At our February community meeting we discussed the current program to process our backlog of untested rape kits.  We heard that the funds allocated for this program are tied to a grant and so will not continue beyond the grant’s end date. 

We also heard that no extra funds were allocated to hire more detectives to investigate alleged perpetrators identified through the rape kit tests. 

Here is the presentation with all the details and statistics:

Sex Assault Kit Update 032018

On April 17th we will continue discussing how to ensure that we do not slide back into another backlog of untested rape kits and that we have funds allocated in the future to hire more sexual assault detectives.  

There will be an in-depth discssion of how voting in the midterms can address these issues.  All of the offices that fund and manage sexual assault mitigation are up for election in November 2018. 

This meeting is free and open to the public. 

Please join the League of Women Voters of Southern Nevada on April 21st for a discussion of the National Popular Vote Compact and the Electoral College.  Our meetings are open to the public.

As we move into the 2018 election cycle many new voters are registering and preparing to engage.  The League of Women of Nevada is here to Empower Voters and to Defend Democracy. 

We empower voters by helping every eligible citizen register to vote and we defend democracy by helping voters to participate in elections and by helping all community members engage with elected officials.

Nevada offers online voter registration for anyone with a DMV-issued driver’s license or ID.  It is a quick and secure process easily accessible at: www.registertovotenv.gov

Eligible Nevada voters can also register to vote through alternative identification measures by using the official paper form.  You can access the paper form here: https://www.nvsos.gov/SOSVoterRegForm/home.aspx

Eligible Nevadans who are 17-years-old can register to vote if the voter will be 18 by the next election.  This means you can register to vote now if you will be 18 by June 12th, which is election day for the primary.  After June 13th, you can register to vote if you’ll be 18 by November 6, 2018.

If you are currently registered to vote in Nevada, please take this opportunity to log-in to the online voter registration service to verify your registration.  It is very important to verify that your address and party affiliation are current.  If any part of your registration information has changed since you registered to vote, you can update that information here: https://nvsos.gov/sos/elections/voters

You can find answers to most questions related to voting in Nevada on this page: https://nvsos.gov/sos/elections/voters

The ACLU NV provides information on how to contact your current representatives here: https://www.aclunv.org/en/contact-your-elected-officials

You can determine your state senate and assembly districts as well as your congressional and university regent districts here:

http://mapserve1.leg.state.nv.us/whoRU/

All candidates running in Nevada’s 2018 election cycle have filed, so now is the time to begin speaking with the people who will be our elected officials starting in 2019. 

A strategy League recommends for engaging with candidates starts with selecting and researching three issues that are important to you.  Once you have positions on those issues, look for events to attend with candidates for office and speak to the candidates about your issues.  Keep track of which candidates not only agree with your issue positions, but also which candidates have a plan for working on those issues.

Your first chance to vote for candidates will be the primary election in June.  The primary election narrows down the number of candidates running for each office.

Unfortunately, Nevada has closed primary elections, so voters who are registered as nonpartisan will not be allowed to vote for candidates affiliated with one of the political parties.

Nonpartisan voters will be able to vote for candidates running in nonpartisan races, such as judges, regents, and sheriff, but not for candidates who are running to represent one of the political parties.

If you would like to vote for candidates who are running to represent one of the political parties and you are not registered as a member of those candidates’ party, you can change your party affiliation through the online voter registration system: www.registertovotenv.gov

You will need to do this by May 22^nd online or in-person at your county or city election office.

Early voting for the primary runs between May 26^th and June 8^th and Election Day for the primary is June 12^th.  If you vote during early voting, you won’t vote again on Election Day.

Every registered voter will receive information about the primary election and polling locations either through the mail, or if you have opted to receive your election information electronically, through email.

If, after reviewing the above information, you have any questions related to voter registration, voting, communicating with elected officials and/or candidates, or doing research on issues, please contact League of Women Voters of Nevada at sondra.cosgrove@lwvsn.org

The League of Women Voters of Southern Nevada and the League of Women Voters of Northern Nevada both host community meetings on a variety of topics.  You can find more information about our meetings at
www.lwvsn.org

www.lwvnn.org

You can learn more about League at: www.lwv.org

If you would like to Join League of Women Voters of Nevada, we are running a Join for $5 special through June 1^st.  You can join through this form:

https://goo.gl/forms/h4kPDO1oGqTELA4V2

Sondra Cosgrove

President League of Women Voters of Nevada

President League of Women Voters of Southern Nevada

RT @FOX5Vegas: Nevada opens guardianship fraud and abuse telephone hotline
>https://t.co/VfwG5ZFmUX https://t.co/ulAl8do1Wx

Please join the League of Women Voters of Southern Nevada for our March 17th community meeting.  We’ll be getting an update on the program to test Nevada’s backlog of 8,000 untested rape kits.  All our meetings are open to the public.

League Supporters:

This message provides follow-up information from our meeting on school psychologists and from our meeting on gerrymandering.

Below is President of the Nevada Association of School Psychologists Katie Dockweiler’s PowerPoint Presentation on the 18 CCSD school psychologist vacancies and the need for social/emotional training programs in our schools.

Please use the information in Katie’s presentation to help candidates running for the Nevada Legislature understand the vital need to provide our children with behavioral health care interventions early in life.

NVASPPresentationFeb2018

Here is the LWVSN Behavioral Health Care Committee’s Position Statement on Early Interventions in Behavioral Health Care:

LWVSN Behavioral Health Care Position Statement

For the gerrymandering meeting, please listen to the Five Thirty Eight Gerrymandering Project podcasts. These podcasts and associated reports provide a historical overview of gerrymandering as well as analysis of current court cases and attempts to address redistricting problems in individual states.

Importantly, the project reminds us that increasing voter turnout in primaries and mid-term elections will go a long way to stop gerrymandering.

http://fivethirtyeight.com/tag/the-gerrymandering-project/