February 14th is a momentous day for the League – especially in Oregon. The League of Women Voters was founded on February 14, 1920. Oregon became a state 162 years ago on February 14, 1859. (And of course it’s Valentine’s Day.)
In 2020, we celebrated our Centennial with memorabilia, a slide show and a video highlighting past and present achievements. Then we had a panel discussion, which not only reviewed the past, but also pointed to our future. And ended with a toast to our second century!
Our 101st year has been a blockbuster, with more than 101 important achievements!
Voter Service
-Since our Centennial, our voter service has included:
- Producing neutral nonpartisan voter information for the Primary, Special and General Elections
- Distributing 10,600 printed copies of English and Spanish voters’ guides for the Primary and General Elections (in spite of the pandemic)
- Producing a total of 83 candidate-interview videos for our Video Voters’ Guides in the Primary and General Elections. These videos had more than 17,000 views.
- Producing a total of nine videos of voter forums (five for candidates; four for measures). These had 3,721 views.
- Providing voter registration information in person (when possible) and online
- Reaching at least 59,873 Portland area voters with Vote411.org
- Reaching about 43,000 voters with the voting resources on our website
- Presenting 18 online Speakers’ Bureau presentations to 502 voters
- Updating our Directory of Elected Officials for Multnomah County
Advocacy
-Our advocacy work in this past year has included:
- Five letters to the Portland City Council and one to US District Judge Simon (Click here to read these and other advocacy statements.)
- An In Our Opinion column and a Letter to the Editor in The Oregonian
- Support for six local ballot measures, including two Voters’ Pamphlet statements, based on our research and advocacy positions
- Helping gather signatures for the redistricting (“People not Politicians”) ballot initiative
- Action Committee presentations on earthquake risks, industrial land, economic opportunities planning, wildfire management, and police reform.
Civic Education
-In addition, we produced four free recorded informational programs which have had more than 700 combined views:
- Privacy and Cybersecurity Today
- The Future of Healthcare
- 2020 Election Debrief: What’s Next?
- From Houseless to Housing and Services