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Guest Commentary: Empowering women, empowering voters

By Staff | Aug 23, 2023

Saturday, Aug. 26, Women’s Equality Day, commemorates women’s right to vote through ratification of the 19th Amendment. Over the last 100-plus years, much progress has been made in the fight for women’s rights and equality, but there remains much to be done. Since 1920, the League of Women Voters has worked to create a more inclusive and equal society and to ensure the rights of all voters.

Today, the League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan, grassroots organization working to protect and expand voting rights and ensure everyone is represented in our democracy. We empower voters and defend democracy through advocacy, education and litigation at the local, state and national levels. The League does not endorse or oppose candidates or political parties.

Informed citizen participation and voting are at the heart of what we do. We are now just over 14 months until the next General Election and, throughout Southwest Florida, the League is committed to providing nonpartisan information about issues in our region.

In 2023 and 2024, we will be providing the citizens of Charlotte County, Collier County, Lee County, and Sanibel Island opportunities to participate in sessions that cover issues that impact all of us. Here are just some of the topics our Leagues are addressing:

–­Protection and expansion of voting rights in Florida

–Privacy in healthcare decisions and reproductive rights

–Clean water rights for our citizens

–Resiliency in response to natural disasters

–Affordable housing and responsible development

–Accountability in funding public education

Your vote is your voice. Voting is a fundamental right. Prepare yourself to vote in 2024.

Contact your county’s Supervisor of Elections Office to register to vote or check your registration status: confirm your address, that your signature is current, that your party designation reflects your intent to vote in Florida’s closed primaries.

Update your request for vote by mail if you have not done so in 2023. Florida law now requires that you request a vote-by-mail ballot every election cycle.

Watch for local LWV events and participate to educate yourself about your local candidates and issues.

Use LWVFL resources for persons with completed sentences to regain their right to vote Returning Citizen – League of Women Voters of Florida (lwvfl.org).

Use the League’s nonpartisan information to educate yourself on issues important to you and your community and candidates’ positions on important topics. VOTE411 (www.Vote411.org) is the League’s “one-stop-shop” for registration and election information. All information is received directly from each candidate, and it includes tools to create a personalized sample ballot to inform your vote.

Be informed and make your voices heard with elected officials and at the ballot box. It is up to all of us to defend democracy.

More information on League principles, issues, priorities, and resources are available on our websites: LWVUS www.lwv.org, LWVFlorida www.lwvfl.org and through local Leagues in Southwest Florida (Charlotte, Collier, Lee County, and Sanibel) whose websites are listed below. League community educational events and conversations provide additional opportunities to learn about topics that impact all our lives.

— Jean Finks, President, LWV Charlotte County, www.lwvccfl.org

— Diane Preston Moore, President, LWV Collier County, www.lwvcolliercounty.org

— Sandy Frank, President, LWV Lee County, www.lwvlee.org

— Cathie Kozik, President, LWV Sanibel, https://www.facebook.com/lwvsanibel