Got the election 411?

The Westlake-North Olmsted chapter of the League of Women Voters filled the Porter Library display case with historical election items. Photo by Janice Patterson

4-1-1 has long been the phone number to dial for information ... and now that number represents election information too, via VOTE411.org, thanks to the League of Women Voters. This online tool confirms the goal of the League by empowering millions of voters with information and resources to include the election process in the state, county and community, including polling place hours and locations, ballot information, early or absentee voting rules, voter registration deadlines, ID requirements, the voter guide, upcoming forums and more. It is the go-to website for accurate, timely and straightforward information to enable all eligible voters to vote.

The League of Women Voters was founded in 1920 during the convention of the National American Woman Suffrage Association, just six months before the 19th amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified, giving women the right to vote after a 72-year struggle. The League began as an experiment designed to help 20 million women carry out their new responsibilities as voters, encouraging them to use their new power to participate in shaping public policy, knowing that these new women voters were going to need reliable information. It was then, and is now, a nonpartisan organization, neither supporting nor opposing candidates or political parties at any level of government.

Remembering that voting is the most powerful way to have one's voice heard, and the core of our democracy, the League of Women Voters of Greater Cleveland chapters in Westlake-North Olmsted, Bay Village, Fairview Park and Rocky River will host the Westside Forum on Tuesday, Sept. 27, 7 p.m., at Westlake Porter Public Library. The forum includes Ohio House District 16 candidates Tommy Greene and David Greenspan as well as Ohio Senate District 24 candidates Matt Dolan and Emily Hagan.

While at Porter Library, stop by the display case to view a mannequin dressed to vote in the first election, pictures showing women lining up to vote in the 1920s and a wonderful sign indicating "A Woman Living in This House has Registered to Vote." Also included is Westlake's oldest ballot box and the actual ballots from an early election as well as other historical items.

Joyce Able Schroth

League of Women Voters Westlake-North Olmsted Chapter

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Volume 8, Issue 18, Posted 9:49 AM, 09.20.2016