For the past 100 years, the League of Women Voters’ mission has been to empower voters and protect democracy. A candidate recently invited to attend a candidate forum said in a paid ad that he would not attend a debate hosted by the alliance, calling it a “liberal farce to trick voters.”
This statement couldn’t be further from the truth: for 102 years it has encouraged informed and active participation in government at the local, state and national levels. The league advocates for legal reform and policy in the public interest and works to improve understanding of policy issues. The League does not endorse or endorse any political party or candidate.
Although the League is non-partisan and our work is carried out as a requirement, the League encourages active participation in the democratic process. It consists of They are Republicans, Libertarians, Democrats, NPAs, Greens, Liberals, Conservatives, and everyone in between. We welcome everyone who supports our mission, vision and values.
Members are united in their interest in educating voters on important issues so that they can make informed choices. Leagues are always progressive organizations. After all founders ensured women’s suffrage. Political issues, parties, and candidates can change their stance on issues over time, but our bipartisan approach to educating voters on those issues does not.
Over the years, the Tallahassee League of Women Voters has conducted fair and well-executed candidate forums for local and state elections. We work with local officials to ensure that all qualified candidates are invited and take great care to craft questions that represent key interests and hot topics in our community. I am paying All candidates are asked the same questions and given the same amount of time to answer. Candidates are seated in alphabetical order. Questions are rotated, so no one is always the first or last to answer.
Beginning in 2020, our forums will be conducted online and recordings will be available. Importantly, the recording was intact, with no additional comments on the candidates or their responses. This is how it should be. We are educating, not promoting candidates or parties.
So does Vote411.org. Since 2006, his website has been the league’s one-stop shop for election-related information. We provide nonpartisan information to the public, both general and state-specific information about voting. Send all candidates an identical list of questions and post the answers verbatim. It is the candidate’s prerogative to withdraw from participation, in which case the information we can provide is limited.
Democracy works best with open discussion and debate of different ideas. The league will host a candidate forum for the general election beginning October 10th. We encourage all candidates to attend and coordinate to accommodate all schedules. Now is the time to share different opinions and allow all citizens to decide which ideas they agree or disagree with.
League members are volunteers. We do this for the benefit of our community. I have no ulterior motives. We are not here to get caught up in a political party fight or to be whipped by politicians.
The League will continue to support the issues we believe in, with a focus on voting and representative government. We do not tip the argument in favor of one party over another. If the candidate is being listened to, get the votes of the community in a fair way and if you win remember who you are representing. These are the principles and foundations that we have been advocating for years.
Trish Neely is president of the League of Women Voters of Tallahassee.
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