Last Activity of the Election Season
League representatives, Julie Pepper and Emily Sengupta, attended the November Delta Sigma Theta Community Impact Day in Hickory on Sunday, November 13, 2022.
They were present to answer post-election canvassing questions and to be available for future election planning.
Active on Election Day with Adopt A Precinct
LWVCV and the Hickory NAACP partnered to participate in Democracy North Carolina’s “Adopt A Precinct” Program for the 2022 General Election. We were assigned to monitor two polling sites, Highland Recreation Center & Newton Library, on both October 20th and November 8th. In return, we will be granted $2000, to be shared between the two organizations.
The assignments were handled over the two days by League members Kathy Bradham, Doug Bradham, Tiffany Canaday, Betty Lohr, Priya Palmer, Sheryl Schuhose, Tom Lundy & Cindy Lundy, and, NAACP members Ida Clough, Jean Dula, Ricki Hall, Kathy Ivey, Margaret Pope, Denise Pope, Cozette Sinclair, Linda Shade , Sam Hunt & Mike Watkins. Happy to report that it was uneventful!
Catawba County School Board Candidates speak at Forum
The League of Women Voters of Catawba Valley (LWVCV) co-hosted a forum for candidates for the Catawba County Board of Education on Monday, October 10, 2022 at Catawba Valley Community College. LWVCV collaborated with the Hickory Daily Record (HDR) to devise the questions for the forum, to which all of the candidates on the November 8th ballot were invited. Watch the live-stream here (starts 5 minutes in) or read about it by clicking the red button to the right.
The League and Hickory NAACP
Thank You to the Hickory NAACP for including our Voting Plan and trifold brochures in their door-hanger bags. A total of 350 bags were hung!
First Time at Western Piedmont Community College
The League hosted a registration and information table at WPCC’s Fall Festival on October 5th. It was a beautiful day to be out on their vast campus in Morganton. There were lots of interest in Vote411… you can see to the left students checking it out on their phones. We hope WPCC will invite us back!
Trusted Elections Town Hall Held in Hickory for US Congressional District 10
First, The Who and the What.
Photos at the bottom of this section.
The League of Women Voters of Catawba Valley assisted at the Trusted Elections Tour Hall event for U.S. Congressional District NC-10 on September 21, 2022.
Moderator Dr. Michael Bitzer on the left, ready to ask a question of Randy Cress.
This was a coordinated bipartisan effort by the Carter Center in Atlanta to reinforce the idea throughout the state that elections are safe, secure and free.
Jennifer Roberts, a Democrat and former Mayor of Charlotte, and former Republican NC Supreme Court Justice Bob Orr co-chair the town halls. All events are jointly sponsored by the North Carolina Network for Fair, Safe and Secure Elections, the League of Women of North Carolina and the US Veterans Hall of Fame.
The moderator for the Hickory event was Catawba College professor Dr. Michael Bitzer. Rowan County Chief Information Officer Randy Cress answered questions on cyber security.
Catawba County Board of Elections Members, David Hood (l) and Barry Cheney, Chair (r) and Amanda Duncan, Director, in the center.
Director of Elections Amanda Duncan, Catawba County Board of Elections member David Hood, and Catawba County Board of Elections chair Barry Cheney discussed the policies and practices of elections administration.
Former NC Supreme Court Justices, Bob Orr and Bob Edmunds speak about the role of the judicial system in elections.
Duncan, Hood, and Cheney agreed that one of the strongest factors in producing valid, reliable elections is that voting happens, in Hood's words, at “the localest level”: voters and poll workers know each other, Board of Elections meetings are open, and Board members work with and like each other, regardless of their respective political party affiliations.
North Carolina Supreme Court Justices Bob Orr and Bob Edmunds discussed the role of attorneys and the courts in elections.
Listen to David Hood speak about absentee ballots and the shifting perspectives on them.
MEDIA
Wish you could have been there? There is a virtual Trusted Elections Town Hall available here. It has some of the same participants. It is applicable for the whole state.
Here is the Hickory Daily Record’s article on the event.
National Voter Registration Day at Lenoir-Rhyne U!
National Voter Registration Day, September 20, 2022 was celebrated on the campus of Lenoir-Rhyne University.
The Hickory Branch of the NAACP partnered with the League for an eight-hour day of reaching out to students in preparation for their voting in the fall general election.
LWVCV at Todos Somos América
LWVCV was at Centro Latino's Todos Somos América (We are all America) festival on Sunday, September 18, in downtown Hickory at The Sails!
Leaguers enjoyed meeting those in attendance and gave out a number of trifold brochures in Spanish and voter registration forms.
This was an inaugural event for Todos Somos América and the League was pleased to be included.
League Goes to School
At the start of the new school year, the League continued its relationship with the social studies department at Hickory High. Shown on the left below are league members and the teachers. In the center shows a pocket copy of the US Constitution. On the right are the teachers after having been gifted with copies for all their US History students!
League Pop Ups . . . Pop Up!
During election season, the League is Appearing in various places and in various media to encourage citizens to vote. And to vote informed.
GReat way to spend a Saturday morning: A Get out the Vote Promotion at Hickory Farmers Market on SAturday, July 16—
to create awareness of the upcoming Hickory municipal election . . . and a chance for Leaguers to have a good time!
Hickory candidate forum held July 12
A forum for contested seats in Hickory was held on July 12, 2022 at Patrick Beaver Memorial Library. Candidates for mayor and Ward 5 were present. The event was co-sponsored by the Hickory Daily Record (HDR) and the League. Eric Millsaps, editor of the Record, was the moderator.
Candidates running unopposed for their current seats on city council, Jill Patton and David Williams, spoke briefly at the beginning of the event. (While elected by wards, citizens may vote on council seats and for the mayor.
Some of the questions posed to the candidates centered on the the city’s role in dealing with racial inequality in Hickory, whether the city should be involved in pre-K education and the status and implications of the fallen archway in Hickory.
An attentive crowd of 30+ people attended. The event was also streamed live online.
A “flyover” of where the flyers are!
Flyers promoting the July 12th, 2022 Candidate Forum for the Hickory general election began popping up around town the first of the month, thanks to the effort of various Hickory area members!
LWVCV goes big in promoting VOTE411!
2022 Bookmarks—Coming to a Library Near You!
These newly designed bookmarks contain a:
Reminder that district lines have changed. Again.
QR code that leads directly to Vote411
Info to access VOTE411 in Spanish
These have been distributed to nearby libraries.
Can’t find one? Want one? Just click the Contact Us button at the bottom of this page and we’ll be happy to send one your way!
First of four Billboard Designs debuts in Newton. More to follow.
For the general election, the League has worked with Jackson Creative to develop four images that will be seen on billboards throughout out the area. They will be on display about a month before the November 8 election to remind voters to use VOTE411 and to vote informed.
Those images will be visible in these areas—Newton, Sherrills Ford/Terrell, Hickory and just outside Morganton on the way to Lenoir.
This particular sign can be seen now on N 321 in Newton, thanks to the generosity of Rink Media.
Images to show up in the best of social circles!
All four social media designs shown above will be posted during election season on the League’s Facebook and Twitter accounts.
When you see them, “Like” “Share” or “Retweet.” Please do your part in helping the message circulate around the community!
These project have all been developed through the support of the SOLVE grant and with the leadership of Julie Pepper, Voter Series/VOTE411 Chair.
Primary candidates attended inaugural LWVCV event and were well met!
There were 14 of 17 primary candidates who attended (or who were represented) at the League’s first Meet the Candidates event on April 25th at, 2022 Rehobeth United Methodist Church in Terrell. (Photos below.)
Candidates for office included those in competitive races for the Catawba County Board of Commissioners, the Catawba County Clerk of Superior Court, North Carolina House of Representatives District 89 and for US Congressional District 10.
The event was held in the fellowship hall. Each candidate had a table for featuring their material. Attendees were given a sample ballot for the May 17 primary. They could then go around the room and talk to the candidates informally. Candidates and citizens were engaged throughout the room and the evening.
League members of the Get Out the Vote program area were responsible for this inaugural event which is a part of this year’s SOLVE Grant effort. They hope to have a similar events this fall in different locations in Catawba County to host candidates in competitive races for the general election.
According to Linda Greenwell, chair, this event, “is a great opportunity for voters to speak to candidates one on one and get to ask the specific questions they want answers to. The informality of the event creates an atmosphere where people are comfortable to have a discussion on a specific topic.”
It’s the Signs of the Times.
Have you seen any of these?
If you see more, snap a pic and send them in with their location. info.lwvcv@gmail.com. Our Operators are standing by.
Letter to the Editor:
Why It Is Important to Vote in a Primary was written by the Linda Greenwell, chair of League’s Get Out the Vote program area. To date it has been published in Lenoir’s News-Topic, The Hickory Daily Record and Morganton’s News Herald.
During election season, follow us on the following:
The Teacher & The Director debuts
The League has produced its first video. The Teacher & The Director features Shannon Furr social studies teacher at Hickory High School asking students’ questions of Amanda Duncan, Director of the Catawba County Board of Elections.
The video was sent to all social studies teachers in Catawba County in April for use during the primary and general election seasons. This outreach to hight school students (and the public) highlights what the Board of Elections does during election season and year round.
Off to college
Election season began with an informational effort at CVCC on April 13, 2022. League members were there with oodles of topical info on registering, checking out VOTE411 and voting. This was a comment from one of our members about that day, It was a pleasure to see engaged young people.
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world: indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has”