NYT Guest Essay: “There Is a Problem With California’s Recall. It’s Unconstitutional.” - August 11, 2021
by Erwin Chemerinsky (LWVPA speaker in 2018) and Aaron S. Edlin
Excerpt: The California recall election, as structured, violates that [one person, one vote] fundamental principle. If Mr. Newsom is favored by a plurality of the voters, but someone else is elected, then his voters are denied equal protection. Their votes have less influence in determining the outcome of the election.
Read the entire article here.
Read the entire article here.
Public Meetings
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City Council
The City Council meets on Mondays at 5:00 p.m. City Council meetings are broadcast on Cable TV Channel 26, live on YouTube, and live on the Midpen Media Center. For agendas, minutes, a How-to for Public Comment Instructions, and a link to the Council calendar, see this page. To ensure participation in a particular item, the Council suggests calling in or connecting 15 minutes before your item is scheduled to begin. For information on the virtual meetings of five City boards and commissions (ARB, Public Art, HRB, Parks & Rec, PTC), see this page. School Board School Board meetings are accessible to the public by internet or telephone. Meetings are broadcast on local cable television, live-streamed on the internet, and video recorded for playback. Visit Midpen Media Center for details. Public comment opportunities are available through virtual meetings. Meeting access instructions, calendar items, agendas, minutes and meeting schedule are provided on the PAUSD website; click on the Upcoming Meetings tab. Human Relations Commission Until further notice, meetings of the Human Relations Commission will be held by teleconference. Regular meetings are at 6 p.m. on the second Thursday of each month and are cablecast live on Government Channel 26. Agendas and minutes are available in the lowermost portion of the HRC webpage, Each agenda has Public Comment Instructions. To ensure participation in a particular item, the commission suggests calling in or connecting online 15 minutes before the item you wish to speak on. Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors The Board meets on Tuesdays at 9:30 a.m., usually twice a month. Check here for dates. During the pandemic, meetings of the Board of Supervisors and Board Policy Committees are held by teleconference only. However, members of the public are able to participate as noted below, and online streaming will continue as normal in the following forms: Agenda Portal: Board of Supervisors YouTube Channel Live Audio Stream For Public Comment Instructions, see this page. |
The time has come for nonpartisan state election leadership by Larry Diamond, Kevin Johnson and Miles Rapoport
In 33 of the 50 states, the position of secretary of state is filled in a partisan election and may provide a springboard to higher office. The United States is the only democracy in the world that asks its most senior election officials to straddle such a divide.
Student perspective: Voting is the backbone of our democracy—and in the 21st century, it’s barely a right.
What did the 2020 election mean to you? We’d like to share the perspective of Jessica Wang, a junior at Gunn High School and the Forum Editor of Oracle, Gunn’s student newspaper. Jessica takes us back to the history of suffrage in America and features Jeannie Lythcott, a veteran LWV Palo Alto Director in her interview.
What is the Electoral College good for? by LWVUS CEO Virginia Kase
Study finds universal vote-by-mail doesn't provide advantage to either GOP or Democrats
White Fragility Redux (full article)
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By Margan Zajdowicz of LWV Pasadena - June 2020
... I am a white woman. I read White Fragility more than a year ago. I reread the book after the George Floyd murder. The book makes white people uncomfortable, and hence reviews are not all positive.... From a different perspective, Jonathan Capehart’s review of the book, from the perspective of a black man, appeared just a few days ago in The Washington Post: “Dear white people, please read White Fragility —I implore you to read it.” Capehart was moved to tears by DiAngelo’s honesty and sincerity. In contrast, Kasi Lemons, another illustrious black filmmaker (Harriet), is not quite so forgiving of us white folk: She accuses us of lacking imagination:
Tough stuff, but we deserve it because we white people have enjoyed white privilege from the day we were born. We are still enjoying it, and we didn’t earn it. So what can we do about it? I, for one, am trying valiantly to be more sensitive, more aware of my white privilege, to search my soul, acknowledging my unearned advantages. I am trying to speak up, no matter how uncomfortable, when someone should…. I deserve no kudos, and I would be remiss if I didn’t humbly thank my dear friend Shirley Bowens for her friendship and gentle guidance. |
News & Events >> |
Stanford students carry on the legacy of suffragists, 100 years later (full article)
To mark the centennial of the 19th Amendment, Stanford recognizes the students who are following in the footsteps of the suffragists. (Image credit: Andrew Brodhead) Article and image reprinted courtesy of the Stanford News Service.
Stanford students carry on the legacy of suffragists, 100 years later
BY ALEX KEKAUOHA - AUGUST 20, 2020
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It’s been 100 years since Congress passed the 19th Amendment, giving women the right to vote in the United States....
Now, a century later, many Stanford students are building on those efforts – from organizing voting drives to leading the first Iowa caucus at Stanford to litigating gerrymandering. Here are some of the women Stanford students who are carrying on the legacy of the suffragists.
Kemi Oyewole
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Reflecting on the centennial of the 19th Amendment, Oyewole noted the often-overlooked history of how illiterate, immigrant and Black people were marginalized in the voting process, including by some suffragists....
Oyewole said she views herself as part of a lineage of Black women who have championed civic engagement within and beyond the ballot box, especially as their voting rights have been under attack.
Emily Rong Zhang
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Zhang has previously worked as an attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Voting Rights Project in New York, where she worked to protect citizens’ basic right to vote.
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“There’s nothing quite like beating bad people who are trying to suppress and dilute votes!” she said.
Jennifer Friedmann
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Friedmann is also encouraged by a progressive vision of the Constitution, which she said is meant to adapt to the lived experience of a growing nation....
“The 19th Amendment is the only part of the Constitution written by women..."
Ria Calcagno
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Calcagno is a founder of Young Americans for Democracy, a nonpartisan group facilitating civic engagement among the Bay Area’s young voters.
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“In the footsteps of Susan B. Anthony, Sojourner Truth and countless others, I work to give every citizen the opportunity to express their voice through voting, until this nation’s government is truly decided by all the people,” Calcagno said.
BY ALEX KEKAUOHA - AUGUST 20, 2020
...
It’s been 100 years since Congress passed the 19th Amendment, giving women the right to vote in the United States....
Now, a century later, many Stanford students are building on those efforts – from organizing voting drives to leading the first Iowa caucus at Stanford to litigating gerrymandering. Here are some of the women Stanford students who are carrying on the legacy of the suffragists.
Kemi Oyewole
...
Reflecting on the centennial of the 19th Amendment, Oyewole noted the often-overlooked history of how illiterate, immigrant and Black people were marginalized in the voting process, including by some suffragists....
Oyewole said she views herself as part of a lineage of Black women who have championed civic engagement within and beyond the ballot box, especially as their voting rights have been under attack.
Emily Rong Zhang
...
Zhang has previously worked as an attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Voting Rights Project in New York, where she worked to protect citizens’ basic right to vote.
...
“There’s nothing quite like beating bad people who are trying to suppress and dilute votes!” she said.
Jennifer Friedmann
...
Friedmann is also encouraged by a progressive vision of the Constitution, which she said is meant to adapt to the lived experience of a growing nation....
“The 19th Amendment is the only part of the Constitution written by women..."
Ria Calcagno
...
Calcagno is a founder of Young Americans for Democracy, a nonpartisan group facilitating civic engagement among the Bay Area’s young voters.
...
“In the footsteps of Susan B. Anthony, Sojourner Truth and countless others, I work to give every citizen the opportunity to express their voice through voting, until this nation’s government is truly decided by all the people,” Calcagno said.
