Look on vote411.org for answers to questions from the Democratic presidential candidates. Right now, there’s also information about how to register to vote in Oregon and tips for first time voters. Just go to the menu at the top left, select Oregon, and check it out!
In early April, the League of Women Voters will add information about our state and local candidates to the vote411.org website. We will also add information on ballot measures for Multnomah County voters. Make vote411.org your go-to source for nonpartisan election information.
During this COVID-19 emergency, voters should be prepared to avoid voting in person. Fortunately we have Vote-by-Mail in Oregon, so you don’t have to stand in line! Please remember to register early or update your registration as soon as you can. The deadline to register to vote is April 28. For more information about registering to vote in Multnomah County, click here.
During the COVID-19 crisis, the League of Women Voters will be providing online information about candidates and measures via Vote411.org and on this website.
We will produce printed voters’ guides and distribute them widely throughout the county. In addition, we will produce and post online video recordings of candidate interviews for a Video Voters’ Guide. Stay tuned!
View the video of a Panel Discussion of Privacy and Cybersecurity
On March 10, the League of Women Voters of Portland hosted a program on “Privacy and Cybersecurity Today,” based on a new study by the League of Women Voters of Oregon.
Now you can view the video of this program to learn about this urgent and timely topic. How can we protect elections? How can you (and businesses you use) protect your personal data?
Click below to view this video:
SPEAKERS
LWVOR President Becky Gladstone, who was a member of the study committee, will be the featured speaker. She will be joined on the panel by the Director of Multnomah County Elections, Tim Scott, speaking on election security, and Emily Maass, an attorney with expertise on privacy and data protection.
TOPICS
Over the past decade, the public has been alarmed by news of identity theft, cyber attacks on personal accounts, threats to election security, tracking, surveillance, and cyber warfare. The LWV of Oregon study of these issues began in May 2019 and was completed in February. You can read the entire study online by clicking here.
Learn more about these ongoing compelling issues:
Privacy, cybersecurity, and election security
Privacy and cybersecurity protections now in effect
Current legislation: privacy, cybersecurity, and election security and
“Cyber hygiene,” or privacy and transparency protection
Below is the schedule for rebroadcast on cable channels.
The League of Women Voters of Portland’s Civic Education programs are free and open to the public. MetroEast Community Media records these programs for rebroadcast and online streaming from this website. The Carol & Velma Saling Foundation and the Multnomah Bar Foundation provided funding for the recordings. We design our programs to inform our community about current issues. Please join us for this program and our voter forums in April on the candidates and issues in the Oregon Primary Election.
Watch the Highlights from our program on “Education Innovations”
Click below to see a 20-minute video that shows the best parts of our “Innovations in Public Education” panel discussion. Experts from Metro-area schools talk about new ideas for improving education. Watch and hear what’s happening in our public schools to help all students learn and succeed!
The Board of Directors of the Portland League has approved a new – and dramatically different – advocacy position on Portland’s City Government.
The position is the result of a thorough two-year study of Portland’s government, which led to the report shown at the left. After publishing this report, the study committee presented a panel discussion. Then, groups of League members discussed the findings and agreed upon key changes needed for Portland’s government.
The League’s new City Government position calls for major improvements in the government’s structure and also in the way voters elect the City Councilors. Here are some of our recommendations, which we will use during the City Charter Review process in 2021:
improve citizen representation by increasing the number of commissioners
institute a city manager
establish the City Council as a legislative or policy-setting body
elect some or all city councilors by district
You can read the entire new League position by clicking here.
During their two-year study, the study committee read more than 30 source documents. They also interviewed 15 government experts and city officials. Then they wrote their report, The City That Works: Preparing Portland for the Future. You can read the this report here. You may view the video of the panel discussion of Portland’s government here.
Our 100th Birthday is on February 14. We are celebrating a century of empowering voters and defending democracy! We are 100 years strong.
In 1920, after 72 years of struggling to gain the right to vote, American women knew the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution would soon be ratified. Almost 2,000 women from around the country gathered at a “victory convention” of the National American Woman Suffrage Association.
On February 14, 1920, they voted to organize the National League of Women Voters. Then, they decided that the state groups in the NAWSA should become nonpartisan state Leagues of Women Voters. Every League would have the same purposes as the national League – “to foster education in citizenship and support improved legislation.”
Thus, the League of Women Voters of Oregon also was founded on February 14, 1920. Effie Simmons from Portland, Oregon, was elected to be on the first National LWV Board. (Source: More Power Than We Knew, A History of the League of Women Voters of Oregon:1920-2012, pages 15-16)
We are celebrating some other significant anniversaries this month too. February 14th is also the 161st anniversary of the day Oregon became a state. February 3rd was the 150th anniversary of the adoption of the 15th Amendment, stating that the right to vote shall not be denied on account of race. The League is still working throughout the U.S. to protect the right of all citizens to vote.
We have created a 5-minute video about the League’s history and how we are using our strengths as we prepare for the future. View the video by clicking the play arrow below:
Look on vote411.org for answers to questions from the Democratic presidential candidates. Right now, there’s also information about how to register to vote in Oregon and tips for first time voters. Just go to the menu at the top left, select Oregon, and check it out!
