 |  | President’s Corner – October 2020
“All Hands on Deck”
The election is rapidly approaching, in spite of COVID-19 challenges LWV of the Space Coast members worked together to distribute 6,000 voter information cards, delivered over 700 census door hangers that included voting information, circulated over 4,000 voter guides and in collaboration with other organizations held 10 candidate forums. Members sent 200 postcards to returning citizens (ex-felons who have completed their sentences) and are getting ready to complete 250 more. League members are also preparing for an important texting campaign, have answered dozens of questions on voting and helped with voter registration events. Student interns are sharing social media messages on Twitter, and Instagram covering information about Vote-by-Mail, why it is important to vote and registering to vote. They are also reminding everyone about these important dates and websites:
Register to Vote by October 5th
Request a mail ballot by October 9th
Best to Mail your Vote-by- Mail ballot by October 13th
Early Voting October 19th to 31st
Election Day Tuesday, November 3rd
Look for information on local candidates on vote411.org and the Brevard Supervisor of Elections website votebrevard.org
You can make a difference by making sure that your family and friends are registered to vote and that they all have access to the information they need to make informed decisions.
Talking of informed decisions, 6 amendments to the Florida constitution are on the ballot for November. The League of Women Voters of Florida have supplied us with paper Voter Guides that provide information about the ballot amendments and are available in Brevard Libraries. The Voter Guide is also available electronically from the league of LWV of Florida Website at www.LWVFL.org We have many zoom presentations on the amendments scheduled for different groups and we will also schedule one for LWV of the Space Coast members – please watch out for announcements.
Thanks to all members for your amazing efforts even in these challenging times. We are relying on all of you to continue your hard work, because without you we would not be able to continue our mission of Making Democracy Work.
Thank you for all that you do.
Stay well, stay strong and take care!
In League,
Jo Shim
|  | MAKE SURE YOUR VOTE IS COUNTED
by Diane Callier
The Brevard Supervisor of Elections (SOE) identified the following reasons for rejecting vote by mail ballots in the 2020 primary election.
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Voters failed to get the completed ballots to the SOE by the election day. A ballot postmarked on or before election day but not received by the SOE on or before election day will not be counted.
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The SOE was unable to verify signature. If you are uncertain of your signature on file you can update your signature by going to votebrevard.org and following the directions for voter registration.
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Some envelopes were received by the SOE without a ballot enclosed.
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Some ballots/envelopes were not signed at all or signed by the incorrect person.
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Some envelopes contained more than one ballot.
Important dates to know include:
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The SOE will begin mailing ballots on October 1 to those voters who have requested vote by mail ballots.
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It’s not too late to request vote by mail ballots. You can request your vote by mail ballot up to October 9.
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Early voting will be from October 19 through October 31. You can deliver your mail in ballots to drop boxes at early voting sites.
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If you are mailing your ballot you should mail it in as soon as possible and no later than October 26 to ensure it arrives at the SOE office on or before election day, November 3.
If you are uncertain about the requirements of voting by mail or would like to double check your vote by mail ballot and envelope before mailing, there is useful information at the SOE website, votebrevard.org to assist you. You may want to pay special attention to the following when preparing your vote by mail ballot:
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Complete your ballot in black ink.
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Fold the envelope on the fold line, not the perforation.
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Insert ballot into the secrecy envelope.
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Sign the envelope, provide your phone number and email address so that the SOE can contact you if there is a problem with your ballot that needs to be addressed
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Submit your ballot in a secure drop box at any early voting site or any SOE Office or stamp and mail not later than Oct. 13, preferably earlier.
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Track your ballot through receipt and counting at votebrevard.org. Your ballot will not show up as counted until after the election is over.
Now, get out there and vote!
| | Our guest speaker, Zachary Eichholz came to the City of Cape Canaveral having recently graduated from the Florida Institute of Technology with a Bachelor's of Science in Sustainability Studies and a Master's in Interdisciplinary Sciences. Before coming to the City of Cape Canaveral, Mr. Eichholz worked for the city of Satellite Beach for three years where he helped to draft the City's Sustainability Action Plan and implemented numerous community centered environmental and cost savings initiatives.
Register here for this event.
| | | Support for 1/2 Cent School Surtax |  |
SUPPORT TO CONTINUE ½ CENT SCHOOL SURTAX
Fran Baer - Chair of Education Committee
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. said, “Taxes are the price we pay for civilization”. How well we care for our children may well determine our level of civilization.
For the past six years, Brevard residents and visitors have been paying a ½ cent sales tax on goods to the benefit of the schools and our students. Approved in the 2014 election, the surtax is about to expire the end of calendar year 2020, unless the voters approve its extension Nov. 3rd.
Six years ago, the League of Women Voters of the Space Coast remained neutral regarding the tax referendum, preferring to monitor the spending should it pass. For the past six years, one of the Education Committee’s Programs of Work has been just that. To its credit, Brevard County School District, with the promised independent, citizen Oversight Committee, has done what the citizens of Brevard expected when they approved the referendum.
For that reason, the Education Committee voted to recommend support of the extension of the ½ cent surtax to the League Board and our members. Unanimously, the Board accepted the recommendation and will be advocating for its passage to our members, our families, and community.
The official title on the ballot reads, “Half-Cent Sales Surtax Extension For Critical School Facility, Security, And Technology Upgrades”.
In the interest of transparency, Superintendent Dr. Mark Mullins submitted a complete analysis of the surtax expenditures and an explanation which are posted on our League Club Express web site. www.lwv-spacecoast.org Included are the exact ballot language, guaranteeing once again an independent citizen Oversight Committee, and each school’s needs assessment and date of construction. Members are urged to review the contents.
In announcing the League’s support, the Education Committee and Board added a request that emphasis be placed on updating and upgrading the technology to eliminate the inequities that exist in our schools and communities, exacerbated by our present response to the COVID environment. Communicating remotely requires access to computers and internet services.
A sustainable civilization of enhanced learning and employment opportunities for all our children depends on the quality and utilization of current technology. Passage of the extension of the ½ cent school surtax brings us closer to that vision.
| | RETURNING CITIZEN POSTCARD PROJECT: At the September meeting of the Social
Justice Committee, we committed to sending out additional postcards to Returning Citizens to encourage them to vote.
Returning Citizens are people who have completed their felony sentences-including fines, fees, and restitution- who are eligible to vote since the passage of Amendment 4.
Those convicted of murder and felony sex offenses are excluded from this privilege. Over 60% of Floridians voted in favor of Amendment 4.
If you're interested in participating in this project, please call or e-mail
Sue Ebersberger or J Canfield, Project Coordinators, or, Kathy Ebersberger
or Brooke Deratany Goldfarb, Committee Co-Chairs. Contact information
available in Membership Directory.
Photo of Sue Ebersberger | | | | The International Relations Committee will have a zoom meeting on Tuesday, October 13th at
1 p.m.
Joyce Calese will be leading our discussion on China’s Road into Latin America.
Our meetings are on the second Tuesday of the month.
November and December topics are:
U.S. Relations with Northern Triangle and The Philippines and the U.S.
If you would like to join our meetings contact Joyce, Calese, chair of the IR committee.
calese37@gmail.com so a zoom connection can be sent to you.
| | |  | How the Covid-19 Pandemic is Impacting World Hunger
by Terry Mott
This month the LWVSC Sustainability Committee will look at United Nations Sustainable Development Goal No. 2--Zero Hunger, which was created to end world hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture by 2030.
According to the United Nations, in 2019 close to 750 million people in the world were exposed to severe levels of food insecurity, and an estimated 2 billion people did not have regular access to safe, nutritious and sufficient food. But the COVID-19 pandemic could double those numbers, and the crisis has shown that changes in the global food system are needed if we’re going to alleviate world hunger.
And here in the United States with food banks overwhelmed by demand and so many people experiencing food insecurity for the first time due to COVID-19, a Boston Globe article* this week described an innovative program where volunteers are partnering with local farms and businesses to help combat hunger and reduce food waste. Donated refrigerators are being placed along the streets of Boston, and volunteers are continually stocking them with free groceries available for anyone in need. And the idea is now taking off in other cities throughout the United States.
To learn about the impact of these challenges, the Sustainability Committee is holding a Zoom event on October 17, 2020 from 3 pm to 4:30 pm. Our guest speaker, Zachary Eichholz, Program Manager and Resilience Planner for the City of Cape Canaveral, will give a presentation on Food Security: Feeding the Present Without Compromising the Future.
According to Mr. Eichholz: Food security poses an immense risk to global stability and prosperity, both now and in the future. Leaders are now faced with two driving issues: how to feed a massive global population among a backdrop of growing climate uncertainty, and how to reliably produce food without compromising the environment even further. Scientists, policy makers, and everyday individuals are developing new and innovative ways to feed our world while also sometimes returning to the ways of the past for answers. Vertical farming, community gardening, carbon farming, and plant-based diets are just some of the ways the world is reinventing how food systems function.
So please join us on October 17 as we learn about some of the ways the world is reshaping how food systems function and how we can each make a difference in the fight to sustainably feed the world.
The event is free and open to the public. To register go to: Sustainability Committee Hot Topic - 10/17/2020
For further information, please contact Sustainability Committee Co-Chairs Susan Little at ergajn88@gmail.com and/or Terry Mott at terrymott93@gmail.com.
Resources:
United Nations Sustainable Development Goal No. 2: Zero Hunger ~ Why it Matters
https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/2_Why-It-Matters-2020.pdf
Hunger Facts and Figures
https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/hunger/
COVID-19 and the SDGs—How the roadmap for humanity could be changed by a pandemic
https://feature.undp.org/covid-19-and-the-sdgs/?utm_source=web&utm_medium=sdgs&utm_campaign=covid19-
*To combat hunger, neighbors are stocking community fridges on Boston’s streets--As food insecurity grows amid the pandemic, ‘freedges’ are helping out
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/09/25/business/combat-hunger-neighbors-are-stocking-community-fridg
|  | Natural Resources Committee Report
by Susan Little
The Natural Resource Committee of the League of Women Voters held their Sept. 10, 2020 meeting via Zoom with Marine Resource Council’s Dr. Leesa Souto and Joanie Regan presenting their program entitled Low Impact Development(LID): Restoring Rain’s Natural Path.
The goal of LID is to decrease the amount of rainfall that makes its way to the storm drains, picking up pollutants along the way, and then into the Indian River Lagoon. As we, the Brevard citizens, have taxed ourselves to help clean up the Lagoon, this program should be of interest to all. The current methods of development create impervious surfaces that rainwater cannot penetrate and so it runs off into the storm drains.
Joanie Regan and Dr. Leesa Souto gave a thoughtful and comprehensive explanation of the practices of LID and how implementing these practices could reduce runoff, control local flooding, increase tree cover and keep the rainwater on the plot. For more information, see savetheirl.org.
Also this month, the LWVSC have partnered with Citizen’s Climate Lobby to sponsor a third Solar Co-op for Brevard County. League of Women Voters has sponsored many Co-ops across the state and has advocated strongly for adoption of infrastructure for Electric Vehicles. Solar Co-ops now require that pricing include an option to install charging stations in your garage along with putting solar panels on your roof.
You can gather more information at solarunitedneighbors.org/spacecoast
A third topic of information from the Natural Resource Committee is that 1000 Friends of Florida is offering a free workshop at https://1000fof.org/county/brevard/
| New Members and Zoom Meetings | | We welcome our newest members
Jeanne Townsend
Kayla Schoen
Lanthe Maloon
Mary Jane Walters
E. Spaulding
Cynthia Hewitt
JoAnne Markle
Symrit Sooch
Isabelle Shim
Jennifer Larsen
Jeanine Henry
Stacey Bagg
Gina Lindhorst
| | October Zoom Meetings
Tuesday, Oct. 6th - Board Meeting 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm
Wednesday, Oct. 7th - Voter Service Committee 4 pm
Saturday, Oct. 10th - Recycling Committee Meeting 10 am to 11 am
Tuesday, Oct. 13th - International Relations Meeting - 1pm to 2:30 pm
Saturday, Oct. 17th Social Media Committee Meeting 10 am to 11 am
Monday, Oct. 19th Social Justice Committee Meeting 6pm to 7pm
Wednesday, Oct. 21st Education Committee Meeting 10 am | | | In Memoriam
LWVVC would like to extend sympathy to the families of our former members:
Annie Frame
Pat Manning | The League of Women Voters, a nonpartisan political organization, encourages informed and active participation in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues, and influences public policy through education and advocacy.
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