News Clips

“On Wednesday, in the heat of another pitched American battle over voting rights, one that is playing out in courthouses and state capitals all across the nation, the Senate Judiciary Committee met yet again to remind us of how tenuous the right to vote still is in this country. ... The hearing was called "The Citizens United Court and the Continuing Importance of the Voting Rights Act" and, as the title suggests, it was an attempt by the Democratic leadership on the Committee to connect together on Capitol Hill two legal trends of recent vintage, each beginning in 2010.”

“The League of Women's Voters of Greater Tucson is preparing its voters guide for the November election to educate voters on issues, propositions and candidates.”

“If you’ve been out and about at a community event lately — the Busker Fest, the Kansas State Fiddling and Picking Championships or maybe just visiting the Lawrence Public Library — you probably have seen some people from the League of Women Voters of Lawrence/Douglas County  [KS]. ...  Between now and Oct. 16, you’ll probably see them again — maybe more than once.”

“There was something fresh, pure and distinctly American about the immigrants lining up behind the League of Women Voters table to register to vote for the first time. Moments earlier in the grand foyer of the U.S. Federal Courthouse in Hammond [IN], the 42 newly naturalized citizens from 12 countries had sworn allegiance to their new homeland, leaving behind the war, uncertainty and political unrest of their native lands to become Americans.”

“Betty Lockett had one wish for her 103rd birthday Monday. ‘For my birthday present I asked to have 103 people register to vote,’ said Lockett, a widowed Hammond centenarian, retired nurse and Mississippi native. ... ‘I want people to have that freedom to vote and be counted on Election Day,’ said Lockett... ‘The young people especially need that. Voting gives them a boost and wakes them up to see what’s going on.’  ... So Monday...the League of Women Voters of the Calumet Area [IN] registered voters.”

“The November elections are less than two months away, and Pennsylvania has a new voter identification law... That worries the League of Women Voters of the Lewisburg Area. ... “I have a concern that a lot of people aren’t aware of what they need to vote,” said Sue Travis, who’s in charge of the group’s voter ID project. “That’s part of the reason we’re doing this.” ... What the league is doing is its “Got Your Photo ID?” campaign...”

"The League of Women Voters of the Huntington Area held a movie showing Monday afternoon at the West Library of "Iron Jawed Angels," a film about early 20th century suffragists' struggles to gain the right to vote."

“A lawsuit filed Tuesday contends that Florida lawmakers ignored new rules intended to prevent political parties and incumbents from influencing the once-a-decade process of redistricting....Several individuals and groups including the League of Women Voters maintain that state Senate districts in key parts of the state - including South Florida, the Tampa Bay region and Central Florida - violate standards that were approved by voters.”