Serving the people of Comal and Guadalupe Counties

From the President 

Roxanna Deane

Thank you to the donors that made the Big Give a success.  Thank you to League members that are volunteering their talents and time to work on  massive voter education projects to empower voters..  This includes the Get Out the Vote operation described below.  As you will read many more volunteers are still needed.

I want to say a special thanks to Susan Herr.  Susan is responsible for contacting all the candidates and getting their information into VOTE411 She will also create a printed Voters Guide for Comal and for Guadalupe Counties.  I appreciate her time and patience.

These times have brought new challenges and opportunities.  Flexibility is the word of the year.  Voter Services has taken on a project, larger in scope than we have ever done.  But they have figured out a way to meet all safety protocols and get information to the voter.  The ability to get this project done meant we needed more help.  The success of this project also depended on partners that could help.  We are happy to be partnering with the New Braunfels MLK Association, the Seguin Chapter of the NAACP and the New Braunfels and Seguin Councils of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC)

Online meetings and recorded candidate forums are also new.  We think we can reach an even larger audience than in person meetings.  Uncharted territory  Online meetings - Zoom candidate forums - largest GOTV campaign we have ever tried - partners

Please complete the 2020-2021 Member Interest Survey so that we can connect you with meaningful opportunities to make a difference.  You can complete the form online or respond to the one that you received in the mail.

Vote Safe and Securely 2020 - Sept. 16 Public Meeting

by Ada Conlan, VP for Voter Services

Comal County Elections Coordinator Cynthia Jaqua and Guadalupe County Elections Administrator Lisa Hayes will discuss what safety measures each county is taking at polling locations to guard voters and poll workers health, what’s new in voting equipment and Texas ballots, what voting options are available and how results are secured. LWV Texas Board Member and attorney Susan Schultz will discuss Election Protection for voters experiencing issues at the polls and vote by mail issues. LWV-CA President Roxanna Deane explains, “this is the first election since the legislative change in which Texans will not have the straight party ticket option and for many voters, it may be the first time they’ve used these voting machines or the first time they have voted by mail. We want to provide each person information they need to ensure that their vote is counted.“

The meeting will be live Wednesday, Sept. 16, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. on Zoom (meeting ID: 899 8656 3219 password: 270440) and live on the League of Voters of the Comal Area Facebook page.  It will also be recorded for viewing later.

There will be an opportunity to ask questions.

Volunteers Needed

by Ada Conlan, Voter Services VP

Here’s your opportunity to safely participate in a Get Out the Vote operation!  LWV-CA is conducting its largest ever voter drive  to determine if we can increase the percentage of voters in the 2020 November election over the 2016 November election in the two lowest voting precincts in each of Comal and Guadalupe counties.  You do not need to be a VDR to participate.

We are looking for volunteers to hang voter information bags on door knobs and fences, and to stuff  8,000 bags.  Operational vision is to have two person teams work a section of a precinct.  After the election is over we will determine, based on the 2020 percentage and the 2016 percentage, if we effected an increase the voting percentage.
          
The plan of attack begins with 20 volunteers assembling door knob bags on Saturday, Sept.19 from 1-4 p.m. at the Live Oak Baptist Church 355 N Washington Ave, New Braunfels, TX 78130.  Bags will contain information on registering to vote, polling locations  and other information resources.  We will be safely distancing workers and masks are mandatory.  
        
Next, in conjunction with our partners, the New Braunfels MLK Association, the Seguin NAACP and LULAC, we will split up into teams and deliver the bags to addresses in the four precincts.  Tentatively, we are scheduling walking distributions during daylight hours Wednesday, Sept  23 through Monday, September 28.  We need 26 volunteers for this portion of the drive. If you have a partner you prefer, both of you need to let me know. Also, please let me know your availability.

Please call or text 210.241.8488 or email bbat2@aol.com to sign up or with any questions.

LWV Comal Area, LWV El Paso and LWV Fort Bend

Take the Lead on Redistricting

Republished from LWV Texas Action News
 

Led by Texas League Board Member and Census & Redistricting Issue Chair, Stephanie Swanson, Fair Maps Texas will be holding a series of Fireside Chats to prepare for the upcoming legislative session. The speakers are local League members who are currently working on redistricting advocacy at both the state and local levels. These discussions will address building effective advocacy campaigns for the upcoming redistricting cycle.

Sep. 21st, 7 PM - Legislative Engagement Strategy. Daphne Spraitzar, LWV Comal Area

Daphne worked as a legislative advocate for the US Army and helped people engage with legislative offices She will be sharing insights into how to have a successful meeting with legislative staffers.  

Sep. 28th, 7 PM - Passing Resolutions on Redistricting. Judy Ackerman, LWV El Paso

Judy has now passed 4 local resolutions with El Paso County and El Paso City Council. She will be walking you through the process that the El Paso Fair Maps group used to accomplish this and will be sharing insights she learned along the way.

Oct. 5th, 7 PM - Base Building & Communities of Interest. Lydia Ozuna, LWV Fort Bend

Lydia has put together her own group called Texas Against Gerrymandering. They have been successful at engaging with local community members in Harris and Ft. Bend counties. She will be sharing how they recruit new members and keep them involved.

Register for this series here.

Daphne is chairing a committee of LWV-Comal Area members to work on this issue.  It is not too late to join.  Learn about the issue and then contribute your time to write letters and contact county and state officials.  Email Daphne Spraitzar at  ddspraitzar@gmail.com.

High School Voter Registration

Comal ISD has asked the League to prepare a 15 minute presentation about voter registration and the importance of voting.  Janyth Frederickson, Youth Empowerment Director, will be making the presentation which will be filmed by Comal ISD and shown to government and civics classes.  Teachers in the high schools will collect voter registrations and League members will take them to the Election Office.  In addition each senior will be given a wallet card  and election information handout.

Candidate Forums On Demand

The League of Women Voters of the Comal Area has planned 10 candidate forums for contested races in Comal and Guadalupe Counties.  In addition to the city and county races, there will be a forum for the Texas House 44 and 73 candidates. All of the forums will be conducted via Zoom and recorded between Sept. 14 and Sept. 23.  Links to the recordings will be available within 48 hours of the forum.  Other leagues have found that more people actually watch a recording than attend a live meeting.

Following the strict rules that are used in face to face forums, candidates will be asked questions prepared by the League of Women Voters with input gathered in advance from the community. Time limits will be enforced.  The goal is to give each candidate the opportunity to state what they think and what they plan to do if elected.  In doing so there is no need to talk about their opponent.  We believe that viewers can draw their own conclusions.

*All Candidates have not confirmed.  Forums will not be held unless at least two candidates participate.

• *Texas House of Representatives District 44 - September 23, 2020
• *Texas House of Representatives District 73 - September 23, 2020
• Comal County Commissioner Precinct 1 - September 14, 2020
• Comal County Commissioner Precinct 3 - September 14, 2020
• New Braunfels Independent School District - District 2 - September 16, 2020
• New Braunfels Independent School District - District 4- September 16, 2020
• Seguin Mayor - September 18, 2020
• *Seguin City Council - District 2 - September 21, 2020 
• Seguin City Council - District 6 - September 21, 2020
• Schertz City Council - Place 3 - September 18, 2020

League of Women Voters of the Comal Area Candidate Forum Recordings page

Thank you

by Jerrie Champlin, Publicity Director

Thank you to our generous donors who made the 2020 BIG GIVE our best yet !  Donations totaled $2250.00

Please note, anyone who missed this online giving event can go to our website and donate any time by clicking the donatebutton.  All donations are tax deductible under our 501(c)3 status.  All funds go to our voter education and registration efforts like the massive Get-Out-The-Vote drive LWV-CA is launching this month.  We need your support!