"Reaching
for the Vote" was the theme of the conference at
the California Parent Teachers Association's annual meeting
in Long Beach on May 6. Kathleen Weisenberg and Roberta
Hollimon were the two Smart Voter representatives and conference
participants.
Roberta and Kathleen presented suggestions for getting out
the vote for parents, students and teachers as well as opportunities
for the PTA and League of Women Voters to work together
in getting out the vote. Some of the areas discussed were:
how to encourage more voter registration, better ways to
inform voters of the candidates and issues, and, to teachers
in particular, the importance of using Smart Voter as a
portal to all election information for youth programs, such
as Mock Elections, Kids Vote, and Kids Voting. The Easy
Reading Voter Guide for statewide candidate and issues information
is also found on the League's website at http://www.smartvoter.org.
Dawn Mehlhaff, Director of Voter Outreach programs at the
office of the Secretary of State, also made a presentation
at this yearly meeting. Dawn explained Secretary of State
Bill Jones's commitment to 100% voter registration and the
launch of a comprehensive campaign to achieve that goal.
The League of Women Voters and Smart Voter work in cooperation
with other organizations in the field of service to the
voter by co-sponsoring candidate forums and presenting the
ballot issues, among others. The League works through its
many-faceted Voter Service arena, and Smart Voter through
its innovative nonpartisan election website at http://www.smartvoter.org. |