CANDIDATES PITCH VOTERS AT ELECTION EXPO
The Election Expo Sept. 30 at Palm Beach State College was a rousing success, with many local candidates (or their representatives) on hand to interact with citizens one-on-one — plus games, food and fun. The event was coordinated by the League, Leadership Palm Beach County and Palm Beach State College.
Speakers Bureau volunteers staffed tables and explained the upcoming ballot questions — six Florida Constitutional Amendments and a Palm Beach County Schools Referendum — to guests. Voter Services volunteers were on hand to assist with voter registration.
In addition, the Supervisor of Elections staff brought voting machines to demonstrate, the League distributed its 2024 Voters’ Guide, and the School District was on hand to promote its half-cent sales tax referendum.
— Kathi Gundlach, President | GET ONE WHILE YOU CAN
PBC League Voters' Guide is a hot commodity |  | Palm Beach County League volunteers are distributing 40,000 English copies and 5,000 Spanish copies of the 2024 print Voters’ Guide throughout Palm Beach County, including all county and city libraries, city halls and other government offices, senior residential communities and senior day centers, FAU in Boca Raton, businesses and houses of worship. We suggest you call a location first to make sure it still has copies available before you go there. Our volunteers will replenish supplies until they are gone.
The Voters’ Guide also will be in the Oct. 6 home delivery edition — from Jupiter to Boca Raton — of The Palm Beach Post. And if you want copies for your community or group, email Christene Campbell-Gabor at Christene.LWVPBC@gmail.com to arrange delivery.
A digital copy of the Voters’ Guide can be found online at LWVPBC.org. Your local candidates’ information also is available on Vote411.org, a nationwide voter information website created by the national League of Women Voters’ Education Fund.
Above: Linda Kramer, Kevin Baker and Joyce Sullivan ready to load the Voters' Guides into member volunteers' cars. | SIX DAYS LEFT TO REGISTER TO VOTE IN NOV. 5 ELECTION
The Supervisor of Elections books for the November election close Oct. 7, and our Voter Services teams are working hard to help register any new voters and help them with Vote By Mail applications. Anyone in Florida who is eligible but has not yet registered to vote must do so by that deadline if they want to cast a ballot.
If you think you are registered locally, but have not voted in a number of years, please make sure your registration is still current. Don’t wait until you go to the polls and risk being turned down. You can check “My Status” on VotePalmBeach.gov — as well as whether you are signed up for Vote By Mail. All of this can be done online.
Finally, make a plan to vote. Urge your family and friends to make a plan too. Be informed on all races and amendments, and vote the entire ballot. On the six Constitutional Amendments, the League of Women Voters of Florida recommends the following: Vote NO on Amendment 1, YES on Amendment 4, and NO on Amendment 6. The League of Women Voters of Palm Beach County recommends voting YES on the School District’s half-cent sales tax. |  | INTRODUCING 'the VOTER'
The Voter, the new version of the League’s newsletter, will publish on the first of every month. The deadline to submit news articles to the editor, Carol Carnevale, is the 20th of every month. Submit articles and photos to News@LWVPBC.org. If you’re interested in being part of the Newsletter team, contact Carol Carnevale at News@LWVPBC.org. |  | What do the Florida Constitutional Amendments mean?
If you don’t know, you are not alone. Look for an event soon: The Palm Beach County League of Women Voters Speakers Bureau will host a virtual meeting to explain the six proposals, all on the November ballot, to amend the Florida Constitution.
The presentations and speakers are easy to understand and strictly nonpartisan. For more information, please email SpeakersBureau@LWVPBC.org
Thanks to a dynamic Speakers Bureau team, “DECISION 2024: A Voter’s Guide to the Six Amendment Proposals on the Florida General Election Ballot,” will educate almost 5,000 voters throughout Palm Beach County before the election.
In addition, the presentation on the amendments is now available on the League's website, LWVPBC.org, in Spanish and Haitian Creole. It was translated and recorded in Spanish by Claudia Mendoza and in Haitian Creole by Ancy Louis. The English version was recorded by Janet Elinoff, Dylan Gaynor and Ken Thomas.
All versions are available to view at no cost on LWVPBC.org by clicking on the Voter Toolkit 2024 button on the home page.
— Janet Elinoff, Speakers Bureau Chair
|  | MEMBERS MENU HAS SPECIAL FEATURES
I hope you’ve had a chance to look around at our new, streamlined website, which still lives at the same address, LWVPBC.org.
If you are a League member, please sign in — which requires that you create a login and password, and a profile for yourself. Then you can see all the members-only features. For example, the Directory is in the MEMBERS menu. You can use the Directory to search for contact information for other members.
Once you have created your login, we ask you to sign in before registering for any event. It will be easier and faster for you, and it will make our staff’s tasks easier. Data collection is automated if you sign in.
Meetings can be found in the Calendar in the EVENTS menu as well as in the League News on the bottom of the Home page. Most notices of Zoom meetings will include Zoom links. That means you can click the link for your meeting from the website (as long as you sign in first). Non-members, however, cannot see the Zoom link.
Finally, in the MEMBERS menu, you will find “Virtual Recordings.” Click on that link to see Zoom recordings of meetings and trainings. For example, go to “Virtual Recordings” to see the website training I gave Sept. 21 called “Key Features of this Website.” Did you know that on that video, and almost all YouTube videos, you can click the “settings” gear on the bottom of the video and change the playback speed? Some videos are better at 1.25 or 1.5 times their normal speed.
We hope you enjoy our new website! Please visit often!
— Dan Lishansky, Web Designer & Manager
| To sign in for the first time, or if you have forgotten your Username or Password, follow these step-by-step directions:
1. Go to LWVPBC.org.
2. Click the LOGIN button.
3. Click “Forgot My Username/Password.”
4. You will be asked for your email address and first name. Enter it and click Okay.
5. You will be sent an email with a Temporary Username and a Temporary Password.
6. Sign in with the Temporary Username and the Temporary Password. (Do not have your browser memorize the temporary information.)
7. Once signed in, you will be directed to create a new Username and Password (to replace the temporary ones). Do it.
8. Next time you sign in, enter your new Username and Password. Your browser may ask if it should remember your username and password. Say yes. Then each time you come back to the website you will be signed in automatically.
If you still have trouble signing in, send Dan Lishansky an email at NPV@LWVPBC.org. He will respond by email or make arrangements to speak to you by phone to make sure you can sign in. | |
PRESIDENT'S
MESSAGE
Heaps of gratitude
to so many go-getters | | | We have had a particularly active summer and fall, especially with the General Election coming soon. Kudos are due to many League members and sponsors of our successful efforts, including:
Joyce Sullivan and her team organized yesterday’s Election Expo, and Palm Beach State College and Leadership Palm Beach County partnered with our League to make it so successful. Major sponsors were Leadership Palm Beach County; Smith, Ball, Báez and Prather Florida Injury Lawyers; The Palm Beach Post; Searcy Denney Scarola Barnhart and Shipley, PA; and The Sierra Club of Loxahatchee. Sponsors also included the Black Chamber of Commerce of Palm Beach County, Inc., and three League member donors.
Our Voter Services teams, headed by Phyllis Applebaum, have been working overtime to register new voters and help with Vote By Mail applications in time for the November election. They have visited numerous senior facilities throughout Palm Beach County, as many seniors especially need to vote by mail.
Joyce Sullivan and her team — Carol Carnevale, Maria Velez, Becky Haltermon-Robinson, Kris Serbesoff-King and Christene Campbell-Gabor — did a fantastic job with our 2024 Voters’ Guide and Vote411.org website. We also appreciate our generous sponsors: Searcy Denny Scarola Barnhart and Shipley, PA, The Palm Beach Post, Extraordinary Charities and two grantors.
Our Speakers Bureau has been extra busy explaining the six Florida Constitutional Amendments on the November ballot to thousands of residents in the community. Thank you to Janet Elinoff and her team.
A big thank you to Dan Lishansky and his team for our new website. Please take time to peruse it and don't forget to sign in. The new website will allow you to order your tickets to Hot Topics, buy merchandise and keep current on League activities. Dan did the yeoman’s amount of work on the site, aided by Dorneth Weir, who set up the financial components and the files to transfer. Connie Christians assisted with the transfer of information and used her vast knowledge of the League to help. Reisha Allen, Carol Carnevale, Karen Clarke, Marge Holtz, Linda Kramer, Mary Jane Range and Joyce Sullivan, as well as Dan, were the steering committee that agreed to use Club Express as our platform.
Look for information below about our League’s October and November Hot Topic presentations. To underwrite a Hot Topic, contact me at Kathi.LWVPBC@gmail.com.
— Kathi Gundlach, President | HAVE 'ELECTION POLICE' QUESTIONED YOU?
If someone knocks on your door or contacts you to ask about your signature on the petition to put Amendment 4 on the ballot, please make sure the person identifies themself and displays a badge when asked to. Write down the name of the person and the agency they are with BEFORE you respond to their questions.
If you have been contacted or are contacted regarding your signature on the petition, please contact League co-presidents Cecile Scoon (Cecile@LWVFL.org) & Debbie Chandler (Debbie@LWVFL.org).
And, if you know of family, friends or colleagues anywhere in the state who have been approached regarding their signature on the Amendment 4 petition, we would appreciate knowing that also. | MEMBERSHIP: HELP US GET TO 700
Our League has just reached 600 members. We have new JOIN business cards that you can use to give to your friends, neighbors and work colleagues encouraging them to join our League. We hope you will also give them out at every Voter Registration, Speakers' Bureau event and general LWV and community activities. Contact Darlene Kostrub at Members@LWVPBC.org or (561) 276-4898 to get a supply of the new cards. |
WELCOME THESE NEW MEMBERS TO THE LEAGUE
Their contact information is available in the Member Directory at LWVPBC.org.
Jessie Baxter (Jupiter), Barbara Bogart (Palm Beach Gardens), Diane Buhler (Singer Island), Paul Clark (Riviera Beach), Roberta Feldgoise (Palm Beach Gardens), Dylan Gaynor (Boca Raton), Greg Goodman (Boynton Beach), Judy Gordon (Boca Raton), Lynda Gotlieb (Lake Worth Beach), Carolyn Hall (Riviera Beach), Kelly Henderson (Palm Beach Gardens), Amy Kemp (Juno Beach), Mindy Koch (Boca Raton), Julie Lake (Wellington), Miriam Mashatt (Jupiter), Kerry McCaffrey (West Palm Beach), Annie McGrath (Delray Beach), Melissa Palmer (Boynton Beach), Donna Palumbo (North Palm Beach), Connie and Mitch Pearl (Jupiter), Andrea Smith (Delray Beach) and Wendy Wingfield (Boca Raton).
— Darlene Kostrub, Membership Chair
|
VOTING RESOURCES FOR DISABILITY COMMUNITY
Disability Rights Florida has a new brochure, Your Disability Voting Rights, available for download on its website — DisabilityRightsFlorida.org — available in English, Spanish and Haitian Creole. Similarly, Access the Vote Florida also has resources available on its website, AccessTheVote.org, as well as a Disability Rights Hotline, (877) 352-7337. Access the Vote also offers videos and recorded webinars on voting with a disability.
One in four Americans has a disability, making the disability community potentially the largest minority voting bloc in the United States. These organizations are working to ensure that every voter with a disability has a polling place they can access and voting equipment they can use.
— Marilyn Baldwin | NEITHER RAIN, NOR SNOW, NOR GLOOM .....
On the night of Hurricane Helene warnings, this great crowd of new members gathered at the home of Liz Shapiro in West Palm Beach for a Meet and Greet with the Palm Beach County League's Membership Team.
— Darlene Kostrub, Membership Chair
| VOTER REGISTRATION
LIGHTHOUSE FOR THE BLIND
Thank you to member volunteers
Pamela Maldonado and Marcia Halpern
(not pictured) from Voter Services.
| VOTER REGISTRATION
YWCA CHILD DEVELOPMENT CENTER
Thank you to team leader Janet Clark (not
pictured), Carol Carnevale and Adrienne Coffin.
| PREP TEAM FOR ELECTION EXPO
Expo volunteers spent a day stuffing gift bags:
Kathi Gundlach, president, and Janet Elinoff, top left;
Serena Cummins, top right; and Darlene Kostrub, bottom left.
|  | WEEKEND OF ACTIONS SUPPORT AMENDMENT 4
Members from the Palm Beach County League and other League chapters throughout Florida helped the petition drive for the reproductive freedom Constitutional Amendment on the November ballot. The League supports passage of this amendment.
To continue to help the effort, you can join Yes on 4 for its October Weekend of Actions in Palm Beach County. Yes on 4 partners and volunteer leaders will host local action events where you can learn how to talk to voters about supporting the Amendment to Limit Government Interference with Abortion this November, and then have the opportunity to connect with voters and spread the message. Interested in joining a local event? Find one here: Mobilize.us/Yes4Florida/
Visit our Amendment 4 Postcarding page for information on how you can help with postcarding!
| FREE COVID TESTS AVAILABLE FROM HHS
The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services recently announced that all U.S. households will be eligible to order four free COVID-19 test kits at COVIDTests.gov. The tests were to become available at the end of September.
COVID testing can help you determine your next steps: should I take Paxlovid, should I quarantine, etc. Consult your physician for recommendations.
The CDC recommends that everyone aged 6 months and older receive an updated 2024-2025 COVID-19 vaccine to protect against the potentially serious outcomes of COVID this fall and winter. For more information, visit the CDC’s COVID-19 webpage.
— Nancy Gau, Healthcare Co-chair
| UPCOMING EVENTS
Click on the flyer to see the event
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