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Date: 8/1/2023
Subject: August 2023 VOTER Newsletter
From: LWVRichardson

VOTER NEWSLETTER

Vol. 63, No. 1 August 2023 Editor: Virginia Marsh

Inside this Issue

Letter from the President
City of Richardson is Accepting Applications for Boards and Commissions
Get Ready to Join the Discussion Group
The Effects of Redistricting
Mark Your Calendar
Make Sure You Are Registered to Vote
Help the League Register Voters

Key Dates in August 2023

Aug 1: City of Richardson begins accepting applications for boards and commissions
Aug 21: Last day to file for place on the Nov 7 General Election Ballot.

Letter from the President

LWVRichardson is back from a (short) vacation...and eager to begin the 2023-2024 fiscal year!

In July, LWVRichardson held its Calendar Planning Meeting to map out events for the 2023-2024 fiscal year. We have planned LOTS of great events: voter registration drives, voters guides, forums, a public meeting, socials, discussion group, local program planning survey and meeting. All of this is in addition to keeping you updated on elections in the City of Richardson and Richardson ISD.

To know the latest information from LWVRichardson, make sure you periodically check out all of LWVRichardson's great resourses:

The monthly VOTER, which is sent via email to all members and contributors at the beginning of the month
The monthly Member Update, which is sent via email only to members at the beginning of the month
Our website
Our FaceBook page (or find lwvrichardsonTX in FaceBook)
Our Instagram page (or find LWVrichardson in Instagram)

The City of Richardson

is accepting Applications

for Boards and Commissions

One of the goals of LWVRichardson is to encourage people to serve on city boards and commissions, on school boards and committees, and to run for political office. To that end, here is an article from the City of Richardson stating that they will start accepting applications on August 1, 2023, for boards and commissions.

Board and Commission Applications Open Aug. 1

Community members wishing to serve on one of the City’s nine boards and commissions may begin the application process soon—the annual application period begins Monday, Aug. 1.

Applications will be accepted in the City Secretary’s office through Sept. 30 and kept on file for two years. As vacancies occur on the various boards/commissions, the applications on file are reviewed by the City Council and an interview may be scheduled. Appointments are made at the City Council Meetings and applicants will be notified in advance by City staff.

Boards/Commissions include:

Animal Services Advisory Commission
City Plan Commission
Civil Services Board
Cultural Arts Commission
Library Board Parks and Recreation Commission
Sign Control Board
TIF Boards
Zoning Board of Adjustment/ Building and Standards Commission

A boards/commissions open house event is scheduled for Sept. 19, where potential applicants can interact with City Council members and City staff and ask questions.

Application/more information: Boards, Commissions, & Meetings | Richardson, TX (cor.net)

Get ready to Join the discussion

and participate in the creation of

Richardson's new Comprehensive Plan

October 18

at 7 p.m. via ZOOM.

LWVR will host a discussion group on Wednesday, October 18, 7pm, on Zoom to discuss a very timely issue: the development of a Comprehensive Plan by the City of Richardson (COR). Mark your calendar so you can join us.

Starting in the last quarter of 2023, COR will be seeking input from Richardson residents and stakeholders regarding the Comprehensive Plan.

"What do we really want? What kind of life - and what kind of society - do we want to bequeath to the coming generations? This is not something we can leave to the vagaries of chance, to the decisions of political leaders, or even to the most forward-looking public policy. Nor is it a question the Creative Class can any longer afford to ignore." Richard Florida, The Rise of the Creative Class.

LWVR will have a book discussion to try to answer this question and help you gain knowledge and develop ideas to offer the City. The Rise of the Creative Class by Richard Florida will spark our discussion. The discussion is scheduled on October 18 at 7 pm via Zoom. Read the book before then!

Background

Richardson is developing a new Comprehensive Plan and asking Richardson residents and stakeholders to participate in that process.

According to COR's Comprehensive Plan Update Introduction, the purpose of a Compreshensive Plan is to "Provide clear goals, objectives and policies to guide the City’s development and redevelopment for the next 20 years...""

_______________

Since it is difficult to find the time to read, here are some other resources that focus on his ideas.

The Effects of Redistricting

Every 10 years following the census, the Texas Legislature goes through the process of redistricting, in which voting districts are redrawn for U.S. House, Texas Senate, Texas House, and Texas State Board of Education. New maps of those voting districts were adopted in 2022, but a lot of us aren’t yet familiar with the changes in who represents us. You can see the names of your current representatives by entering your address in this official Texas.gov form.

A great tool for visualizing changes in voting districts was published by the Texas Tribune. By entering an address, you can compare maps of pre-2022 districts with current districts. The tool lists demographic and partisan voting pattern changes in those districts as well.

The League of Women Voters of Richardson (LWVR) provides Voter Service for an area that includes both the City of Richardson (COR) and the Richardson ISD (RISD). Approximately 1/3 of the COR is in Collin County. The RISD is entirely in Dallas County, but more than ½ of the school district is outside the boundaries of the COR (in the cities of Dallas and Garland).

Redistricting brought a lot of changes to representation in our area. For instance, we went from having four Texas House districts in LWVR’s coverage area in 2020 to six districts in 2022. To view maps showing overlays of the 2022 districts on the COR and RISD, as well as links to a whole lot of other district maps, visit the LWVR website.

Mark Your Calendar

The 2023-2024 fiscal year will have at least 5 elections:

November 7, 2023 – Proposed amendments to the Texas Constitution; local elections, if called

March 5, 2024 – Primary Elections

May 4, 2024 – Local Election (RISD and others)

May 28, 2024 – Primary Runoff Elections (if needed)

June, 2024 – Local Runoff Election (if needed)

Make sure you are registered to vote

The deadline to register to vote in the November 7, 2023 election is October 10. Over the next couple of months, LWVR will be involved in several voter registration events in the community, at public school events, on college campuses, and at new citizen ceremonies.

Registered Texas voters who have moved within the state or changed their name can update their voter registration online. However, those who are new to voting in Texas must fill out a paper registration form. One option is to mail in a form; the other is fill out a form with a Volunteer Deputy Registrar, who will give you a receipt (thus registering you on the spot).

Help LWVR Register Voters

Several members of LWVR are Volunteer Deputy Registrars (VDRs), and we are always looking for new ones – whether LWVR members or not. It’s easy to become a VDR in Dallas or Collin County. Texans who hold a VDR certificate in one county can easily become certified in other counties.

The LWVR members in charge of our voter registration efforts this year are Janet Centola (voterreg@lwvrichardson.org) for general registration events and Cathy Murphree (newcitizen@lwvrichardson.org) for events at new citizen ceremonies. Please contact either (or both!) if you would like more information about becoming a VDR and/or helping out with our voter registration efforts.

Donate

The League of Women Voters of Richardson relies solely on contributions made by local community residents and businesses.

Join Us

Would you like to help providing election information, registering voters, or influencing public policy?

You are welcome to email our Membership chair at membership@lwvrichardson.org

if you need assistance with joining.

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