VOTER Upcoming Meetings February 26, 2015 General Meeting Garden Center 6:00pm: Social Time 6:30pm: Program Get Out the Vote Panel Discussion with skits. LWVEP Board of Directors President: Janet Monteros 1st Vice President (Programs): Donna Minear 2nd Vice President (Community Relations): Barbara Montoya 3rd Vice President (Organization) Susan Cooper: Secretary: Janet Kincaid Treasurer: Pat White Directors: Stephanie Welch, Dorothy Peca, Suzi Grizich, Carol Wallace February 2015 February General Meeting Thursday, February 26 Garden Center (Memorial Park) 6:00 – 8:00 pm I. Social Time 6:00 – 6:30 p.m. II. Opening of Meeting, Janet Monteros, LWVEP President 6:30 – 6:35 p.m. III. Social Justice in Education Task Force Performance 6:35 – 7:00 p.m. Janet Kincaid to introduce Jena Camp EPCC Group will perform 3 skits: 1. The Machine 2. The Puppet Master – CEO of Public Schools 3. Fine Arts Finale IV. Voter Registration/Get Out the Vote Panel Discussion 7:00 – 8:00 p.m. Pat White to introduce John Cazares + students from Eastwood High School Carol Wallace to introduce Claudia Ioli + others speaking for Youth (UTEP +) V. Closing of Meeting, Janet Monteros, LWVEP President 8:00 . CITY, INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT ELECTION DATES: February 27, 2015 - Last day for candidate to file an application for place on ballot for general election April 9, 2015 - last date to register to vote in May 9, 2015 general election April 27, 2015 - first day of early voting in person May 5, 2015 -- last day of early voting MAY 9, 2015 -- ELECTION DAY President’s Message: Dear MembersGovernor Greg Abbott formally submitted Cameron County Judge Carlos H. Cascos’ name to the Texas Senate for appointment as Secretary of State. Last week, our nominee Secretary of State Carlos H. Casco went before the Texas senate’s nomination committee. Why do you ask that this is important: The Secretary of State is the primary contact point for all county elections directors. The Secretary of State is responsible for implanting the Texas Elections Code and develops the rules which apply to every county, including El Paso County! That’s why we were watching the video transmission of his appearance before the Nominations Committee. Our Senator, Jose Rodriguez sits on that committee and had many good questions foranet the nominee. Of special interest was Carlos H. Casco’s observation that it is very important that, on election day, registered voters be allowed to vote at any voting place they choose, just like in early voting. Now that is good news!! Once he is confirmed we will be sending a good wishes letter to him, briefly touching on our election day concerns as well as inviting him to come to El Paso for a walk through meeting with interested El Paso county residents. Looking forward to seeing you at the general meeting! If you have a chance go ahead and google the Texas Senate video archive where you can listen to him yourselves. In League Janet Monteros, President New Member Vote411 Laura Strathmann 5823 N Mesa 525 El Paso, TX 79912 Laurastrathman@msn.com 915-820-1031 Vote411 is LWV’s online voters guide for elections – including the upcoming May election. Closer to the election you can go to www.Vote411.org, enter your address and you will see what races you can vote in and who the candidates for that race are. Voter Deputization Registrars For all of us who are deputized to register voters, our deputization expired Dec 2014 which means we have to be retrained and redeputized. The elections office has scheduled training for Wednesday, February 25 at 10:00am, Tuesday, March 10 at 3:00pm and Wednesday, March 25 at 1000am in the County Courthouse Commissioners Court, 3rd floor. El Paso County Elections Department will continue to deputize walk-in’s in their office located at 500 E. San Antonio, Suite #314, El Paso, Texas 79901 every Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., excluding holidays and election cycle. Candidate Forums KCOS has offered us time on March 19 and April 16 for Candidate Forums. After February 27 which is the last day to file for a place on the ballot, we will determine which races to include in our forums. LWV Texas Lobby Days February 23-24, 2015 Barbara Montoya and Pat White are planning to attend Lobby Days. Monday afternoon we will meet with other LWV members to learn about important issues. On Tuesday, February 24, we will be meeting in the morning to review our priorities and get insights on best practices for lobbying. Starting at 10:30, we will visit with our legislators, reviewing our priorities for the 84th Legislative Session and giving them a copy of “We Support.” Poppies Fest Poppies Fest will be April 4 from 10:00am – 4:00pm at the El Paso Archeology Museum. We will have a table where we will register voters.