot until the enter the polling booth.

-So, engage your circle of friends/family in discussions about everything on the ballot so you and everyone in your circle will vote down the ballot for every office, admendment, and referendum with confidence.

– Print a copy of your Ballot from:  http://www.myvoterpage.com and take it with you to vote. You can’t use your cell phone inside polling place. However, you can take any printed material. You cannot share it with another person inside the polling place. 

– So each voter has to have their own sample ballot or other printed materials.

– Tuesday, October 9 – Deadline to register to vote in Georgia.

– Tuesday, November 6 – Election day across the U.S. Each state has different things on their ballots and they are all important!!

– Now is the time to research the candidates for each office and find out what each office does. You will be amazed to find out things about the Insurance Commissioner, Public Service Commissioner, District Attorney, and/or Governor and how what they do effects your everyday life.  For example, the Onsurance Commissioner decides if your insurance company for auto, home owners, or renters insurance can increase your premiums and by how much.  They can even kick a company out of the state for unethical practices.  So choose candidates for each office well.

– Start and continue a conversation on all your social media, at lunch, dinner, etc. about the ballot and early voting dates in your area.

– Use your smart phone to research candidates the same way you use it to Google other things  you need to know. However, 90-95% of what you need to know about voting and candidates can be found at: http://www.myvoterpage.com

– I always find it amazing that people know more about TV stars, movie stars and athletes’ personal lives than they do about the elected officials for whom our tax dollars are paying their salaries. That means, they work for us.  When we do not  like their work, we get to fire and replace them in the next election.  That’s right. We control if they get to stay in office!  Let’s use our power to change things in our favor.  YES WE CAN!!

– Register (Also, check your status before Oct. 9 to make sure you have not been purged from the voter list.).

– Educate yourself (research candidates).

– Engage with your circle of influence.

– Advocate for candidates you like.

– Remind/make sure everyone in your family (even those who live in different states), your friends, church members, colleges students,  are registered to vote for every office on the ballot and how to determine who to vote for BEFORE Election Day!

– Check with local churches, the NAACP, Urban League, SCLC, Rainbow PUSH, Peoples Agenda, League of Women Voters, National Action Network, and other nonprofits about FREE rides to the polls if you or someone you know needs it.

– VOTE early or on Election Day, November 6.

WE CAN CONTROL WHO REPRESENTS US!!

 

 

 

 

Celebrating 98 Years of Women Voting

Wow!  Can you believe that women did not get the right to vote until the 19th Amendment to the Constitution was adopted on August 26, 1920. It was several decades later when Blacks and Black women got their right to vote.  That right has been under attack since its’ inception.

Today, women are a powerful and important voting block.  With so much at stake with the November 6, 2018 elections across the U.S., women will be the key to electing candidates who will truly represent the needs of the people instead of the needs of special interests who help regentrify our neighborhoods.  And, here in Georgia with the governor’s race, women could make history by electing the first female and first  Black governor.

Read the full article by Virginia Kase written in celebration of Women’s Equality Day:

https://www.lwv.org/blog/honoring-our-right-vote-womens-equality-day?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=WomensEqualityDay

If the vote were not a powerful tool, it would not be under attack to hinder women, the poor and people of color from voting.  From the beginning, white Men wanted this privilege solely for themselves.

League of Women Voters ATL Host Holiday Party

League of Women Voters Atlanta-Fulton held their annual holiday party today at the home of the Clevelands.  There was good food, good conversations, and lots of FUN for all who came out despite the frigid temperatures.

Invitees included recent winners of the metro areas 2017 elections. Above, District 11 Atlanta City Councilwoman-Elect Marci Overstreet addresses the attendees.

Atlanta City Councilman Andre Dickens joined us for the festive occasion.

The home of the Cleveland’s was beautifully decorated for the occasion.

 

Also, the food was delicious!!

The League of Women Voters Atlanta-Fulton Chapter is the oldest League in the nation.  Started back in the 1920’s to help educate women on candidates and issues.  Their most recent forum was the Atlanta Mayoral Candidate Forum for runoff candidates held on November 30 held at the Center for Civil and Human Rights. It was a very informative event, packed with an overflow crowd.  For more information on the League, visit http://www.lwvaf.org

 

Atlanta Mayoral Forum Packed With Voters

 

Moderator Jocelyn Dorsey started the form with an empty chair on stage for Keisha Lance Bottoms who arrived late and blamed Atlanta’s traffic.  On the other hand, Mary Norwood arrived almost an hour early to mingle with the voters at the reception before the forum.

Ms. Dorsey superbly handled the Atlanta Mayoral Forum between runoff candidates Lance Bottoms and Norwood.  Voters packed the Glenn Room Auditorium at the Center for Civil and Human Rights.  The questions from online and from audience members covered a number of hot topics that included:

– education

re-gentrification

– affordable housing

– jobs

– more and better trained police officers

– safety

– senior issues

– lack of economic development on Atlanta’s south and west sides

While it was clear that both candidates have fine tuned their messages and programs, nothing new or shocking was revealed.  Ms. Dorsey made it clear that personal attacks would not be allowed. So both candidates were informative and cordial. Several audience members I spoke to are still undecided about whether they will vote for Lance Bottoms or Norwood.

A recent poll of 500 Atlanta voters gives Lance Bottoms a 3% lead over Norwood with a margin of error of 4%. So, both candidates are doing all they can to get their supporters out to vote. Early voting ends tomorrow, Friday, December 1 at 7pm. Or, voters can vote on Election Day on Tuesday, December 5 from 7am-7pm.

 

This forum was sponsored by the League of Women Voters Atlanta-Fulton, The League of Women Voters Georgia, the Nation Coalition of 100 Black Women, Inc. Megga Chapter, The National Coalition of 100 Black Women Metro Atlanta, The Community Foundation of Greater Atlanta, and WSB-TV 2.

If you want to view this informative Mayoral Forum, visit the WSB-TV2 website and click on the link.

Be sure to vote in the runoff election for other important races on Tuesday, December 5 that include:  President of the Atlanta City Council between Felicia Moore and Alex Wan, Fulton County Commission seats, City Council seats, Atlanta School Board seats, and Mayor of East Point;  depending on where you live in the City of Atlanta and/or Fulton County.  Let’s encourage our friends and family to vote to

Let’s encourage our friends and family to vote to make sure we beat the national average of more than 15% voter turnout for Mayoral and municipal elections.  The saying is true, “All politics are local.”

(By the way, I voted early, today, before I went to this informative forum.)