 This is Bill Doyle on Vermont issues and we have a distinguished panel and with us today and The first is to introduce Kate Rader who's in the League of Women Voters and and I know it's done more to improve voting in Vermont and Voting issues and then you and I want to compliment you for that the leadership you've given and And So we'll let you introduce yourself I'm Sophie Batman-Kurson and I'm here with Bill Doyle on Vermont issues to talk about current affairs in central of Vermont and Kate Rader is a wonderful advocate in the state house for the League of Women Voters and that was where I initially ran into you and I had been prodded to join and I've always been a little hesitant Due to my own personal insecurities. I suppose but I'm such a scary bunch Yes. No, I'm delighted to have you here and I'm hoping You could talk to those of us in the community who are interested and maybe a little shy about Signing up for the League of Women Voters And what your activities are and what your experience was to get you into Such a wonderful leak. Okay And just to follow up on the introduction. Kate talk about some of the things that The league is working on and it's very some of the things you're very proud of. Oh, absolutely Uh, but to get people over the fear of the League of Women Voters. I don't remember that Exactly why I joined where I did or when I did. I do know I lived in Ann Arbor I was not a member then but I was very much aware of the league and what they did with their voter guides and that sort of thing Uh, I joined when we moved to massachusetts In 1979 79 So I've been a member since 1979 What I found in the league in the first place it gives me Confidence that I wouldn't have otherwise if I have to make a call It asks someone a favor or or advocate for an issue it I'm much braver when I say this is Kate Rader with the League of Women Voters Because that that gives me a credential that just Kate Rader doesn't have by herself Through the league's work and the friends I've I've made lifelong friends in the league lifelong lasting lifelong friends for across time and and Now I have friends not just in my own league But from going to meetings out of state meetings. I have friends in the league all over the country And Those two things for me personally are are What I got most from the league so The league was founded in 1920 actually it was founded a few months before the 19th amendment was passed to educate the newly Infranchised women because they knew it was coming. They had worked the suffragists. It was suffragists who had founded the league They knew it was coming. They had worked for 72 years Which is one of the reasons so frustrating when people say they're not interested in voting but that's That's a little aside We were we register almost everywhere and when People say they don't care. They're not interested. It just Well only 40 percent of americans vote. Is that the right statistic? I mean, it's a stunning Few who make the decisions for the many So I'm I commend you for stepping up to the league because this is important work. It's really important Besides that we do Well, that was it was founded by activists and so we are still activists in In addition to our voter service activities, which I can get into um We do study and have positions on issues At state local and federal level bill knows us From the state house not us not just me, but Many others who have been there. We work very very hard on getting same-day voter registration We have worked hard on campaign finance Campaign finance reform seems to be stymied at the federal level, but Those are two Important ones that we worked on for years. We worked for 10 years to get to get same-day voter registration and so can you give an example of Maybe an experience that you had With the same-day registration that was very excellent or Well, we were there at the signing of the bill and that was no, I remember I was The town of east montpelier has a has a town meeting day potluck. Okay, and one day a young couple came by And they wanted to know if they could register to vote. This was town meeting day This was a year before the bill passed. You know and No It's too late. It's too late. Yeah, they came ready to participate in town meeting and had to be turned away And that is now no longer true. That's great. That's great Now you were talking about doing registration for people in the State jail system. Does that go federal as well or just local jails? Well, they vote in federal elections. They can vote it out. Yes, so main in vermont Are the only two states that allow Felons to vote actually while they are still in prison There are other states who allow them to vote again after they have served their time. There are states Who do not allow felons to vote ever again if they are convicted of a crime. That's pretty common. I think right? I think it's pretty common. Yeah, I don't have the numbers. I want to say something like 36 states, but I don't that's I can't Can't back that up And is there a league in the system? I mean, is there a league of women voters in the federal system or in the local state system that you know about or Not that I know about no That's interesting though that you guys are able to get in there and Shake it up a little bit. Well, we're we're we hoping hoping to expand that we we've been working on it for a number of years We did since main is the only other state that has Allow us prisoners to vote right we did contact them and ask them if they Do that and they're in their case. She says it's NAACP That uh does the in in prison registration So okay, I'd say that the league and women's voters have many accomplishments and Over a long period of time. But would you mention some some of the accomplishments that um, you'd put right up front more than others Well right up front motor motor voter which passed Was it 70s or 80s when you where you could register a vote when you, uh, got your Driver's license That was under That's terrible I don't think so Let's just pass on that But the league was at the signing of when the president signed that that whoever he was When the president signed that bill so that was a that was a big a big one for the league and women voters I was I was Laughing about it because in my experience it was very much like that I got my driver's license when I was 18 And my father said well now you get registered to vote and then you can go get a job But then you'll be you know part of america So I'm wondering if that did make a big impact On the I don't know voting I don't know And we would have to whether Certainly there are statistics there what happened to voter registration after it passed, but uh, I don't I don't have them. I Whether any You know like whether jim condos might have access to those statistics for certainly for vermont I would guess but somebody would have to got dig down into the archives. I suspect right it was long enough ago Well just in that point What are some of the issues that uh have been accomplished by the league of women voters or You remember and and other issues that have the league has been very active in past legislation We have been active Here in healthcare and we have not been Wildly successful, but not for lack of effort and we're still working on that working on the universal primary care We work on The environment we're working very hard now on clean water We would really really like to see Permanent funding for the cleanup of lake champlain Funded this Any day now would be good Uh Voter rights again in vermont That's uh We are spared having to protect our for now at least protect our voters from uh suppression, but and states around the country north carolina wisconsin Maryland now any georgia The national league and state leagues have worked very very hard In the field of voter rights How have other states been involved in suppression of voter registration? Well, the league was part of this suit in That covered i think pennsylvania wisconsin and maryland gerrymandering suit The league was one of the plaintiffs in that suit that Was lost because they said Unless a particular i believe i said unless a particular voter had standing That it didn't affect them and so that We were waiting and waiting waiting for that supreme court decision in june and then it Was sort of deflated our our balloon You mentioned gerrymandering can you give some illustrations on the president of the past of vermont's approach to gerrymandering and and also the the nation any national laws? vermont with only one with only one representative does not There is no opportunity for gerrymandering because it's one district the whole state is one district I think what's happened i think maryland and wisconsin I think what they do How it works is they can Define districts So the population They decide The districts by who a particularly group group is going to vote for and so they can Put all the democrats in one urban district And cut and the republicans are cut out and so there are fewer Of one by say democrats one in urban areas that usually is the democrats or in the urban areas, but they can Define a district so they know how How the vote is going to turn out And that happens Often when The legislators the state legislators are the body that does the redistricting every 10 years Uh one of the things the league of women voters did in oregon probably At least 50 years ago they Worked on getting a nonpartisan redistricting commission Past and it was past. There's a there was I was there 30 years ago or so and the state museum has a a room and it has Commemorates the league's work on redistricting and there's a big table in the middle of the room With all the counties in oregon and you can play the redistricting game and you can define Define the congressional districts for this for the state. Oh, that's a wonderful project Well, we're on itself every state does their own Redistricting for state elections and maybe you could just share with us the Some of the event advantages or Not only advantages, but some of the progress that the league has made and and were months made in terms of voter participation Voter participation, of course, we have worked very hard traditionally on voter registration September is voter registration month nationally Yesterday was national voter registration day The league Did a lot of voter registration this this month not all of it on the 25th We register new citizens to vote upon their naturalization And in the last two years we have managed to have league members at every naturalization ceremony in the state Uh We were at the state house on september 11. There's one annually on 9 11 And we registered about three quarters of the people who were naturalized that which was a record for us Well, we had enough people there that nobody had to say buy you. Yeah Right Yesterday we registered voters in partnership with phoenix phoenix books in each of their three outlets on monday and Tomorrow we have and will be registering prisoners in Newport and springfield We have registered college students would really like to expand that Uh We have are you doing state colleges and oh, we don't care uvm anyone any college campuses Northeast kingdom they they worked with The now northern vermont, yeah state university southern vermont college norwich And we keep plugging along We table we register people At public events wherever we came That pretty much covers Our formal voter registration drives We do as you know host candidate forums We have one scheduled for october 18th in waterbury for the washington state senate candidates And that'll be all female or it's every open to every candidate is it it's open to the To the to the candidates. Yeah. Yeah. Well, it would be In this case it would be and Cummings all by herself and we we don't do that. She's interesting She's interesting, but these these are forums. These are debates. So it's a real essentially. Yes. Yes, and you guys sponsor it Yes, and do you usually have a good turnout? We should drum this up this sounds really good. Well, here we are jumping it up Yes, it's going to be at seven o'clock on october 18th at the waterbury municipal building the steel Hall and the waterbury municipal building in waterbury Uh The other thing we don't have unfortunately the resources to Do statewide candidates at this time But we we will be doing through our outlets and our website as we will be promoting all the any Candidate debate or forum that people come to us it and they would like us to publish it. We will do we will do that Talk about the period when the voters can no longer register to vote for this election Oh, there is none election day Registration you can register at the polls You can register online you can register by mail At the post office you can still no no no no. Oh, no. I mean you can Send mail it in register early. You can from 45 days before the election you can go into your clerk's office and read and and vote I shouldn't say red vote you can vote But yes, you can register to vote on election day when you when you get to the polls Other states have other states may have deadlines Other states may have deadlines. I think something like 14 states now have have uh same day Registration registration at the polls. I mean as you know vermont's been leading by example You would think that would catch on you would think but uh there were before It was a long time. They only just got this through in vermont vermont did not this was one that vermont did not lead by I was a election official in minnesota in 1984 They had election day registration then there then and they still have it. They still have it and But you're saying not many of the states actually have it. I mean you would think it would become law It's the you would thank you. Yes, I would think You would think talk about talk about voter turnout in vermont and What role of the league of league has taken over the years for voter turnout? I I'm afraid I don't have Statistics for voter turnout. It's reasonably good. It's not as good as main. It had same day registration Minnesota which has had same day registration since the 80s has leads the state and voter turnout Uh, I think vermont is better than average, but we'll see what happens With this election because this is the first this is the first one that since they have had same day registration Well, there are a lot of elections issues coming up in this present current election and So you think the issues are there any issues that tend to make the turnout a little bit stronger or less less strong I think the issues that may make turnout stronger is president trump Yeah, he's kind of inviting the league to step up a little Begging I would say So can you mention a little bit about the education fund that you guys have the education fund? Uh was established about 2000. I think With part of the proceeds from a legacy left to the league by a central vermont member actually They give It's a 501c3, which means it's a charitable organization and contributions to the league of women voters of vermont Education fund our tax deductible We give three or four Scholars thousand dollar scholarships a year based on need and and recommendations in an essay Need in the essay count more More than the recommendations. There's a committee of five who make that decision and it's a thousand dollar And is it towards specific education? It's they can use it it's for their Presumably for their college education as to the high school seniors But what it's spent on is not we just give them a check for a thousand dollars towards their education And we all our other voter education Materials that go through the education fund. We had the citizen's guide Maybe bill remembers that the green book that was all about vermont government Government we are now working on digitizing that So that it will be available online We do this voting in vermont, which tells you everything you have to know about Where to register how to register where to vote how to find out if you are registered Who you're voting for We are handing this out to anybody who wants them Uh in town clerk's office libraries at all of our voter registration events. We are giving these away And before we leave we could each of us could pick up One of those Yes, I happen to have a supply of them in my tote bag out there in the hall Now dog the league is on uh very interested in campaign finance. We talked about campaign finance Yes, we would really like public financing of of political campaigns I think but that's a long That's a long view. Yes We have uh, do you really think it's that far away? I mean it seems like the most reasonable way to Trump's campaign is awfully hard for People to give up their funding They're not going to vote against But it becomes so complicated. I mean these I mean isn't phil scott. This is terrible, but isn't phil scott engaged in Financial contributions from opioids, which is something that he's completely opposed to I mean, they've got the poor guy in a pickle And this is something that could be avoided by public funding. Yes, and and our politicians Elected officials complain that they really really hate the amount of time they spend Which is about 30 hours a week Raising money obscene but And what I mean, what are the the foot holds that you have achieved in Getting that accomplished. Do you have a couple? We worked on the bill part of on Spending limits Contribution limits And they run into first amendment, you know where the money comes from they right now. I think in the legislature They have been working on limiting contributions from corporations And they're meeting with with resistance I mean it was a big battle. I remember but the outcome of it is just so stunningly ridiculous. I mean Really impressive So I'm really grateful you guys have set forward to change that You ladies Can you make reference to other states that made you a somewhat different campaign finance differently or I don't know I don't know that well main main Has worked very hard on on public financing of campaigns And they have run in they they have initiative there what they call The voter Interest or well, no, they can they can vote on You know referendum initiative where you can pass laws the The people can pass laws and they've they've got a cute name for but I can't which doesn't come to me right now, of course and that was Defeated and then they brought it back through through initiative and I think the latest thing was that there was some sort of typo in the In the legislation and the governor won't sign it and they won't pull he wouldn't Have a special session to get rid of the typo. He so they ran into the governor was the biggest Obstacle to their campaign finance And we do have referendum in the initiative to to what degree it's vermont involved in the initiative and vermint does not have initiative in referendum Is not one of the states it does There's never been any interest in in those issues that initiative not by the league not by the league My personal opinion even as frustrating as it is sometimes and you it sounds like it would be a wonderful thing I don't think it's necessarily a good way to To write law It's better to have the legislators be able to discuss it and work it through I think that's true vermont or california rather has initiative and They have ballots that are this long and how the how the The issue was worded and on the ballot and Are you voting yes or no and you have to figure that out? It's um it's it's It seems to me better in theory than than maybe it can be in practice And when they state they do have an issue the trick would be who writes the question Yeah, then that the voters will will reply to Well, thank god. We have such access to our legislators here. Oh, yes, that's wonderful. It is It is it is so it looks like we only have a minute left and if there's something that we've left out that you would want to mention I would like to mention for our local audience that the the local league has worked with the library of color carpet library for a couple of years now On series of programs last year. We did one five programs on the first amendment And this year we're doing it under the umbrella of constitutional crisis with the question mark We had one program jim condos talked about voter security in this in the age of hacking We will have one in january on gerrymandering in may we will March we will have one on liberalism and conservatism what it has meant historically and and where we are now And on single-issue politics and whether it's important and whether it was its impact might be All right, so can I thank you for giving me your time and the work that you do and the the work that the league does So and thank you so much for coming. This was really wonderful Dispelling my fear of the league of lady lawyers Thank you