Serving the people of West Contra Costa County including the cities of Richmond, El Cerrito, San Pablo, Kensington, Pinole, El Sobrante and Hercules

ANNOUNCMENT FROM CCCo ELECTION OFFICE ABOUT JUNE 5 ELECTION.

Sample Ballot Registration Deadline and 1st Day for Vote by Mail for the June 5, 2012 Presidential Primary Election. For details, see here.

ALSO: Vote by mail ballot deadline nears! Voters in Contra Costa County are reminded that Tuesday, May 29, 2012 is the final day that requests can be received in the mail by the Elections Office for anyone wanting to vote a vote by mail ballot for the Presidential Primary Election to be held June 5, 2012 . Voters are encouraged to submit their application as soon as possible so that they will have sufficient time to receive, vote and return the ballot prior to the close of the polls at 8:00 p.m. June 5, 2012 in order for the ballot to be counted.

Questions? Call Candy Lopez, Assistant Registrar of Voters PHONE: (925) 335-7800

JUNE 5 PRIMARY ELECTION TO HAVE TWO DIFFERENT BALLOTS

In June, voters will see Presidential Primary candidates on familiar partisan ballots according to political party affiliation. However, for statewide offices (i.e., state constitutional offices, U.S. Congress, and state legislative offices), all candidates running in the Statewide Primary Election for these offices will appear on a single primary election ballot and voters can vote for any candidate. In this Top Two Open Primary system the top two overall vote-getters - not the top vote-getter from each qualified political party - will move on to the general election. For information on the election, the candidates, propositions and the new ballot organization, see Easy Voter for basic information on voting and Smart Voter for additional, non-partisan information on candidates and issues; links to both are on our ELECTION PAGE, here

STATE OF CALIFORNIA LWV TAKES POSTION ON PROPOSITION 28 ON THE JUNE 5 BALLOT

The LWVC supports Proposition 28 but is neutral on Proposition 29. Here, <http://ca.lwv.org/action/prop1206/index.html> is their statement as well as a link to an explanation of their reasons for taking these positions.

LWVWCCC SUMMER OUTING

This summer's general membership event will be a tour of the West Contra Costa health3 care facilities. Save the day: It will be on June 19. Watch for a QuickNews with details.

LWVUS 50TH NATIONAL CONVENTION IN WASHINGTON DC, JUNE 8-12

If you are not going, you can still find out what is happening by reading the convention handbook, here: <http://www.lwv.org/content/convention-workbook-full>. If you want a shorter read that covers much of the significant activities, have a look just at the Committee Reports, 2010-2012, here: <http://www.lwv.org/content/proposed-2012-2014-lwvus-program>.

LWVUS BOARD TAKES NEW POSITION ON THE FEDERAL ROLE IN EDUCATION

Three hundred seventy-seven (377) Leagues participated in the Education Study including LWVWCCC, and in March 2012, the Board approved a new position stating that the "League of Women Voters believes that the federal government shares with other levels of government the responsibility to provide an equitable, quality public education for all children pre-K through grade 12. A quality public education is essential for a strong, viable and sustainable democratic society and is a civil right."

LWVC STUDY: THE INITIATIVE AND REFERENDUM PROCESS

The new LWVC study of The Initiative and Referendum Process in California is now well underway. For more information, please see our Current Issues Page here

CONSENSUS REPORTS ON THE PRIVATIZATION STUDY

Reports on the second major LWV study were due at the national office on May 1. This was a very important and significant study, given the current trend for various governmental offices, especially given their shortage of revenues, to transfer traditional public services to the private sector. Although LWVWCCC was unable to participate in this study, our neighbor leagues, Oakland and Berkelely/Albany/Emeryville have make their consensus report available to us. A link is available on our Current Issues page,here.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR SMART VOTER

From: Ashley Coates To: lwv LWV West Contra Costa

Hello,

I'm the county coordinator (a volunteer position) for http://www.smartvoter.org. I'm a member of LWV of Diablo Valley. I need some team members to help out--see below article. Thanks for publishing this on your web site.

Ashley Coates 925-283-3638

Join the smartvoter.org team!

Smartvoter.org is for every voter who can access the internet (via PC or smartphone). Voters can enter their address to see a personalized ballot with links to candidates' info. We invite all local candidates to post their information (this service is free).

The smartvoter team needs people to help with any of the following:

Non-computer jobs:
Assembling letters to candidates at a "mailing party" (during the day)
Calling candidates to ask if they received the letter and answer questions (script provided)
Reminding candidates who have not responded.
Publicity

Computer jobs:

Link news articles to each race page (instructions provided)
Read information candidates have submitted and determine whether it meets smartvoter appropriateness criteria
Enter local ballot measures

Sound fun? rewarding? Call Ashley at 925-283-3638 or email me at ashleyaoc@comcast.net

From the Webmaster: If you want to see what abundant info is available from Smart Voter, have a look at an archived election, like the 2008 election. Just click on a candidate or ballot measure to see what all is there.

BAY AREA LEAGUE DAY CAME AND WENT, BUT DO NOT DISPAIR IF YOU MISSED IT; IT WAS VIDEOTAPED.

League Day this year (Feb 4) was entitled, "Housing and the Bay Area's Future" and a keynote speaker and three panels will cover: meeting regional housing needs in light of the sustainable communities' strategy; difficulties of financing affordable housing; how to serve the hardest to house.

The video recordings ARE NOW AVAILABLE in the LWVBA VIDEO LIBRARY, here

WANTED: A LWV MEMBER AS ALTERNATE REPRESENTIVE ON COUNTY COMMISSION

Contra Costa County Hazardous Materials Commission is seeking applicants to fill the position of League of Women Voters Alternate Seat. There is currently a regular member but no alternate for meetings that the regular member may not be able to attend. The commission sets policy for hazardous materials and hazardous waste. There are two meetings per month, but most are attended by the regular LWV representative. If you are interested in policies with respect to hazardous materials and want to see the operation of a government agency, please see the announcement of the position by clicking here and the description of what is involved by the regular LWV representative (currently from the Diablo Valley League), by clicking here.

UPDATED FAST FACTS and Voting is Easy As 1-2-3

The Easy Voter Guide Project has recently updated the FAST FACTS series on Ballot Measures, State Taxes & Budget and How to Choose a Political Party.

FAST FACTS are also available in Spanish.

Also updated is the popular "Voting is Easy as 1-2-3". Download the 4-page Voting is as Easy as 1-2-3 in: English, Spanish, Chinese, "Korean"<http://www.easyvoterguide.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/08 /evg-htv_ko11-v2.pdf>, Vietnamese.

Also, preview the inspiring new video from library-based learner leaders across the state about why they "Get Involved" in their communities. It shows that people of all backgrounds care and are making a difference. To view the video, click here

NEWSLETTERS FROM NATIONAL AND CALIFORNIA LWV

The National Newsletter comes out every week. Read the current and past issues here. If you wish, you can also subscribe and have it emailed to you.

The state newsletter is not available for reading on the web site, but you can subscribe and have it emailed to you. To subscribe, click here.

TAKE THE CALIFORNIA BUDGET CHALLENGE

As a beginning step toward better understanding what is involved in balancing the California budget, LWV members are encouraged to take the California Budget Challenge, a questionnaire that calculates the budgetary consequences of your judgment about how much service the state should provide and how large taxes should be to pay for them. The program was developed by Next 10, an independent, nonpartisan organization whose purpose is helping Californians to improve the state's future. For two examples (one on spending, one on taxation) of what you are asked when you take the challenge, click here. To go directly to the Challenge, click here The Next 10 web site and the LWV of California web page on the budget provide additional information on the state budget for those who want more detail than that given in the Challenge pages.

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