Category: Publications

publications available through the local League

League DEIS Comments – No On LNG

The League of Women Voters of Rogue Valley (LWVRV) joined the LWVs of Coos County (LWVCC), of Umpqua Valley (LWVUV), and of Klamath County (LWVKC) in writing a letter to Oregon Governor Kate Brown, conveying key concerns about how the Jordan Cove Energy Project would conflict with the work Oregon has ahead of us to meet the challenges of climate change.No-LNG

This same letter was then forwarded to FERC as comments on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) on the Jordan Cove Energy Project.

This is how the letter begins….

Dear Ms. Bose:
We write representing the League of Women Voters of Coos County (LWVCC), LWV of Umpqua Valley (LWVUV), LWV of Rogue Valley (LWVRV), and LWV of Klamath County (LWVKC). We are grassroots nonpartisan, political organizations operating in the four counties in Oregon that would be directly affected by the construction and operations of the proposed Jordan Cove Liquefied Natural Gas (JCLNG) and Pacific Connector Gas Pipeline (PCGP), commonly referred to collectively as the Jordan Cove Energy Project (JCEP). Our detailed review of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for this project shows that the projects are in direct conflict with many of the state and national League of Women Voters positions. These positions are based on study documents and consensus evaluations regarding natural resources, water quality and air quantity, climate change, offshore and coastal management, land use, public health and safety, energy conservation, and seismic risks

READ More of this credible work — the PDF is here.

More About Ranked Choice Voting

Learn about Ranked Choice Voting by viewing this Powerpoint presentation.

Here’s a link to the League’s Executive Summary of study on Election Methods now on our Publications webpage. For the full study, visit the state League’s study page.

Oregon currently uses first-past-the-post, plurality voting, but there are other possibilities. The executive summary describes many election methods used by different states and countries.

Also see the News-Reviews article published on 1/14/20 on this topic.

Download the flyer below about this event.

Century Celebration 2020

Susan B. Anthony

JOIN US in planning for a year-long celebration of the one hundred years following the ratification of the 19th Amendment, also known as the “Anthony Amendment”, women’s right to vote.

Meet with us at the Roseburg Public Library on Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2019 at 6PM to 7:30PM.

We will discuss how to celebrate, where and when. Bring your ideas and a friend to the meeting!

This event is open to the public and is free. Refreshments will be served.

See you there!

Voters’ Guides Are Here!

Get your nonpartisan, unbiased Voters’ Guide from a League friend or contact us. We have limited paper copies.

VGs-Primary-2018
Here’s a link to the electronic version of the paper Voters’ Guide:
http://lwvor.org/home/voteresources/

What does nonpartisan mean?

We do not support or oppose and political candidates or parties. Period.

League Supports CASA

Learn more about CASA of Douglas County — Court-appointed special advocates for Children

The need for CASA advocates is greater than ever. Their website says:

When a child enters the foster care system because his or her home is no longer safe, a judge may appoint a committed volunteer to help. That volunteer is called a Court Appointed Special Advocate, or CASA. CASA volunteers are screened, highly trained and then appointed by judges to represent and advocate for a child’s best interests in the child protection system.

And you can become one.9345951

CASA of Douglas County, Inc. provides valuable volunteer advocacy for abused children. CASA volunteers serve as the “eyes and ears” for the judges in child welfare cases. This includes researching each child’s situation and making objective recommendations to help them reclaim their childhoods from abuse and neglect. CASA volunteers are frequently the only stable presence in these children’s lives.

Or there are other ways to be supportive and help kids.
See their web page that says you can also choose to do shorter-term projects, if you can’t commit to two-years as an advocate.

Or, you can Donate.

Please help. Contact them today.

Photos of the Electoral College Discussion

CharlesYoung4The Electoral College and the National Popular Vote

Charles Young of Umpqua Community College, professor of history and government, spoke last night, 4/18/17, at the (soon-to-close) Douglas County Library in Roseburg, Oregon. He spoke eloquently about the formation of our early government and the Electoral College. The founding fathers were careful and thoughtful about including all of the states, large and small, while developing our constitution which led to the inclusion of the Electoral College.

We would like to share photos from last night’s presentation and discussion on the Electoral College and how we elect our nation’s presidents. Thank you to all who attended. Please visit our new webpage dedicated to the National Popular Vote webpage, which the League of Women Voters supports.

You probably know that it takes 270 electoral votes for a presidential win. But why that number, 270? If you add up all of the Senators (100) and all of the House of Representatives members (435) and the Washington, DC, representatives (3), the total is 538. Divided in half equals 269, therefore the number needed to win the election is 270. And there was much more about the country’s constitution, and how and why it was set up that way 230 years ago in 1787.

A current subject related to national elections, the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, was also discussed, which is a proposal that would go around the constitution by states voting to instruct their electoral college voters to vote for the person who wins the national popular vote. Right now 11 states with 165 electoral votes have passed NPV, and the Oregon House has passed it in May 2015 for the third time, also failing in the Senate three times.

Currently HB2927 is in the House but isn’t out of committee yet. Contact your legislators about this bill and SB824 in the Senate.

Photo Page Update

Shannon4Be sure to check out our Photo Page that has just been updated with photos from the Yoncalla Petticoat Council 1920 event held on Mar. 22.

LWV Umpqua Valley thanks Shannon Applegate, a wonderful friend of the League’s, historian, author, and lecturer, for sharing her knowledge, research and insights about members of her family and others back in the day during 1920. We hope you all got to be there!

Check out our Photos Page.

And check out the News-Review article about the event! Thank you, News-Review!

Three Questions for the Supreme Court Nominee

Chris Carson, the leader of the national League of Women Voters (LWV), issued the following statement on Feb. 1, 2017.

The Supreme Court nominee President Trump announced this week will play a major role in setting the course for American democracy over the coming decades. That may seem like an exaggeration, but the Supreme Court is currently americana-69divided four to four on most major issues. The incoming justice will ultimately be the deciding vote on crucial issues that shape the direction of our system of government and our country.

The League of Women Voters believes that any Supreme Court nominee should share his or her views on fundamental issues. We have three questions for a nominee:

1. Must the Executive Branch obey court orders from the federal judicial system?
Our system of checks and balances is the basic tenet of a free democracy. To prevent authoritarianism, the Founders made sure that that no one branch of the government could dominate the others. But in recent days, it appears that the Executive Branch is challenging that system by refusing to obey federal court orders limiting President Trump’s anti- immigration policies. The Supreme Court nominee must take a stand, one way or the other, on the role of federal courts in our system of government.

2. What is the appropriate role for voting rights in our democracy? Our nation was founded on a belief that voters should be in charge of our government rather than government being in charge of the voters. However imperfect at the beginning, citizen voting rights have grown through constitutional amendments to include women, racial and ethnic minorities and young people. But we are seeing efforts to roll back voting rights, with laws designed to make it more difficult for people to exercise their right to vote. The Supreme Court nominee should let the American people know his or position, whether voting rights enforcement is a vital component of our representative democracy or if the nominee thinks limitations can be justified under our Constitution.

3. Is big money in politics a fundamental part of our electoral system, or can limits sometimes be justified? Some believe that corporations, unions, organizations and individuals should be able to spend unlimited amounts of money to influence elections, and to do so secretly. Others see this as an existential threat to our democracy. The Supreme Court nominee should state his beliefs related to the influence of money in our elections.

Judicial nominees should not be required to tell us how they will decide future cases, but they should share with the public the basic principles they support or oppose. For the Senate to carry out its constitutional duty to advise and consent on judicial nominees, truthful answers about basic principles are required. A presidential nomination is not a blank check. The Constitution requires the Senate to do its duty.

The League of Women Voters urges the Senate to explore these three fundamental questions with any nominee before voting to confirm or reject the next Supreme Court justice.

See: Statement from the President of the League of Women Voters of the United States 2-1-17

League’s Voters’ Guides are Available Now!

Voters’ Guides Available Now!

Voters-Guide-Primary2016League of Women Voters of Oregon statewide Voters’ Guides are now available. There are a limited number of hard copies. A few Voters’ Guides will be located at the Douglas County Elections office as of Tuesday 4/26/16, and at the Douglas County Public Library as well. There are a few copies at While Away Book now store on Harvard Ave in Roseburg.

Hard copy Voters’ Guides will also be distributed to Umpqua Valley League members at their Annual Meeting on Thursday, April 28, Noon at Elmer’s Restaurant. Be sure to attend this important meeting. Non-members are also welcome. For more information, call [541] [672] [1914].

Voters’ Guides are also available online here –> http://lwvor.org/front-page/voteresources/voters-guides-and-info/