Action – Page 2 – League of Women Voters of the Umpqua Valley

ACTION ALERT! Support SB 870, National Popular Vote

Date: April 2, 2019
To: All League Members and Oregonians
From: Norman Turrill, LWVOR President
Marge Easley, NPV Portfolio Chair

CONTACT YOUR SENATOR TO URGE SUPPORT FOR NATIONAL POPULAR VOTE (NPV)

Success is within reach to make Oregon the next state to join the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact. SB 870 will be heard in the Senate Rules Committee on April 3 at 1pm. This is the same bill that has passed the House four times in recent sessions, only to be blocked in the Senate each time. Fourteen jurisdictions with 184 electoral votes have already passed the bill. Eighty-six votes are needed before the Compact goes into effect.

Please email your state senator as soon as possible to urge support for SB 870. Here are a few helpful talking points:

The League’s national position states that “the direct-popular-vote method for electing the President and Vice President is essential to representative democracy.” The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact provides an excellent pathway to achieve this goal.
The Electoral College in its current form creates an unfair system and damages public trust in U.S. elections. If left in place, our country will continue to have a system in which votes in some states are worth more than votes in others.
Winner-take-all laws were passed by most states during the 1800s and were never envisioned by the founding fathers. The result of winner-take-all laws is that presidential campaigns only pay attention to the 11 swing states. Voters in non-swing states tend to feel that their votes don’t matter, so some decide not to vote at all.
NPV allows all votes to be counted equally, no matter where they are in the country. Under NPV, urban areas would not hold more sway than rural areas, since the combined population of the 100 biggest cities is about one-sixth of the population, roughly the same as the population of rural America.
The candidate with the most votes wins in every other election in the country. The U.S. is the ONLY practicing democracy where the candidate with the most votes is not assured of being chosen the national leader. Polls have shown for decades that more than 70% of voters, in both major parties, have felt that the candidate with the most popular votes should be the winner.

We appreciate your immediate action on this issue. You can find your senator’s contact information here. Also, please consider attending this historic hearing to demonstrate a strong show of League support.

For more information, contact Marge Easley, NPV Portfolio Chair.

The U.S. House will begin debate of HR1, the For the People Act, today! We need you to continue to urge your Representatives to support final passage of this legislation and oppose any amendments that would weaken the bills overall purpose: a stronger democracy.

Use the Capitol switchboard number (202) 224-3121 to call your Representative today! And tell them:

Vote Yes on HR1, the For the People Act
Vote No on amendments to weaken the bill or on a motion to recommit.

This sweeping democracy reform package is an unprecedented opportunity to put the power of our government back into the hands of the people where it belongs. The support of grassroots activists like YOU has pushed this bill to advance, we are so close and we cannot give up now! Call your Representative today!

EMPOWERING VOTERS. DEFENDING DEMOCRACY.

U.S. HOUSE WILL VOTE ON HR1 THIS WEEK!

CONTACT YOUR REPRESENTATIVE TODAY

Voters across the country voted for democracy reform up and down the ballot in 2018, sending the 116th Congress a clear message that the country is ready for bold, comprehensive democracy reforms.

And now, HR1, the For The People Act is on the verge of passing the House of Representatives – THIS WEEK the House will vote on this historic piece of legislation.

Call your Representative TODAY through the Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and urge them to vote to pass H.R. 1 – the  “For The People” Act.

HR1 is the biggest democracy reform agenda many of us have seen since the Voting Rights Act. This bill will revamp our voting system, implement fair redistricting, and crack down on dark money in elections so that voters have a stronger voice at the ballot box.

We must get this bold, transformative set of reforms to strengthen our democracy and return political power to the people over the finish line but we cannot do it without your help!

Call your Representative TODAY through the Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and urge them to commit to vote YES on  H.R1.

CONTACT YOUR REPRESENTATIVE TODAY

Yours in the fight!

P.S. Don’t want to call? Send an email using our action tool instead!

Are You Registered to Vote? Better check!

October 16, 2018 is the last day to register in the State of Oregon.

To be on the safe side and to make sure you are registered at the correct address, check your registration at the Secretary of State’s website — here.

Ballots will be mailed out Oct. 17 – Oct. 22. The
General Election is on Nov. 6.

The League and No LNG

The state League of Women Voters of Oregon, along with four local Leagues, Rogue Valley, Klamath Falls, Coos County, and Umpqua Valley, submitted comments on August 15, 2018 requesting denial of all permitting applications. 1532567086475

The League of Women Voters of Oregon —

“believes that natural resources should be managed as interrelated parts of life-supporting ecosystems. Resources should be conserved and protected to assure their future availability. Pollution of these resources should be controlled in order to preserve the physical, chemical and biological integrity of ecosystems and to protect public health.” The League of Women Voters of Oregon (LWVOR) “. . . opposes degradation of all of Oregon’s surface and ground water. . . .” and declares that climate change is the greatest environmental challenge of our generation.

We must protect the natural resources we have now. We must stand in solidarity!

Please read the League’s complete comments here.

And They Stood Up!

There are activists in Roseburg, Douglas County, Oregon. And they stood up for what they know is right!

Keep families together! We must continue to voice our outrage at what’s going on at the border to children and families. It’s not over yet.

The News-Review recapped the protest event that took place on Sat., June 30, 2018 here.

Melt-ICE

Stand Up For What’s Right

Call Your Senators ASAP!

H.R.38 – Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017

HR 38 passed the United States House of Representatives yesterday. This is a dangerous bill, and it is on its way to the Senate.

It’s imperative you call your Senators today.

Senator Merkley’s Washington D.C. Office –> Phone: (202) 224-3753
Senator Wyden’s Washington D.C. Office –> (202) 224-5244

Here’s a link to the text of the bill:

https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/38/text

Why, You ask? Read this letter by a League member to Rep. DeFazio:

My name is Sandra Huffstutter, I live in Roseburg, Oregon, and I’m calling today to urge Congressman DeFazio to NOT SUPPORT reciprocal approval of out-of-state concealed carry permits.

I believe that reciprocal approval is a bad idea because a number of other states do not have the kind of sensible public safety restrictions on gun ownership and use that Oregon has.

For example, Oregon is one of only nine states that require universal background checks at point-of-sale for ALL gun purchases, including purchases at gun shows. Why would Oregon want to allow someone from another state who has never passed a background check to carry a concealed weapon in Oregon?

In addition, only half the states in the United States require concealed carry permit holders to have ANY live-fire training, with mandatory range time. Why would Oregon want to allow a gun-owner who has never practiced shooting the ability to carry a concealed weapon and engage in a live-fire situation on the streets of Oregon?

Finally, thanks to our last legislative session, Oregon is now one of only five states that allow families of emotionally disturbed gun owners to obtain an “Extreme Risk Protective Order” requiring emotionally disturbed family members to surrender their guns until their mental health crisis is resolved. Why would Oregon want to allow out-of-staters suffering mental breakdowns to carry concealed weapons while traveling in our state?

Reciprocal approval of out-of-state concealed carry permits will make Oregonians — who benefit from our state’s sensible gun safety laws — much, much less safe.

Please Call Today!

ACTION ALERT! WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT!

Help Clean Energy Jobs (CEJ) Climate Change Legislation over the finish line in 2018.

The legislation would establish a program which will cap climate pollution, price all qualified greenhouse gas emissions under the cap, and invest the proceeds in clean energy, while addressing the needs of vulnerable communities and investing in training workers for new, growing opportunities in a clean energy economy.

The League of Women Voters of Oregon (LWVOR) joined the Renew Oregon Campaign Coalition in 2015 to support legislation to price emissions. At the LWVUS Convention 2014, the following resolution was adopted by a large margin:

“The LWVUS should support a price on carbon emissions that will increase in stages, as part of an overall program to improve energy efficiency and to replace fossil fuels with renewable energy, fast enough to avoid serious damage to the climate system.” LWVOR has supported legislation each session to reduce greenhouse gases. A CEJ bill is being worked on for the 2018 legislative session based on SB 1070 from the 2017 session. CEJ Legislative Work Groups have been meeting to improve that bill.

ACTION NEEDED: Hold a house party or attend a local rally on November 4th. Renew Oregon is planning a statewide DAY OF ACTION November 4. League members and/or local Leagues can support this Day of Action in a number of ways. Please consider hosting or co-hosting a house party (materials and statewide Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/RenewOregon/) livestream are provided by Renew Oregon) and/or a Community Clean Energy Jobs campaign party.

We need your Support! Here are a few ways you can support the Clean Energy Jobs (CEJ) statewide campaign:

* First and foremost, Renew and LWVOR would like to encourage you to hold a house party. You can direct any questions or plans about house parties to Sonny Mehta with Renew, sonny@reneworegon.org. We hope to have a party in every county. Some groups are using larger spaces in their communities (churches, schools, libraries, etc.)

* Second, you can post on social media on November 4 (or any other day!) about Clean Energy Jobs using the attached social media toolkit.

* Third, you can attend the rally in Portland on November 4, 12 noon to 2 pm at the PCC Cascades campus student union building, 2nd floor. More rallies are being planned for Salem and Eugene as well as other communities.

* Fourth, please sign up for Renew Oregon emails to get the latest information.
The League of Women Voters believes that climate change is real and we all need to do our part to reduce greenhouse gases. We have joined Our Children’s Trust to require government to address this serious threat to our world. Here is one small way you can help. Host a CEJ house party on November 4th!

If you have any questions please contact LWVOR at lwvor@lwvor.org.

League Statement on DACA Reversal

Washington, DC – The Trump administration today announced their intention to reverse the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy, leaving the fate of 800,000 immigrants in jeopardy. League of Women Voters president Chris Carson issued the following statement:

“This administration’s decision to rescind the ‘Dreamers’ program is shameful and does not serve national interest.

“As a country of immigrants, we are made stronger by our diversity. Yet time and time again, this administration has discriminated against immigrants and communities of color.

“Reversing the DACA policy will have a devastating impact on our economy. Ending this program will increase unemployment.

“Thousands of the Dreamers protected by DACA were brought to this country as babies and have no memories of their birth country. These individuals are paying taxes, contributing to Social Security and are Americans in everything but the name.

“The League of Women Voters is opposed to deportation of non-criminal undocumented immigrants and we urge congress to pass a clean Dreamers Act to protect, not turn away, the 800,000 young people who were brought to the United States as children.”

Contact: Sarah Courtney | 202-263-1332 | scourtney@lwv.org

Category: Action

Support SB 870