Past Activities

Check out what LWVTV has been doing since 2020. See the pre-2020 activities using the menu bar on the left.

LWVTV Supports
NAACP Position Statement on
Policing and Our Community
City of Fairbanks City Council
November 23, 2020

 

The League of Women Voters of Tanana Valley is committed to diversity, equality, and inclusion in principle and in practice. We are committed to equal justice and social equity and support the fight against systemic racial injustice and inequality. But more than words, we need change. We come as an ally in support of the NAACP Position Statement on Policing and Our Community as a step forward that promotes constructive change while endorsing the indisputable contribution that law enforcement brings to the safety and well-being of the people and property in our community. The statement simply advocates for reasonable inclusion in the selection of police leadership, pertinent training of officers and administrators, the undeniable need to include community mental health experts on public safety teams and a transparent, citizen-led mechanism to consider police actions. The real potential for change lies with local government. The actions outlined by the NAACP Position Statement on Policing and Our Community offer sensible steps to move our community ahead and begin to rekindle public trust and support for those who serve and protect.

LWVTV and Others Hit the Streets to Encourage Voting
Oct. 26 - 30, 2020

 

Organized by LWVTV member, Bernardo Hernandez, members, friends and family covered streets all over the FNSB encouraging citizens to exercise their right to vote. Lots of honks, thumbs up and waves were enjoyed from the passing vehicles. It was plenty cold out there but waving signs keeps you warmed up.

LWVTV & Get Out the Native Vote Meet Young Voters
October 22 and 29, 2020

 

Partnering with Black Spruce Brewing Company, LWVTV member Nicky Eiseman had precinct maps, Division of Election election pamphlets, sample ballots, and access to search for polling stations available for voters and would-be voters visiting this craft beer business. Ballots and Brews provided a convivial atmosphere for meaningful conversations on voting, why it's important and how your vote makes a difference for you and democracy. Specialty beers, "I Voted Today DDH Pale Hazy Ale" and "People Power Triple IPA" were available.

 
Greater Fairbanks Branch NAACP 1001 Statement on Policing and our Community
Greater Fairbanks Branch NAACP 1001 Posi[...]
Adobe Acrobat document [120.9 KB]
  • Round 1 featured House candidates Jeremiah Youmans,
    Kevin McKinley, Adam Wool, Mike Cronk, Elijah Verhagen,
    Vernon Carlson, and Julia Hnilicka.

     
  • Round 2 introduced Senate candidates Evan Eads, Robert Myers and Marna Sandford and House candidates Bart LeBon, Christopher Quist, Mike Prax, Keith Kurber, and Grier Hopkins.

​League members Shari and Tom George, Diane Lyon, Janna Miller, Martha Raynolds, Rich Seifert and Valerie Therrien asked questions, timed candidate responses and kept the forum moving. All the questions were submitted by League members and FNA.

 

Thanks to KUAC FM 89.9 for broadcasting and recording the forum, the FNSB Clerk's Office for setting up the Assembly Chamber and Get Out the Native Vote for providing voting encouragement.

League Members Worked
Early Voting and Election Day Polling Sites
for the 2020 Municipal Election

 

League members assisted both with Early Voting at Shoppers Forum and at Election Day polling locations. Early voting ran from Sept. 21 - Oct. 1. Election Day was October 6, 2020.

 

Voter turnout was 22.4% for the FNSB, 17.7% for the City of Fairbanks and 15.4% for the City of North Pole. Sad turnout for our community and our democracy.

 

Link to Election results at the FNSB Clerk's Office.

943004_840 image by kalhh from Pixabay

News Desert: Why Local Journalism Matters

A Free Public Webinar

September 22, 2020  7:00 pm - 9:00 pm

Zoom and Facebook Live

 

More than 80 participants joined Dermot Cole (reporter, columnist, and author),
Virginia Farmier (Snedden Foundation) and, Melissa Harter (Director of the FNSB Public Library) for a lively and enlightening webinar on the scary place local journalism is in today, the perils and effects of mis- and disinformation and some potential ways forward. There were many questions posed to the panelists by attendees on Zoom, Facebook and the phone. LWVTV member, Janna Miller, organized and moderated this very informative session. The webinar was hosted by the LWVTV and the Fairbanks Branch of AAUW.

 

A recording of the webinar is here.

Important Dates

 

See the section below the dates to understand the difference among Early Voting, In person Absentee and By Mail or Electronic Absentee voting and where you can vote.

 

Sept. 21, 2020 8:00 am – In Person Absentee Voting begins. You do NOT need to apply for an absentee ballot to vote In Person absentee.

 

Sept. 21, 2020 9:00 am Mon - Sat, 10:00 am on Sunday – Early Voting begins at Shopper’s Forum (1255 Airport Way, Fairbanks). Check the Borough Clerk’s website for hours.
 

Sept. 29, 2020 5:00 pm - deadline for vote By Mail Absentee Ballot Applications
 

October 1, 2020 6:00 pm – Early Voting ends at Shopper’s Forum
 

Oct. 5, 2020 Noon - deadline for vote by Electronic Absentee Ballot Applications
 

Oct. 5, 2020 5:00 pm – In Person Absentee Voting ends (You do NOT need to apply for an absentee ballot to vote absentee in person)
 

Oct. 6, 2020 7:00 am - 8:00 pm - Regular Municipal Election Day. Go to your polling location. Find your polling location at Polling locations or call 1-888-383-8683. You may also vote a questioned ballot at any polling location that is not your own. Mail-in Absentee ballots MUST BE POSTMARKED NO LATER THAN OCTOBER 6 and must be received by the Borough Clerk’s Office by no later than the Tuesday following Election Day.

 

For the most current official information visit or call the Clerk Offices at

City of Fairbanks  459-6702

City of North Pole  488-8583

Fairbanks North Star Borough   459-1401

Image by Gerd Altmann from Picabay

 

Local Municipal Election

Different Ways to Vote

 

 

 

 

 

  • Early Voting – You physically go into a voting booth to cast your ballot. Early voting is available at Shoppers Forum (1255 Airport Way, Unit 5, Fairbanks), NOT at any of the Clerks’ Offices. Your ballot is counted on Election Day for unofficial results. The Canvass Board meets the day following the election to canvass all election returns.
  • Absentee Voting - There are three types of Absentee voting:  In Person, By Mail and By Electronic means. The Canvass Board has until the Tuesday following Election Day to determine all properly voted ballots for counting.
    • In Person Absentee – You do NOT need to apply for an absentee ballot to vote In Person Absentee and no ballot is sent/emailed/faxed to you. You may vote In Person Absentee at the City of North Pole and the City of Fairbanks Clerks’ Offices or at the City of Fairbanks outside voting trailer. The FNSB has a drive-by option at the front portico of the Juanita Helms Administrative Center. Once at the FNSB drive in site, you will call the Clerk’s Office and a staff member will bring you a ballot, wait for you to vote and then return the ballot to the Clerk’s Office.
    • By Mail Absentee – You do not go into a voting booth. You must apply for a By Mail Absentee ballot (directions below). A ballot is mailed to you. After filling out the ballot, you can mail it using the USPS, deliver it inside to one of the Clerk’s Offices or deliver it to the outside voting trailer at the City of Fairbanks. Neither City nor Borough staff will come out to your vehicle to pick it up.
    • By Electronic Means Absentee - You do not go into a voting booth. You must apply for an Electronic Absentee ballot (directions below). A ballot is emailed or faxed to you. If you received your ballot by email, you print the ballot, complete it, scan the completed ballot, and email it back to the FNSB Clerk’s Office. If you received your ballot by fax, you must fax it back to the FNSB Clerk’s Office after completing it.
  • Election Day Voting in person. Find your Polling locations or call 1-888-383-8683.

Call the borough clerk’s office at 907-459-1401 for additional information about all the ways to vote.  Please remember -- if you requested an absentee ballot for the Primary and/or General Elections to the State of Alaska YOU WILL NOT GET A MUNICIPAL ABSENTEE BALLOT AUTOMATICALLY. They are different systems; YOU MUST APPLY SEPARATE FOR EACH.

Municipal Candidates Forum
August 31, 2020
7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Livestreamed on KUAC FM 89.9

 

Candidates for the FNSB Assembly, the FNSB School Board and the City of Fairbanks City Council were present at the FNSB Assembly Chambers to answer a series of short answer and lightning round questions. You can listen here.

 

LWVTV members Phyllis Darrah, Shari and
Tom George, Janna Miller and Valerie Therrien asked the questions, kept the candidates on time and sanitized the Assembly Chamber following FNSB COVID-19 protocols. 

League Members Assisted with the
Primary Election on August 18, 2020

 

LWVTV was on station to assist the Division of Elections with Special Needs voting during the Primary

 ~~~~ Book Club ~~~ Aug. 2020 - July 2021Heading

August 8

Salt by Mark Kurlansky

 

September 12

Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson

 

October 10

Give Us the Ballot by by Ari Berman

 

November 14

Fascism by Madeleine Albright

 

December

No Book Discussion

 

January 9

What Does It Means to be White and White Fragility

both written by Robin DiAngelo

 

February 13

North To the Night by Alvah Simon

 

March 13

How the Post Office Created America by Winifred Gallagher

 

April 10

Fate of Food: What We'll Eat in a Bigger, Hotter, Smarter World by Amanda Little

 

May 8

Death and Life of the Great Lakes by Dan Egan

 

June 12

Book Selection for 2021-2022

 

July 10

Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari and The Righteous Mind by Jonathan Haidt

Safe and Secure Voting
A Free Public Webinar

August 7, 2020  7:00 pm - 8:30 pm

Zoom and Facebook Live

 

Division of Elections Supervisor Jeremy Johnson, April Trickey (Clerk of the FNSB), Dani Snider (Clerk of the City of Fairbanks) and Aaron Rhoades (Clerk of the City of North Pole) led this informative discussion about ways to vote, dates, new equipment and measures inplace due to the COVID-19 pandemic. League members Phyllis Darrah, Shari George, Mary Lee Guthrie, Helenmarie Matesi, Gael Murakami and Sue Sherif were joined by AAUW president Margaret Soden, FNA Coomunications Director, Diana Campbell, and Get Out the Native Vote/Doyon Ltd. lead Sharon Hildebrand to keep the webinar on track. Many questions from the attendees were fielded by Jerermy and the Clerks.

Image 434897_640 by Gerd Altmann for Pixabay

LWVTV submits letter of support to adopt Fairbanks North Star Borough Resolution 2020-29

 

The resolution was in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, and civil rights for all people, notably those individuals from historically marginalized groups. The resolution passed unanimously after amendments.

 
Image by Th G from Pixabay

Running for Local Office

June 27, 2020

 

LWVTV members Shari George, Phyllis Tugman-Alexander and
Linda Witt were on hand in the FNSB parking lot with all the Clerks from the City of Fairbanks, the City of North Pole and the FNSB. 
We provided information and encouragement to potential candidates for local office. LWVTV also hosted a website with how-to's for local candidates.

 

LWVTV Members Support Juneteenth

June 19 & 20, 2020


LWVTV members participated in NAACP Juneteenth celebration affirming Juneteenth and celebrating moving forward. LWVTV VP Helenmarie Matesi helped organize the event and served as moderator for much of the commemoration. Music, poetry, history and discussion brought the celebration to life. Juneteenth memorializes the June 19, 1865, announcement of the abolition of slavery in Texas. Congress recognized the day in 1997.

Spring 2020 Hot Topics

 

Spring 2020 Hot Topics were organized - we had the speakers, the dates and the location. Then COVID-19 hit and all was off.  The first two will be decided in the November 3, 2020 election so other means of educating ourselves were offered. Let's Talk Trash will stay on the list.

Ranked Choice Voting & the Alaska Better Elections Initiative

A ballot measure to create nonpartisan primaries and ranked-choice voting in Alaska is collecting signatures for this fall's election. The stated goals of the initiative are to:

  • End "Dark Money" in Alaska Elections
  • Open Our Primaries to All Alaskan Voters
  • Form Ranked Choice Voting Elections

Do you know how Ranked Choice Voting works? Let's talk about it and give it a try.

 

Alaska Revenue Recap and the Oil Tax Initiative

One of the functions of government is to provide services. Services cost money and take people. Opinions on the PFD diverge. The numbers show we cannot cut our way to a balanced budget and provide the services needed for a modern society. The end of our savings is in sight. What to do? Let's talk about the revenue stream for Alaska's future

 

Let's Talk Trash - Recycling in the FNSB

Hear our panel and ask questions. Experts from Alaska Waste, Green Star, the Borough and Costco will give us insight and talk about how it works and the future. The 50th anniversary of Earth Day is on April 22; let's do all we can to help our planet.

State Board Members

Alex Koplin, Co-President &

(Central Kenai Peninsula) 2023

Sue Sherif, Co-President
(Tanana Valley) 2023

Marianne Mills, Vice-President
(Juneau) 2023

Sandy Garity, Secretary
(Central Kenai Peninsula) 2024

Shirley Pittz, Treasurer
(Anchorage) 2023
Judy Andree, Past-President
(Juneau) 2023

Directors

Carol Dickason

(Anchorage) 2023

Gayle Garrigues

(Tanana Valley) 2023

Shari George

(Tanana Valley) 2024

Therese Lewandowski

(Central Kenai Peninsula) 2024

Pat Redmond

(Anchorage) 2023

Cathleen Rolph

(Central Kenai Peninsula) 2023

Local League Presidents

Shirley Pittz

LWV of Anchorage 2023

Gail Knobf & Cathleen Rolph
Central Kenai Peninsula League of Women Voters 2023

Janna Miller & Sue Sherif
LWV of Tanana Valley 2023

Kirsa Hughes-Skandjis

LWV of Juneau 2023

Register to Vote

If you are a U.S. citizen and you are at least 18 years old, you can vote. In most states, before you can vote you need to register. Registration must be completed 30 days before Election Day.

 

Click to Register

 

Register to Vote now! Make sure you fill out the form completely; then print, sign, and mail it to the address given.

Below are the Facebook pages for Alaska.

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