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Recent News
2018
- 2018 Auburn Municipal Election
- Voting Blog by Co-President Cory Unruh
- LWV of Alabama Supports SPLC Amicus Brief
- Revival of the Observer Corps
- 2018 Annual Meeting Recap
2017
2016
- Voter Registration Events (on-going)
- House District 79 Recap
- Human Trafficking Panel held in March 2016
- Media Coverage for HD 79 Candidates
- Opelika Municipal Election Results
- "Use Your Voice" Tour teams up with the LWVEA
- LWVEA Awarded Grant to Register High School Students
2015
- Lilly Ledbetter Celebrates the 95th Women's Equality Day 2015 with the LWVEA
- LWVEA hosts the 2015 State Convention in Auburn
- Success at CityFest 2015
- Legislative Forum for Lee County Delegates held on January 27, 2015
2014
2018 Auburn Municipal Election Info
The LWV of East Alabama held a candidate forum on Monday, August 13, 2018, in the Clarion Inn. All 30 candidates were invited and all but one were able to attend. Check out the coverage from the O-A News and the Auburn Villager.
The Auburn Chamber of Commerce also held candidate forums over several evenings for all of the races. Check out the Facebook videos on the Chamber's page.
The Observer Corps (OC) is a group of volunteers who attend public meetings and report back on the openness and transparency of the process as well as any items of interest to the community.
LWVEA member Bruno Ulrich has brought back the OC to Lee County! Bruno has been attending (and reporting on) numerous meetings in the Auburn/Opelika/Lee County area. You can read his reports and comments here.
We are looking for more people who are interested in attending and reporting back on public meetings. The process is very simple. We ask you to choose a meeting to attend, fill out a form about that meeting, and send the form back to us. Contact Bruno Ulrich if you are interested in joining the OC!
SPLC Files Amicus Brief Challenging Photo ID
- Barbara Caddell, President of the LWV of Alabama
On February 28, 2018, the League of Women Voters of Alabama became formally involved in the legal challenge to Alabama’s voter ID law. As a “friend of the court” we went on record asking the Federal Circuit Court to reconsider a lower court’s dismissal of the lawsuit filed by Greater Birmingham Ministries and other organizations representing marginalized people. At issue is the discriminatory effect this law has on historically marginalized persons – persons of color, low income and rural persons, persons experiencing homelessness, persons released from incarceration, LGBTQ persons, etc. The lower federal court did not examine the burdens placed on these persons and their communities by the law – burdens made heavier by Alabama’s history of racial discrimination and voter suppression. As a “friend of the court” or “amicus curiae” we have asked the court to re-examine the social science and experiential evidence presented in the lawsuit. To read the complete brief, click here.
April 16th (Monday) - Annual Meeting Join us for our Annual Meeting at the Grace United Methodist Church (915 E. Glenn). The guest speaker will be Southern Poverty Law Center lawyer Kathryn Sadasivan. Ms. Sadasivan will speak about the amicus brief filed by the SPLC regarding curtailed access to voter photo IDs (the LWV of Alabama is included as a supporter on the brief). While her focus is the Voting Rights Act and constitutional issues related to voter ID laws, she will also touch on the confusion over payment of outstanding restitution for felony re-enfranchisement under the Crimes of Moral Turpitude Act.
The Annual Meeting is also a business meeting for the LWVEA so we will adopt a budget, nominate new officers, and present a few awards. Email us to RSVP for the dinner ($17 per person).
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UPDATE SUBMITTED BY CO-PRESIDENT CORY UNRUH
The League of Women Voters of East Alabama kicked off their year in August with what is becoming an annual Women's Equality Day celebration. We held a potluck in Martin Luther King Park in Auburn, and encouraged our members to bring their families and friends to help celebrate 97 years of women voting! In October, we invited the City of Auburn Water Resource Management Director and a representative from the Alabama Water Watch to speak about water quality issues in Eastern Alabama.
In November, we welcomed a student from Auburn University who presented about Franklin Delano Roosevelt's historic visit to Auburn in 1939 and the LWV's part in the ratifying the 22nd Amendment to the US Constitution.
After a fun holiday party in December, LWVEA hosted a East Alabama Legislative Forum in January. We invited five legislators representing Auburn and Opelika to speak about issues they would be tackling in the 2018 legislative session. We had a great turnout and it was good practice for upcoming candidate forums this summer and fall.
In February, we invited Lucia Hermo from the Alabama ACLU to present about how the Alabama legislative process works, and the most effective ways to communicate with your state representative. We also discussed bills that the LWVAL was tracking during the legislative session, and encouraged everyone to call their representatives regarding the payday lending bill.
This month, we drew from our membership and had a lively discussion at our program meeting about civic engagement at the local level. Many of our members have extensive experience in the city council, city board appointments, and attending city planning meetings. We invited a few to share their experiences, and encouraged members to join our Observer Corps, which acts to hold our government officials accountable.
We are looking forward to next month's Annual meeting and dinner. We have invited Kathryn Sadasivan from the Southern Poverty Law Center to come speak about the amicus brief filed by the SPLC regarding curtailed access to the ballot in Alabama because of photo voter ID laws. She will also speak to us about helping citizens get their voting rights restored.
Throughout the year, we sold yard signs for $5 with the words "VOTE TODAY" written in red. They were a big hit with our members and the general public. We made no profit from the signs, and the low price made them an easy sell.
The members of the LWVEA were very active this fall because of the special Senate election.
Many of our members worked at polling locations, and we spent a lot of time dispelling myths about what happens at the polls. We also spent the year registering voters and encouraging people to keep their voter information updated so they don't encounter any problems at the polls on election day.
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2017 ANNUAL MEETING RECAP - LWVEA elected new officers earlier this month at our annual meeting. Congratulations to co-Presidents Ann Moss and Cory Unruh, Secretary Stacey Blersch, and Treasurer Kristen De La Fuente. Our calendar is already filling up with voter registration events in anticipation of the 2018 primary and election, and monthly programs that will engage and inform voters in East Alabama.
Beth McDaniel was presented with the Phyllis Rea Award for contributions to the community that enhance the mission of the League. Kristen De La Fuente was presented with the Sue Flood Award for dedication to the League of Women Voters and its ongoing efforts.
Pat Vandermeer of Ready to Run spoke about encouraging more women to run for office and how to support a candidate.
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House District 79 Republican Candidate Forum was held on August 22nd (2106) in Auburn. Click here for the O-A News coverage of the forum. We thank the candidates for participating, moderator Dr. Gerald Johnson for running the forum, and Spirit of Democracy and the O-A News for co-sponsoring the event.
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The LWVEA panel on Human Trafficking in Alabama was held on Monday, March 21st (2016) in the Fellowship Hall of the Auburn First Baptist Church. More than 50 interested citizens attended to hear more about this important issue. The panelists included the following:
- Dr. Arianne Gaetano (AU Dept. Of Sociology, Anthropology, & Social Work)
- Ms. Lisa Stephens (Domestic Violence Intervention Center)
- Rev. Dr. Katherine Martin (Retired Social Worker)
- Ms. Jessica Ventiere (Assistant District Attorney, Lee County DA’s Office)
For more information about combatting human trafficking, see the following resources:
- Blue Campaign – Department of Homeland Security https://www.dhs.gov/blue-campaign
- End It Alabama http://www.enditalabama.org/
- National Human Trafficking Resource Center https://traffickingresourcecenter.org/
- Shared Hope International http://sharedhope.org/
- Alabama HB433 Safe Harbor Act http://alisondb.legislature.state.al.us/alison/SESSBillResult.ASPX?BILL=HB433&WIN_TYPE=BillResult
- Safe Harbor at Auburn University https://cws.auburn.edu/studentaffairs/healthandwellness/programs/safeharbor/
- Domestic Violence Intervention Center in Opelika http://www.dvic2.org/
- Polaris https://polarisproject.org/
- United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/human-trafficking/index.html
- The WellHouse http://the-wellhouse.org/
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LWVEA Awarded Education Grant to Continue Youth Voter Registration Efforts in Lee and Macon Counties; Partnering with Auburn University's Chapter of the SPLC (2016)
We are so thrilled to announce that the League of Women Voters Education Fund has awarded LWVEA a pass-through grant to support our voter registration activities. This grant will fund our program to register high school seniors in Lee and Macon County this spring and early fall! We are excited to work with the AU Chapter of the Southern Poverty Law Center to double our efforts here in East Alabama. Read about us here! UPDATE: On February 9th, LWVEA and SPLC on Campus volunteers visited Opelika High School and registered more than 90 students. In March, we visited Smith Station High School and Lee County Youth Development Center and registered 111 and 13, respectively.
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Media Coverage for the Candidates for House District 79 (2016)
(Special Election/Republican Primary on September 13th)
Forum Coverage: http://www.oanow.com/news/house-district-candidates-answer-questions-from-voters/article_9c0610ce-68e7-11e6-941a-b77498b9b29e.html
General Information: http://www.oanow.com/news/auburn/four-republican-candidates-qualify-for-special-district-election/article_44038862-4bae-11e6-b45c-6f261f2186d9.html
Campaign Financing: http://www.oanow.com/news/lovvorn-raises-the-most-cash-in-the-first-month-of/article_9d347990-5cf8-11e6-be3f-e36541c7b7f6.html
Alabama Lottery: http://www.oanow.com/news/auburn/district-candidates-eye-lottery-proposal/article_5e625334-56c9-11e6-bd99-4f096f75497d.html
Jay Conner, Republican
http://www.theplainsman.com:8080/article/2016/07/a-house-candidate-attacking-from-the-center
https://www.facebook.com/friendsofjayconner/?fref=ts
Joe Lovvorn, Republican
http://www.theplainsman.com/article/2016/07/fourth-republican-announces-candidacy
https://www.facebook.com/JoeLovvorn/?fref=ts
Brett Smith, Republican
http://friendsofbrettsmith.com/
https://www.facebook.com/brett.a.smith.520?fref=ts
Sandy Toomer, Republican
http://www.electsandytoomer.com/
https://www.facebook.com/ElectSandyToomer/?fref=ts
General Election Candidates (November 29 or February 7, as necessary)
Republican: To be determined
Libertarian: Gage Fenwick
http://wrbl.com/2016/07/15/auburn-student-gage-fenwick-running-for-district-79-seat/
Other/Third/Minor Party: N/A at this time
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Thank you for voting on August 23rd! Mayor Gary Fuller and Ward 1 Councilwoman Patsy Jones were re-elected. No one in Ward 2 received a majority of votes so a Runoff Election will be held between candidates Tiffany Gibson-Pitts and Oscar Penn on October 4th in the Opelika Learning Center (formerly the Old Jeter School; 214 Jeter Ave.).
Media Coverage: Mayoral Election Results, Ward Election Results, General, Mayor, Ward 1 Race, Ward 2 Race
Contested races are as follows:
Mayor: Gary Fuller (Incumbent) *RE-ELECTED
County Commissioner John Andrew Harris (Challenger)
Ward 1: Patsy Jones (Incumbent) *RE-ELECTED
Greg Jones (Challenger)
Ward 2: Larry Gray (Incumbent)
Tiffany Gibson-Pitts (Challenger) *RUN-OFF
Nelson Marsh (Challenger)
Oscar Penn (Challenger) *RUN-OFF
Wards 3, 4, and 5 are uncontested and the incumbents (Dozier Smith T, Eddie Smith, and David Canon, respectively) have been re-elected. Voters in these wards should still cast a ballot for mayor.
****Make sure you are registered! Go to AlabamaVotes.gov to check/update your registration.***
WARD LOCATIONS (Find yours here!)
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Read the O-A News article about the "Use Your Voice" Concert on February 17, 2016
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Lilly Ledbetter was the special guest of the LWVEA for Women's Equality Day 2015. Read more in the Plainsman and in the O-A News.
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LWV of Alabama State Convention held in Auburn, AL, May 2-3, 2015, hosted by LWV of East Alabama
A recap of this successful event can be found at http://convention2015.lwval.org/
First Annual Transparency in Government Award presented to former PSC Commissioner Terry Dunn
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SATURDAY, April 25 was Auburn CityFest and the LWVEA was there to register voters! We ended up registering 39 voters from Lee and Tallapoosa Counties! Our goal is to register/update 1000 voters before November 2016 and we are on our way!
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Legislative Forum for Lee County Delegates held on January 27, 2015
About 60 people attended the LWVEA Legislative Forum held on Monday, January 27th, in the Auburn City Council Chambers. LWVEA League member Ms. Barbara Patton moderated the two-hour forum. Delegates who participated were Speaker Mike Hubbard, Sen. Billy Beasley, Sen. Gerald Dial, Rep. Mark Tuggle and Rep. Pebblin Warren. Questions were prepared by League members and were also submitted by audience members. The panel was asked about 15 questions ranging from the Alabama Accountability Act and public schools to midwifery and a spay/neuter bill. Other topics included Common Core, Payday Loan Reform, Medicaid, Tutweiler Prison, Open Meetings Law and Constitutional Reform.
Here is a link to the article as well as an editorial in the O-A News.
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Auburn City Council Candidate Forum held on August 12, 2014
The League of Women Voters of East Alabama (LWVEA) and the O-A News hosted an Auburn City Council Candidate Forum on Tuesday, August 12, 2014, in the Fellowship Hall of the Auburn First Baptist Church. The event began at 6PM and concluded at 8PM. Over 170 members of the community came out to see the candidates from Wards 1, 3, 5 and 6 answer questions submitted by citizens. The evening concluded with a Meet & Greet Session where audience members could talk one-on-one with the candidates. Check out the O-A News article and the evening news piece!
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VOTER REGISTRATION EVENTS: Click here for a recap!
Opelika's Summer Swing Concert (August 4, 2015)
(L-R) Kerry Baharanyi, Barbara Daron and Ann Moss (Kim White took the picture!)
Auburn University's New Faculty and GTA Orientation (August 14, 2015)
(Top photo, L-R) Ann Moss, Kristen De La Fuente, and new registrant (Laura Hill took the picture!)
(Bottom photo, L-R) New registrants, Laura Hill, and Ann Moss
Auburn University's New Graduate Student Orientation (August 16, 2015)
(L-R) New registrant, Cory Unruh, Aly Bolin, and Carol Daron
ONE VOTER, ONE STAR!
Kim White and Laura Hill (L-R) apply stars to the field of blue. For every voter the LWVEA registers, we add one star to the flag. We are currently at 145 stars! Our goal is to fill at least 20 flags!
National Voter Registration Day (NVRD) was September 24, 2013 and the LWVEA participated!
A big thank you to Marilyn, Phil, Colleen, Jeffrey, Charlotte, Judy, Carolyn and Glenda for all of your help!
Glenda and Carolyn volunteering for the League at Dollar General in Opelika for NVRD!
Colleen and Jeffrey volunteering for the League at Wright's Grocery in Opelika for NVRD!
The LWVA registered voters last year during Tailgate @ the Library on the Auburn campus.
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