The Voter January 2021 - League of Women Voters

P.O. Box 56126, Little Rock, AR 72215-6126
                                          lwvpc@lwvpc.org

                               The Voter January 2021
                                       Edited by Jogee Detchemendy

January LWVPC Meeting: AR Legislative Session Primer: A Guide to How
It Works
by Maria Jones

As AR Legislative Session is now under way, the LWVPC wants to make sure our members understand
how the Legislative process works. Please join us Tuesday January 19th at 6 pm via Zoom. Please note
meeting is being moved to Tuesday in Honor of Martin Luther King Day on Monday January 18th. We
have included several articles below to help members in begin to gain a better understanding of how bills
and committees work. Please join us, bring a friend and your questions. We will also receive an update from
Lynn Foster on the Arkansas Stronger Communities (Fair Landlord/Tenant Laws) activities. The website
for AR Stronger Communities is https://www.arkstrongcommunities.com/.

From the Arkansas Municipal League publication Communicating With Your Legislator, 92nd General
Assembly:

“How a Bill Becomes an Arkansas Law
A bill is simply an idea that someone would like to become law. The idea can come from anyone, but only
a representative or senator can take that idea and guide it through the General Assembly. Once a bill is
introduced by a legislator, it is referred to a committee. The full committee holds hearings on the bill and
may consider it in its original form or amend it prior to voting on the bill. All bills must obtain a majority
vote of the committee members in order to be recommended for passage. It is in the committee where the
bill is usually amended, tabled, or killed.

If the bill receives a “do pass” recommendation by the majority of the committee, then it is ready for the
House or Senate floor where it may be debated. If the bill passes, it is then sent to the other chamber where
the same process is repeated. It should be understood that the bulk of legislative work is done by standing
committees and not, as commonly believed, by debate during floor sessions.

How a Bill Becomes an AR Law continued on next page.

Once both the House and Senate agree on the exact language of the bill, it is sent to the Governor for his
signature. If the Governor signs the bill it becomes law, usually upon the Governor’s signing if it is an
emergency. Should the Governor veto the bill, the Legislature has the option of trying to override the veto
with a simple majority vote.”

Arkansas Legislate website is: https://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/ (Be sure you are viewing the 93rd General
Assembly pages.) Here you can find the calendar, look up bills, and find lots of other information.

The special procedures for the 2021 General Session are found
here https://www.arkansashouse.org/news/post/8069/committee-procedures-and-public-access-for-
2021-regular-session?fbclid=IwAR0652-3192XFyH_-
d8p_aZZl68zm0RTLFLtLKXcvcnJkSxy6DgFH7bBoCc.

Senate Committee Appointments can be found here:
https://senate.arkansas.gov/media/2840/committee-new2021_upate-_nov_16_2020.pdf

Voter continued on next page.

Voter continued on next page.

Work Continues on Independent Redistricting Commission
By Nell Matthews LWV AR

Although the Arkansas Supreme Court allowed minor technicalities to kill the Independent Redistricting
Commission ballot initiative, the state League has continued to work on this issue. It will be too late for the
2020 census mandated reapportionment and redistricting, but it is apparent that a long lead in to being ready
in 2030 is a smart thing to do. Bonnie Miller, president of the Washington County LWV and member of
the state league, is leading this effort.

Membership Update
by Devita Harden

Hello Leaguers,
I hope each of you enjoyed the holidays…creating new memories with family and friends. The New Year
has started with a BANG for LWVPC! Within the first 8 days of 2021 we have two new members…Sara
Landes and Kayce Chaney. Sara is the daughter of our beloved Pat Landes. Welcome aboard Sara and
Kayce!

The Leadership Team appreciates each of that have renewed your membership for 2021. If you haven’t
renewed it is not too late to do so.
To renew online:
1. Go to the join page on the LWVPC website: https://my.lwv.org/arkansas/pulaski- county/join
2. Select your type of membership from the drop-down menu.
3. Click the "Buy Now" button.
4. That will send you to use our Paypal account to pay.

To renew by check: make check payable to LWVPC and mail to LWVPC PO Box 56126 LR AR 72215
Stay healthy!

Notice and Cure Litigation Continues
by Nell Matthews LWV AR

The November election produced several new litigants in the lawsuit to require 'Notice and Cure' to fix
errors in mail ballots. Horror stories of votes being discarded because of a missing number in a zip code, no
apartment number for a retirement home address, or responding to the question "Residence" by entering the
college residence rather than the home residence were heard. Several additional litigants whose ballots were
discarded were added to the lawsuit. The Arkansas Times has reported that Republican State Rep. Mark
Lowery spoke about 1) changing election law to eliminate a sworn statement as an alternative to a photo
ID and 2) about eliminating a “cure” process for absentee ballots that failed to meet the ID requirement,
which the law currently allows. This issue must not go away. Every voter must be able to have their vote
counted.

Voter continued on next page.

Announcing Issues That Matter Forums for 2021!
By Danielle Butler

In partnership with KUAR and CALS we have come up with a slate of Issues That Matter Events for 2021!
Ideally, the ones in the Fall will be able to be conducted in person. If that is not possible, we will conduct
them virtually as we did in 2020. They will all be conducted at 6:30 PM and reaired the following week on
KUAR. Virtual events will be livestreams on CALS FB and conducted as a Zoom webinar. Please reach
out to Danielle if you have any questions or ideas for panelists for 'The Needs to Read' forum forward.

February 16
Still Here: The State of the Pandemic In Arkansas
This forum will examine the state and national response to the covid-19 pandemic while addressing the
disparities in health outcomes.

April 22
The Need to Read
This forum will explore literacy in Arkansas, including efforts to teach literacy, rates of literacy in
Arkansas, and the costs and effects of Arkansans who can't read.

August 12
Housing, Homelessness and Habitability
This forum will delve into the state of housing in Arkansas, including availability and the quality of rental
properties.

November 18
Protecting Arkansas's Waterways
Arkansas's waterways are suffering from poor water quality, aging infrastructure and other concerns. This
forum will address what needs to be done to protect these vital resources.

Volunteers in Public Schools Reading Day Wrap Up
by Pam Whitaker
                                                                           Little Rock School District
                                                                           elementary classrooms received
                                                                           over 1200 books donated by
                                                                           community groups and individuals
                                                                           on behalf of ViPS Reading Day
                                                                           2020! Here is a picture of one of the
                                                                           bookmarks that volunteers created
                                                                           for students.

                                                                           Voter continued on next page.

Observers Year in Review
by Ruth Bell

It seems very appropriate at the beginning of a new year, to review those boards and commissions LWVPC
observes and issues they may or will soon be dealing with.

Pulaski County Election Commission: For several years two of the three members of the County Election
Commission have been critical of Election Commission procedures and staff, questioning the ability of their
long time Director of Elections Byron Poe, and accommodations made to facilitate absentee voting during
the Virus pandemic. Early this month the Election Commission Director was fired by a 2-1 vote along
political party lines, leaving the Commission with no employee with the necessary credentials to set up
elections. The vote was along political party lines and did not appear to conform to human resources
policies for discussion and action on personnel matters. This is of concern to LWVPC because of League’s
long devotion to open, accurate and honest elections. LWV believes Election Commissions should function
in a cooperative non-partisan manner, with a clear understanding of and adherence to the roles
Commissioners and Election Commission employee play in conducting our elections. In looking into
concerns such as miscounted ballots in a close state representative race, the primary goal should be assuring
that the public can trust the outcome of our elections.

City of Little Rock Board: At their organizational meeting early this month the City Board chose Director
Hines to be their Vice Mayor and welcomed newly elected member Anwar Phillips to the Board. In
December Vice Mayor Hines sponsored a resolution questioning the abilities of the LR Police Chief. He
withdrew the resolution after comment from other Board members suggested the resolution would fail.
Director Phillips has been a supporter of Mayor Scott, Jr., and in the past has supported proposal making
changes in structure of Little Rock City government. The City is a party in several lawsuits questioning the
capability of the police chief for his job.

Central Arkansas Water: Central Arkansas Water is considering developing some of their properties to
produce income, such as building an apartment building on a city lot they own. We are uncertain as to the
appropriateness of a utility getting into the real estate development business. Should money we pay for
water every month go for this? Not all real estate projects are profitable and if profitable can take many
years to generate a positive cash flow. There may be conflicts of interest in a utility becoming a for-profit
developer.

Looking to Get Involved in the New Year?
by Jogee Detchemendy

Did you set a New Year’s resolution to be more involved, volunteer, help your community? If so, LWVPC
has lots going on and can help you keep that resolution. The LWVPC is more than just a monthly meetings!

Carol Young has recently started a more organized Environmental Committee. She will be paying attention
to upcoming bills and things happening in our state/area pertaining to the environment. If you would like
to participate please call her at 501-680-3947 or email her at cyoung8151@sbcglobal.net.
Looking to Get Involved in the New Year continued on next page.

Devita Harden continues to chair the Membership and Voter Services Committees. The Membership
Committee always needs help recruiting and welcoming new members as well as keeping members
involved. Voter Services has done an immense job registering voters and we must stay vigilant even in non-
election years! If you are interested in either of these committees please contact Devita at 770-617-3096 or
email her at devita467@gmail.com.

Ruth Bell has expressed a need for more observers. As you can tell by her article above, there are serious
things happening in our local government and we must stay in the know. Observers keep us abreast of
important issues happening at the local level. Please reach out to her if you are interested at 501-225-2538
or email her at rfbell@aristotle.net.

I chair the Communication Committee and would love help communicating on Twitter and more creatively
throughout our Facebook, emails, etc. Please contact me if you would like to help at 662 312 9277 or
jogeeduzzi@gmail.com

LWVUS Calls for Immediate Removal of President Trump

WASHINGTON, Jan 8, 2021 – Thursday night, the League of Women Voters board of directors met and
voted unanimously to call for the immediate removal of Donald J. Trump from the office of the President
of the United States of America via any legal means, including and in order of preference: impeachment
with disqualification, the invocation of the 25th amendment, or resignation. Today, the League of Women
Voters board of directors issued the following statement:

“Donald Trump must be immediately removed as President of the United States of America and banned
from running for federal office ever again.

“The sitting president was the instigator of Wednesday’s domestic terrorist attack on the U.S. Capitol that
left five Americans dead and many more injured. He commanded an army of insurrectionists to forcefully
overturn our free and fair elections in an effort to maintain power. These are the actions of a tyrannical
despot, and they are in direct opposition to American democracy. President Trump continues to present a
clear threat to national security as well as the safety and security of the American public.

“For violating his oath to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, Donald Trump
must immediately resign or be removed from office by any measure possible in accordance with the law.
Removing President Trump from the office of the president and swearing in Vice President Mike Pence to
fulfill the duration of this presidential term will ensure our Constitution is maintained and upheld.

“The League of Women Voters calls on both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate to
immediately impeach President Trump with disqualification and remove him from office. Should Congress
fail to impeach him, we call on Vice President Mike Pence and the Cabinet to invoke the 25th Amendment
and remove President Trump from office immediately.”
Read our statement online HERE.
Voter continued on next page.

Leadership Team 2020-2021
Danielle Butler- Records dtmoses@ualr.edu
Jogee Detchemendy- Communications. 662.312.9277 or jogeeduzzi@gmail.com
Devita Harden- Treasurer, Voter Services, Membership 770.617.3096 or devita467@gmail.com
Pamela Whitaker

Chairs for Committees to Work with Leadership Team 2020-2021:
Audit Committee- Susan Leon
Communication Committee- Jogee Detchemendy
Finance, Membership Committees, and Voter Registration- Devita Hardin
Issues and Policy Development Committee- Corinne Kwapis and Becky Jackson
Observers Corps-Ruth Bell
Program Committee- the Late Carol Silverstrom (currently being chaired by all committee members)
Records Committee- Danielle Butler and Carol Young
Vote 411- Carol Young

League Links:
League of Women Voters (National)
League of Women Voters (State of Arkansas)
League of Women Voters of Pulaski County