VOTER NEWSLETTER
Vol. 63, No. 8 March 2024 Editor: Virginia Marsh
| | Inside this Issue
- March 5, 2024 Primary Election
- Public Meeting: Fake or Fact?
- Join Us at Our March 23 Social Event
- Do You Want to Become Active in the League of Women Voters?
- No Richardson Independent School District Board of Trustees Election May 4, 2024
- Voter Registration Events
- Recap of Voter Registration at Naturalization Ceremonies
- CHIP and Children's Medicaid Help Session March 23
- Progress on the Cotton Belt Trail
- Student Spotlight
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Key Dates in February 2024
- March 1 Last Day of Early Voting
- March 5 Texas Primary Election
- March 23 CHIP and Children's Medicaid Help Session
- March 23 Social Event at Jeng Chi
| | |
March 5, 2024 Primary Election
| The last day of early voting for the March 5 Primary Elections is Friday, March 1st. First Baptist Church (1001 N. Central Expressway; northwest corner of Central Expressway and Arapaho Road) is an early voting location for both Dallas County and Collin County voters.
Registered voters who live in either Dallas County or Collin County may vote at any Vote Center in their county of residence, either during early voting or on Election Day. On Tuesday, March 5th (Election Day), Vote Centers will be open from 7am to 7 pm. If you are in line to vote by 7 pm, you will be allowed to vote.
Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) is offering free transportation (on all DART buses, trains, GoLink, the Dallas Streetcar, Paratransit Services, and the TRE between EBJ Union Station and CentrePort/DFW Airport Station) on Election Day (March 5). Riders must show a valid voter registration card to ride for free on March 5. GoLink riders can use promo code VOTE35 at checkout for a complimentary Adult Local Day Pass in the DART GoPass app on March 5 only.
For complete election information, visit our website. To view an online version of the LWVVoters Guide, showing only the races that will be on your ballot, type in your address at www.VOTE411.org, which is operated by the League of Women Voters.
Primary candidates who receive more than 50% of the votes in their race will go on to represent their political party on the November 2024 General Election ballot. In Primary races in which no candidate receives more than 50% of the votes, there will be a runoff election between the two top vote-getters for that race on May 28, 2024. |
Public Meeting:
"Fake or Fact? Can you Tell the Difference"
| LWVRichardson is teaming up with the Richardson Interfaith Alliance to sponsor a public meeting. Lauren Ratliff Santoro, Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Texas at Dallas, will speak about "Fake or Fact? Can You Tell the Difference?"
Thursday, March 28, 2024
Arapaho United Methodist Church
1400 W Arapaho Road
Richardson, TX 75080
11:30am arrive and get a box lunch*
noon - 1pm presentation
*The event is free, but registration is recommended. Not only can you register (seating is limited), but you can reserve a free box lunch (veggie or non-veggie).
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Join with us at our March 23 Social Event
| We hope you will plan to join us at our next League of Women Voters of Richardson Social on
Wednesday, March 20 at 6:00pm
400 N. Greenville Ave, Suite 11
Richardson, Texas 75081
The Socials are a great way to get better acquainted with your League friends and enjoy a meal together. |
Do you want to Become Active
in the League of Women Voters of Richardson?
| Are you interested in becoming active in the League of Women Voters of Richardson (LWVR) next fiscal year?
- Find out more information about LWVR.
- Join LWVR and help us achieve our mission.
- Become a committee chair for LWVR and help in planning and implementation of events and ideas.
Currently, the Nominating Committee of the League of Women Voters of Richardson is looking for interested people to serve on various committees for the 2024-2025 fiscal year. The new fiscal year begins June 1, 2024, and ends May 31, 2025.
Click here for a survey to find out what LWVR jobs you are interested in for our next fiscal year.
- If you have any questions about the League, please contact Ellen Steger at league@lwvrichardson.org
- If you have a question for the Nominating Committee (including questions about a particular job), please contact Nita Thomason at NomCom@lwvrichardson.org.
Founded in 1920, the League of Women Voters (LWV) is a nonpartisan, grassroots nonprofit dedicated to empowering everyone to fully participate in our democracy. With active Leagues in all 50 states and more than 750 Leagues across the country, LWV engages in advocacy, education, litigation, and organizing to protect every American's freedom to vote.
Above all, the League is nonpartisan. The League NEVER endorses or opposes a political party or candidate. When representing the League at any level (national, state, or local) we must remain nonpartisan at all times.
LWV Mission: Empowering voters. Defending democracy.
LWV Vision: We envision a democracy where every person has the desire, the right, the knowledge, and the confidence to participate.
|
No Richardson Independent School District
Board of Trustees Election
on May 4, 2024
| An election was scheduled for May 4th for Richardson Independent School District (RISD) Board of Trustees single-member District 1 and at-large Place 7. The last day for candidates to file to run for those offices was February 16th. Incumbents Megan Timme and Chris Poteet filed as candidates, but neither candidate drew any challengers.
Because there will be only one name for each office on the ballot, the RISD May 4 election will not be held. Other jurisdictions (cities, school districts, counties, etc.) may still have offices and/or bond proposals on the May 4 local election ballot. We will update our website as information becomes available. |
Voter Registration Events
| The voter registration activities give us a chance to interface with people of all ages, to emphasize the importance of voting, and to provide information about locations, ID requirements, and important dates. It is amazing to hear how much folks appreciate the work we do and it is very rewarding to help so many people participate in the privilege of having a say by voting.
February was a busy month with Voter Registration activities. We had a table at the PTA Used Book Fair, and one at the Lunar New Year Celebration in Richardson, as well as continued efforts at the Alamo Drafthouse. We have held office hours on Tuesdays at the League of Women Voters of Richardson (LWV-R) office to help register voters and provide information. Volunteers this month included Vicki Barrett, Janet Centola, new members John and Susan Jennings, Diana Lace, Cathy Lawrence, Ellen Steger, and Nita Thomason. Everyone’s efforts were greatly appreciated.
Cathy Murphree continued efforts at the University of North Texas Dallas and University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) engaging several students and partnering with student organizations to encourage voting. And she continues to coordinate voter registration at Naturalization Ceremonies.
Upcoming March efforts include a voter registration day at the Wellington in Richardson and at the Dover Elementary Academic All Stars Night.
If you are interested in helping out or learning how to become a VDR. Please contact Janet Centola at VoterReg@lwvrichardson.org. It is not necessary to be a VDR to participate in voter registration events.
Submitted by: Janet Centola |
Recap of Voter Registration at Naturalization Ceremonies
| The League of Women Voters (LWV) is designated by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to provide voter registration services at their North Texas naturalization events. As this is a project too large for one chapter, the Richardson, Collin County, and Dallas Leagues collaborate in this effort, aided by generous volunteers from partner organizations as well as independent Volunteer Deputy Registrars (VDRs).
2024’s first Naturalization Event Voter Registration took place February 20, 2024, at the Plano Event Center, and resulted in 488 new citizen voter registration applications!
The events are held at the Plano Event Center, 2000 E. Spring Creek Parkway, Plano, TX 75074. Volunteers typically work 2-4 hours at some point during the day between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m. We also have some volunteers who can “only” give an hour, often during a work day, and we appreciate and welcome that as well!
If you’re a Volunteer Deputy Registrar (VDR) for Dallas, Denton, Collin, or Tarrant counties, we need you! If you’re a VDR for multiple counties, that’s even better! If you’re a relatively new VDR, or if you just need a refresher event, let us know that—we can pair you with someone.
|
CHIP and Children's Medicaid
Application Help Session
on March 23
| Families who do not have coverage through their employment such as seasonal workers, employees who work part-time, grandparents who are raising their grandchildren on a fixed income, those who are currently unemployed, and teenagers who are “on their own” are some of our neighbors who might have eligible children. Please invite anyone you think may be interested to be with us on March 23.
The Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and Children’s Medicaid have been well received by Texas families and these programs help to assure that our children have adequate preventative care in addition to coverage for more complex medical care. It is much more cost effective to provide immunizations, check-ups, and early intervention in childhood illnesses than to wait for a problem to develop into an emergency.
The LWVRichardson is a long-time supporter of these programs. Members can help with an application help session at
St. Barnabas Presbyterian Church
1220 W. Belt Line Road
Richardson 75080
from 9 to noon on March 23, 2024.
Spanish speaking experts will be available to assist. During our February help session, four families received assistance. We estimate that seven children will receive benefits.
For more information, please contact Martha Dorris:
Home phone: 972-690-4908
Cell phone: 214-973-4712 (text, please)
Thank you for your support and help.
|
Progress on The Cotton Belt Trail
| Dallas County Commissioners Court Approves Funding for Phases 2 and 3 for 2024/25
One of the greatest assets of the DFW area is its access to multiple bike and hike trails like the Cotton Belt Regional Trail. It is a proposed 57-mile trail that will run in part along the proposed 26-mile commuter Silver Line Regional Railway. 20.6 miles of the Cotton Belt Trail already exist, with another 21.53 miles being funded for construction. 14.81 miles of trail still need funding. The Cotton Belt trail will extend from Downtown Plano to CityLine in Richardson, and on through Addison, Carrollton, Cypress Waters in Dallas, Coppell, Grapevine, and reaching to existing trails all the way to North Richland Hills, Haltom City, and Fort Worth. It is a fabulous addition to the trail systems of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex.
Not only will the Cotton Belt Regional Trail connect the northern suburbs of the DFW Metroplex, but it will also connect three other regional trails. See a map here.
The Cotton Belt Trail will connect three major regional trails: one regional trail goes from Downtown Dallas west to Fort Worth, a second one extends from Downtown Dallas and White Rock Lake north to Richardson and McKinney, and the third trail runs from Dallas past Bachman Lake and north to Lake Lewisville and Denton.
The Cotton Belt Trail will be built in three phases. With a variety of funding sources, Dallas County will fund that part of the trail that runs through Dallas County. $5.9 million of Dallas County funds including transportation grants will be committed to the second and third phases of construction. After the Dallas County Commissioners Court delayed voting on February 6 to authorize the money for construction on the Cotton Belt Trail, a new date was set for February 20. On this date, the court voted to secure the funding so that phases 2 and 3 can commence.
Results of the Dallas County Commissioner’s Court on February 20, 2024:
The Dallas County Commissioners Court approved and authorized the execution of the Interlocal Agreement between Dallas County and North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCG) to secure the local funding for the Cotton Belt Trails and Preserve Project (TAPP) 90027 Project. Dallas County’s contribution for Phase 2 is in the not to exceed the amount of $1,833,278.00 due Fiscal Year 2024, and Phase 3 is in the not to exceed the amount of $4,108,205.00 due Fiscal Year 2025.
Construction is estimated to begin Fall of 2024 for the Transportation Alternatives (TA) Set-Aside Grant portion of Phase 2.
| Occasionally, the monthly VOTER newsletter will highlight a member of the League of Women Voters of Richardson (LWVR). We are starting this month with highlighting University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) students and LWVRichardson members Isabella Spartz and Chandu Garapaty.
Isabella Spartz
I'm a third-year finance and economics student at UTD, about to graduate this semester. Yipee! I'm from North Houston, and something that makes me unique is that I helped set up the voter registration event that actually took place on my 18th birthday. So, I got to register to vote at my own event on my birthday. Not many people get to say they've done that!
I've known about the League of Women Voters for a while; however, I didn't know about the local chapters in the Dallas-Fort Worth area until I ran into Cathy Murphree, LWVRichardson Voter Registration Chairman, while studying for my class in September. After that, I started working with Cathy and other members to register more students, and eventually, I joined the LWVR myself.
During my time at UTD, I've been a part of Student Government as a JSOM (Jindal School of Management) Senator and Legislative Affairs Chair for the past couple of years. I'm also a part of the Davidson Management Honors Program, which is the business honors program at my school. Additionally, I'm a part of my school's pre-law mediation team. I also founded and led the UTD Students Demand Action (SDA) chapter. I've also been active in the powerlifting club, Deeds Not Words, and the John Marshall Pre-Law Society.
My biggest issue has been voter accessibility, ensuring that disenfranchised individuals like young people, people of color, and non-men have access to voting and all the resources they need. My work at UTD has focused heavily on increasing voter accessibility and ensuring students are registered and able to get to the polls. Additionally, the issue of gun violence is very close to my heart. I started my SDA Chapter just a couple of weeks before the Allen tragedy, so that propelled me to be an even stronger advocate for sensible gun laws and fighting for our survivors.
| Chandu Garapty
I am a junior at UTD majoring in Healthcare Studies as a premed. An interesting fact about me is that I used to do native bee advocacy in high school!
I heard about the League of Women Voters when I met Cathy Murphree from the League, who was tabling at UTD and encouraged me to join.
I'm currently president of Comets for Better Transit, which is a student organization advocating for better non-car transit at UTD and the surrounding community. I'm also an honors student and involved in the honors community. I volunteer with University Emergency Medical Response, which is an organization of volunteer EMTs responding to medical emergencies on campus.
I'm also a member of the UTD Sustainability Committee.As you can probably tell, I'm currently very interested in improving the quality and convenience of non-car transportation. That includes active transportation like walking and biking as well as public transit like buses, trains, and trams! This also includes supporting mixed-use and dense development near campus. This type of development allows people to go to class, their housing, and retail without needing a car. Personally, I became involved after learning about how cars drive urban sprawl, which leads to habitat loss.
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