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THE VOTER NEWSLETTER

SEPTEMBER 2016

Mark Your Calendar September 21 LWV Board Meeting, KDH Library Meeting Room, 10:15 AM

September 22 Kick-Off Dinner, Duck Woods Country Club, 5:30 PM; for reservations contact Carol Butscher cab313@yahoo.com

September 27 National Voter Registration Day, to volunteer contact Audrey Esposito audreyesposito36@gmail.com

October 14 Last Day to Register to Vote for the November Election

October 19 LWV Board Meeting, KDH Library Meeting Room, 10:15 AM

October 20 - Early Voting in Dare County at BOE Office in Manteo, Fessenden Center, KDH November 5 Town Hall, & Pitts Center; See p 8 for details

November 4 Early Voting Ends at Fessenden Center, KDH Town Hall, & Pitts Center

November 5 Early Voting Ends at BOE Office

November 8 General Election Day

December 2 Annual Holiday Luncheon, Duck Woods Country Club, 11:30AM Details TBD

Voter Forums

October 16 NC Senate and NC House Candidates; Nags Head ES at 2 PM; Geri Sullivan (tentative) zbeach2@embarqmail.com & Mary Jane Slesinski mjslesinski@charter.net October 12 Dare County Commissioners; Nags Head ES at 7 PM; Audrey Esposito

audreyesposito36@gmail.com

October 18 Dare Co Commissioners; Fessenden Center at 7 PM; Marion Midgett 473-3057

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - At the State Level: LWV-NC will hold Voter Forums for Governor (Oct 18) & US Senator (Oct 19) which will be broadcast on Time Warner Cable. Links will be on our website, once these tapes are available.

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Co-President’s Message Hello LWV Dare Members!

I hope you all have enjoyed our hot and gorgeous summer! With the bulk of visitor’s behind us, it is

time to look toward our fall season, which promises to be exciting!

If you attended the Manteo World Premiere of the film “Equal Means Equal” on August 26th , I

believe you will agree that it was an amazing experience! The film was incredibly powerful and our

audience was very supportive and enthusiastic. Judy Lotas, our ERA Director, did a fantastic job of

obtaining the film and organizing all the details of the screening! What an amazing afternoon we all

had in Manteo! If you missed the screening, are intrigued to view it, you may want to consider

hosting a Home Showing of the film. Check out www.equalmeansequal.com for details.

Later this month, our Annual Kick-Off Dinner will be at Duck Woods Country Club, on Thursday,

September 22. Doors open at 5:30 (cash bar) and you will have a chance to meet and mingle with

other LWV members. Dinner will be served at 6:15. We always have a lot of fun at these dinners,

and we are looking forward to another memorable evening. For reservations, please contact Carol

Butscher at cab313@yahoo.com. See the delicious menu options & other details on the next page.

Of course, the General Election is coming on November 8th; everyone knows that this is a big

election! Audrey Esposito, our Publicity / Voting Rights Director, is planning an active Voter

Registration season in support of the election. National Voter Registration Day is on September

27th, and we will be actively registering voters and answering questions at several sites on several

dates. This year, I was so pleased that both COA and Front Porch Cafe came to us and asked that

we set up Voter Registration tables at their sites this year! If you want to volunteer to help with Voter

Registration, contact Audrey at audreyesposito36@gmail.com.

Don’t forget that Early Voting will be from Oct 20 through Nov 5th this year at the Manteo site and at

3 satellite sites: Pitts Center in Southern Shores, the KDH Town Hall, and at the Fessenden Center

on Hatteras Island. The entire Early Voting schedule appears on page 9. There were long lines at

the Primary Election in March, so do not wait until Election Day. Be smart and Vote Early!!!

Our Voter Services team is actively working to organize and staff Voter Forums this fall. There will

be three Voter Forums held (please see Calendar for the details) and the Forums will be videotaped

for broadcast on the Government Channel. The videos will also be available on our website

www.lwvdarenc.org.

Looking beyond the election (and there WILL be an ‘after the election’ – I promise!), our focus area

Directors - Natural Resources, Health Care, and Education - are planning timely and pertinent

educational programs for this year. Also our First Friday Hot Topic luncheons will resume this fall and

a Go-See Tour is also being planned for spring. Stay tuned for details!

Submitted by Lorelei DiBernardo and Geri Sullivan, Co-presidents

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LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS

ANNUAL FALL KICK-OFF MEETING

SEPTEMBER 22, 2016

5:30 PM

DUCK WOODS COUNTRY CLUB

$20.00 per person (Pay at the door)

MENU

Tomato Basil Soup

Choice of:

1) Pasta Primavera with Cream Sauce & Veggies

2) Chicken Piccatta with Angel Hair Pasta & Broccolini

3) Pecan Crusted Salmon with Honey Poppyseed Vinaigrette, Rice Pilaf & Asparagus

Rolls & butter

Mini snowballs for dessert

Cash Bar

Please contact Carol Butscher at 261-6983 or cab313@yahoo.com with

your reservation & entrée selection.

LET HER KNOW IF YOU HAVE ANY DIETARY RESTRICTIONS!

RSVP BY SEPT. 16!!!

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Membership Committee

HAVE YOU RENEWED YOUR MEMBERSHIP??? It is time to renew your membership in the LWV of Dare. Please check your records to see whether or

not you have renewed. If you have any questions, please contact Lori Williams at 261-5275;

lwms@embarqmail.com. We are planning an interesting year with informative programs. We hope

you will continue to join us.

A membership renewal form is on the last page of this Newsletter. Thank you.

Submitted by Lori Williams, Membership Chair

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Treasurer’s Report and Fundraising Committee

As LWV – Dare begins its new year, I am pleased to report that our operating budget is pretty healthy

with income from membership renewals (58 thus far), Belk spring sales ($650.00 including member

donations and Belk’s donation of $213), and the usual extremely success holiday auctions (silent and

live). With a good balance, your League is able to subsidize the charge for the Kick-Off Dinner on

Sept. 22 at Duck Woods Country Club. The dinner reservations will only be $20.00 per person –

payable at the door. Please contact Carol Butscher cab313@yahoo.com to make your reservation

since I will be out of town.

The fall timeframe is also when the Fundraising Campaign solicits donations from members,

businesses, and the towns and county for the publication of the 2017 Citizens Guide, the 30th edition.

Many members sent in contributions to the CEF (Citizens Education Foundation) which is the tax-

deductible 501(c)(3) IRS status for our local subaccount in the LWV-NC CEF account. The donations

are forwarded to the state treasurer, Bill Wilkes, and held in our account until expenses for the

printing of the Guide are requested. If you would like to make a contribution, please send it to me,

made payable to LWV-CEF, and mail to LWV, P.O. Box 689, Kitty Hawk, NC 27949. All donations for

$100 or greater will be acknowledged on the back cover of the Guide. Donations have already been

received from Dare County ($675), Nags Head and Manteo ($100 each), and a $400 commitment

from Dominion NC Power.

The CEF funds can also be used for educational purposes such as paying half of our National dues

($1,100), Voter Services expenses (videotaping of forums, mailings to candidates, and other items

that can be used for promoting voter activities), and expenses for programs that are presented to the

general public.

Submitted by Nancy Birindelli, Treasurer

FACEBOOK “Boost”

Our Board has been exploring new methods to communicate our Forums and Programs, in addition to our traditional methods of newspaper articles, town and organization emails and posters in key locations. We have found that we can use FACEBOOK to send messages to local FACEBOOK users using a feature called “Boost” at a nominal cost. We will be using this feature to advertise the movie “Equal Means Equal” and our General Election Forums over the next several months. We will also be posting election information on FACEBOOK as well as our website. Check out our FACEBOOK page “league of women voters of dare county” as well as our website http://www.lwvdarenc.org and share this information with friends and family. Submitted by Geri Sullivan, Co-president

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Media Relations Committee Voter Registration Drives Last year eleven League members took part in our voter registration drives. We will again be

celebrating Democracy in America by participating in National Voter Registration Day on

September 27, 2016. We also plan to assist the College of the Albemarle’s Student Government

Association on September 13th and 14th by having a registration and voter information table at their

activity fair, as well as on September 27th, Voter Registration Day.

Susannah Sakal of The Front Porch Café has graciously offered use of Café locations for voter

registration. We hope to also have volunteers in various post offices. Dates will be determined

shortly.

Volunteers usually work two hour shifts and may work in pairs or alone. The League provides all

necessary materials along with information on Early Voting Sites, precinct locations and addresses,

handouts for ERA and for LWV Dare.

Please consider joining us in this effort. If you would like to volunteer to help, send an email to

Audrey at either email: aud.espo@yahoo.com or audreyesposito36@gmail.com. I will be in touch.

Thanks in advance.

Submitted by Audrey Esposito, Chair

Voter Services Committee There will be three forums held this fall before October 20th, when early voting begins. One will be for

the State candidates in Nags Head (tentatively) on October 16th and two Forums for Dare County

Commissioners, in Nags Head on October 12th and in Hatteras on October 18th. If you are

interested in helping at the Forums, please call or email, Lin Logan loganedd@charter.net 480- 2866

or Mary Jane Slesinski mjslesinski@charter.net 261-1591.

The November Candidates are as follows:

NC Senate – Bill Cook and Brownie Futrell

NC House – Beverly Boswell and Warren Judge

Dare County Commissioners:

District #1 – Rosemarie Doshier and Wally Overman

District #2 – John Towler and Bob Woodard

District #3 – Steve House and Monica Thibodeau

District #4 – Danny Couch unopposed

Submitted by Lin Logan and Mary Jane Slesinski, Co-Chairs

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Observer Corp Report

Board of Elections - Early Voting Saga: Drama in Dare, NC We begin our saga at the June 28th meeting of the Board of Elections (BOE). League representatives were there for the development of an Early Voting Plan for the November election which local BOEs needed to submit to the NC State Board of Elections. LWV Dare representatives requested expansion of Early Voting hours due to: 1) projected high turnout; 2) observed and documented long lines at the March Primary; 3) hours offered in the past were not conducive to working families; and 4) Dare ranks 93 out of 100 NC counties in the percentage of voters utilizing Early Voting. The BOE stated that the changes of hours would be considered if data were made available showing inadequacy of current schedule. Meeting adjourned. Action Plan: League co-presidents Lorelei DiBernardo, Geri Sullivan, VP Fran Kapinos, ERA Chair Judy Lotas, and BOE Liaison Audrey Esposito quickly developed and distributed an Early Voting Survey to residents along with League members, via the incorporated town’s websites as well as through several local organizations. The survey garnered 355 responses in approximately 2 ½ weeks. Survey results: 75% of respondents want to utilize Early Voting and 60% preferred hours other than those previously offered in Dare Co (10am-4pm, Monday - Friday and one Saturday morning). Independent of LWV, Sandy Semans, rep of NC Democracy, obtained similar citizen feedback via Face Book and emails. BOE Meeting, July 26th: The LWV Early Voting Team presented the findings of the survey and requested the expansion of voting hours to evenings, early mornings and weekends. Other concerned citizens expressed similar views. The BOE informed the LWV, however, that our data sample was insufficient. When we asked what data size would be sufficient, no clear answer was given and the Board voted unanimously to maintain the current Early Voting hours: Monday - Friday 10-4 pm plus one Saturday morning. (The KDH Town Hall will replace the Baum Center, joining the Fessenden and Pitts Centers, along with the Board of Election Office as Early Voting sites.) Don’t Give Up Hope: Needless to say, the Team was disappointed. However, on Friday, July 29th – 3 days later - the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals overturned NC’s 2013 voter law; restoring same day registration, out of precinct voting and expanded Early Voting for NC elections. (A Very Big Thank You to LWV-NC for becoming part of that fight in 2013, and staying the course!!) As a result, local BOEs were notified by NC State Board of Elections that all Early Voting plans previously submitted were null and void. (Do I hear any cheers here? But, of course!) According to the memo, new plans were to be submitted by August 19, 2016. New Wind for our Sails: Michele Barnes, BOEs Director, notified LWV of an August 12th meeting to discuss & adopt a new Early Voting plan. Your League sent emails, used social media, contacted membership, friends, & neighbors communicating news of the meeting, encouraging public support for voter rights.

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Prior to the meeting, the Early Voting sub-committee met and decided to propose that the BOE create an entirely new Early Voting Plan in order to address the issues that we had previously brought to their attention. Special BOE Meeting: August 12, 2016: Along with members of the press, there were 30 members of the public and interested groups attending this meeting. Eleven of the attendees made public comments quite similar to the League requests. One commentator made no mention of expanding early voting hours, but stressed using absentee ballot instead. Lorelei DiBernardo and Audrey Esposito requested a new Early Voting Plan with hours earlier than 10am, later than 4pm, and weekend hours. After public comments, the new Early Voting Plan was presented by Michele Barnes and Assistant Director Jackie Tillett, with no further public comment allowed. The Result? The total hours of Early Voter were 232.5 with sites open:

until 6pm (Yes, Yes!!)

the satellite sites open from 2pm to 6pm (UGH)

only one Saturday, November 5th at the BOE office (not good)

Since Early Voting begins October 20th and ends on November 5th this plan was quite a bit less than hoped for by the League and others present at the meeting. Fast Forward, We Approach the End of Our Saga: Your League representatives then attended the Dare County Board of Commissioners meeting on Monday, August 15, 2016 along with a few members of the public and three members of the press. Audrey spoke at Public Comments, expressing disappointment and curiosity over the BOE’s failure to expand weekend hours; particularly when the BOE itself, had provided us statistics indicating that Early Voting hours on Saturday, March 12th had twice as many voters, on average, as comparable weekday hours. This startling fact – provided by the BOE themselves - appears to have been ignored in developing the new schedule. An introduced Resolution to expand Early Voting hours was not approved by the Board of Commissioners at this meeting and the plan did not appear to follow the State Board of Elections directive of preparing schedules that would accommodate the projected high voter turnout. We’re Down, But Not Out: Michele Barnes notified Dare LWV and others of “the final One Stop Implementation Plan for Dare County (Early Voting) submitted to the State Board of Elections on August 16th. The Dare BOE approved this change unanimously by conference call.” The change in hours at the BOE office will now open at 8:30am instead of 11am on all Early Voting weekdays. “The earlier opening will better serve the voters of Dare County” and will increase the total early voting hours to 262.5. We expressed our thanks to Director Barnes for her efforts!! Our job will now be to spread the word and encourage voters to utilize the Early Voting hours. The League will work with the Board of Elections on this task. Please see the final Dare County Early Voting schedule on the next page! Submitted by Audrey Esposito, Observer Corp Liaison to the Board of Elections

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Education Committee The Dare County Board of Education met on May 10, and June 12, 2016 for regular sessions at Manteo Middle and Kitty Hawk Elementary Schools respectively. They also met in July to swear in newly elected members and to reorganize the Board. At both regular meetings the Board handled business matters such as: approval of the 2016-17 Budget, approval of revisions to the sex offender policy, approval of the Career and Technical Education Application (Plan), and approval of the Academically and Gifted Education Plan. Additional policy revision approvals went to new graduation requirements, standards for promotion, and class ranking regulations. A notable business item in June was the approval of the recommendation to name the auditorium at First Flight High School the David E. Oaksmith, Jr. Auditorium. A permanent plaque will be installed during a public ceremony (to be scheduled later) at the entrance the auditorium. The following is from background information provided by the Board of Education:

The Board of Education wishes to honor David E. Oaksmith, Jr. for his outstanding service to Dare County Schools. Mr. Oaksmith was active in Dare County Schools for over 30 years. He was a math teacher at Manteo High for 14 years and served on the Board of Education for 17 years, 13 of them as chairman. During Mr. Oaksmith’s tenure on the Board of Education, many accomplishments were achieved, including the completion of a $165 million construction project. Four new schools were built, including CHES, FFHS, MMS, and NHES. Major renovations and/or additions were finished at MHS, CHSS, MES, KHES, and FFMS. Mr. Oaksmith’s vision played a key role in the establishment the Dare Education Foundation and the construction of affordable housing for teachers. He advocated for increased enrollment and offerings in Advanced Placement courses. He was an ardent supporter of the North Carolina Pre-K program, formerly called More at Four.

At the July meeting the Board elected Bea Basnight as Chair and Margaret Lawler as Vice-chair. The former Chair, Ben Sproul, did not wish to be nominated because he has taken a new job requiring travel. Ms. Basnight was vice-chair prior to her election to the chairmanship. On the State scene, teachers’ salaries were increased by the legislature. The new average is $50,000, depending on who is doing the reporting. Other State 2016 legislation and previous legislation raise concerns: Local schools (LEAS) are suffering due to the overall decrease in basic State funding (e.g. loss of textbook money), the diversion of taxpayer dollars to private school vouchers, and decreasing Pre-K funding just to mention a few. As these and other issues impacting education are serious, our League is planning an “education” information program for later in the year. Get your questions ready. Submitted by Marion W. Midgett, Education Chair

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League of Women Voters of Dare County Membership Renewal Form 2016 - 2017

ANNUAL DUES

Individual membership: $50

Household membership: $75

Amount enclosed (checks made out to LWV of Dare) $_____________

CITIZEN EDUCATION FOUNDATION

Please consider enclosing a tax deductible contribution to the Citizen Education Foundation (CEF).

Contributions provide direct support for citizen education programs and the publication of the annual

Dare County Citizens Guide which provides information about government and services to county

residents.

Amount enclosed (checks payable to LWV—CEF): $_________________ NAME(S)_______________________________________________ ADDRESS______________________________________________ CITY___________________________________________________ STATE, ZIP_____________________________________________ PHONE_________________________________________________ EMAIL__________________________________________________ PLEASE NOTE – IF YOU CHANGE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS AT ANY TIME DURING THE YEAR,

PLEASE LET US KNOW SO WE CAN UPDATE OUR RECORDS AND KEEP YOU INFORMED OF

ALL OF OUR ACTIVITIES AND PROGRAMS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR

I/we are interested in assisting with: Voter Services_____; Education____; Natural Resources____; Health____; Public Relations____; Citizens Guide______ Do you have any interests/talents that you would be willing to share/assist our league? Please remit to: League of Women Voters of Dare

PO Box 689 Kitty Hawk, NC 27949